Loveology / Love as Essential Christianity
The concept we will be
studying today is that God is Love and the entire universe and the entire
history of man can be seen as God in His love dealing with man and creation.
1
John 4:8, 16 "God is Love
Why
did God build people? Did He need
them?
No,
God cannot need anything , for He is perfect. Needing someone makes you
vulnerable and thus not totally powerful.
God created man not as an expression of His need but as an expression of
His love; His power; His Wisdom; and other attributes. He did not need to create
us any more than a writer needs to write or a painter needs
to paint. People say they need to paint
and by that they mean they had something they really felt a strong desire to
express and I think you could say that of God as well. We flowed from His love and His other
attributes the expression of a perfect God.
We and all of creation are an
expression of His love.
This Love is the explanation for the
intimacy described in the Garden of Eden.
In the Garden of Eden you saw man walking in perfect fellowship with
God.
A basic understanding of Love
is
When God created the universe it flowed from Who He was and
thus it was unified and consistent with Him.
The Bible says that God breathed into man his own breath and man became
a living soul. A soul that partakes of
Gods nature and is united to Him.
The
nature of all love is union. In Eros
romance the two become one flesh. In
friendship the two become partners companions who do things together united in
many ways. Stogie family
love, unites relatives so that you want what is
good for them and desire their success. You live in peace with them united in
heart.
God is Love! That is a
statement of His essential nature.
God is One yet He is a Triune
God. Trinity.
He desires
for us to become one with Him and thus be brought in union with one another
through Him.
Well
then if the entire universe flowed from God and God is perfect then why is the
world not perfect?
It
is not perfect because we have responded wrongly to Gods love and rejected it,
abused it, and misused it.
It
is like the scoundrel husband who takes the love of a wonderful wife and
rejects her; uses her; takes her for granted etc.
The
Law of God should be understood as an expression of the Love of God. If you buy a piece of equipment it will
usually have inside the box a manual of some type. What will it tell you?
It
will tell you how to take care of your new machine. That will make that piece of equipment
last. We have a manual the Bible the
Word which God gave us because He wants to make his love and blessings and us
and his world to last and work well.
Usually
in that manual is also some words that say something like, “do not use this
electric drill to pick your teeth” or some type of warnings about the dangers of
misuse of the product.
The
Bible is Gods instruction manual given to us because He loves us and wants to
show us how to live in His love and blessings.
Do
not see the Bible the Law the word as if it is harsh or oppressive, it is
joyful, liberating, encouraging.
How
you see the THOU SHALT NOT KILL makes a difference. If God's word interferes with what you like to
do for fun, {Gee killing
people is my favorite thing to do on a Friday night}, understand He does not
make rules arbitrarily. In His rules He is saying, "because I
love you I don’t want you killing people". Studies show that killing people
does not add to true enjoyment of life and may be hazardous to your health. Adultery
is not the doorway to fun but rather the door to sorrow and evil into your life.
In
the New Testament God makes the rules stricter because He wants us to be even
happier. Instead of just saying do not kill people He says do not get angry. If you get angry you have already committed
murder in your own heart. Is He now
cutting out more fun? Gee now I am not
even allowed to be angry! What a bummer/
in reality in the increase of the law He is cutting out even more pain you can bring
to yourself and your family.
Ok
back to Creation,
We and all of creation are expressions of His love.
The universe flows from the loving creative
perfect nature of God.
Remember
God is Love 1 John 4:8 , 16
God says this twice in one
chapter. It is an explanation of why God would create people.
It
is an explanation for the intimacy described in the Garden of Eden. It is Why He died on the cross for our
sins. It is the essential nature of
Heaven which is our eventual home.
What is Sin? It is Breaking God’s law but it is also the
rejection of His Love!
Love Is
Another attribute of God is that He is ONE
Deut. 6:4-5 (KJV) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one
Lord: [5] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Unity
with another person defines love in friendship; family; and marriage. While each is a different kind of love they
are still basically union on one level or another.
The
universe flowing from the oneness of God was one with Him, in tune with Him, in harmony, perfect. Sin threw a monkey wrench into the gears of
the universe.
We
see in sin the rejection of Gods love.
It is separating us from the union with God. We cannot resist His will without consequences.
In
your body you have a lot of cells, all of which are united to one another. If one of those cells begins to operate
separately and doing its own thing it is called cancer. Cancer is independence. It is one cell trying
to grow and develop on its own; however it wants without concern for the larger
body.
In a deep theology sense
Love
is the Essence of God and the nature of love is union with God those who are united with Him are His
Kingdom, and His body. Rom 12 1cor12 and eph4.
Love
is by nature Unity.
Since the created world
flowed from its creator and God is Love the essential nature of the universe is
LOVE.
Since Love is Unity then the
essential nature of the universe is Unity.
"God is love", not "God is loving". God is
Let me drop another big
concept into this discussion and that is Order or Chaos.
Col. 1:15-23 (NAB)
He is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. [16] For in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers; all things were created
through him and for him.
[17] He is before all
things, and in him all things hold together. [18] He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in all things
he himself might be preeminent.
[19] For in him all
the fullness was pleased to dwell, [20]
and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross (through him), whether those on earth or
those in heaven. [21] And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind
because of evil deeds [22] he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through
his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him,
[23] provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not
shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been preached to
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.
The universe in its vastness is a wonderfully ordered
place. Every planned and star and galaxy
follows the path that God commanded. Do
you know what would happen if one of those stars or planets began to go independently? Whatever path the various planets and stars
are taking as it dances through space if one of them went wrong it would enter
into the gravitational path of some other planet or star. They would attract each other and eventually
collide then leaving a hole in the gravitational balance.
The current world has a process of Chaos, Devolution, Destruction, Death, the law of putrification, going bad, rotting. That seems to be built into it. Let me assure you that was not God’s invention but mans and Satans. In God’s plan things are perfect and the corruption we see in the universe comes from a rejection rather than an acceptance to God’s Love.
When
Satan rebelled it was a rejection of that love, and introduction of hatred and
conflict.
In the Garden of Eden before
the fall Love reigned.
After the fall there was
separation conflict sin and death.
The message of Christ is God
reaching out in Love inviting mankind back into His love.
His love and His Lordship are
tied together.
Lordship is acceptance of His
way, following His better way.
We cannot enter into His will
His kingdom and do our own sinful thing.
His kingdom would be ruined if each person did their own thing. God loves all enough that he won’t allow any
one to ruin it.
If God is Love and God is all powerful why is their
evil. Man has sinned. Man rejected oneness with God and chose
independence. Lordship is tied in
here. And that independence brings
chaos.
God is a very good planet spinner. He keeps all the planets flying through space
and moving around the sun at an incredible speed. And they don’t fly off. He has all the planets spinning while they
move around the sun so one side does not burn.
He has moons moving around most of them. Now suppose instead of one planet spinner
you said” God must be very busy, let’s hire an assistant planet spinner. We do a good job and find the second best
planet spinner. Now two different people
are controlling the planets and even meaning good there is an inevitable crash
because each needs to know perfectly what the other was doing.
Gee it’s not my fault my
The point is that Sin is the process of controlling my own life and salvation is going His way. Letting Him control me.
John 13:34-35 (NAB) I give you a new commandment: love one
another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. [35] This is
how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another."
John 15:9-12 (NAB) [9] As the Father loves me, so I also
love you. Remain in my love. [10] If you keep my commandments, you will remain
in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
[11] "I have told
you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. [12] This
is my commandment: love one another as I love you. [13] No one has greater love
than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
Salvation is best seen as not
accepting an idea believing a concept or adding some rituals to your life but
rather an embracing of God’s Love.
A decision to be One with
God. To step back before the rebellion and accept God as the center of your
life.
God is love, not, God is loving. God and
love are synonymous. Love is not an attribute of God, it is God; whatever God
is, love is. If your conception of love does not agree with justice and
judgment and purity and holiness, then your idea of love is wrong. {Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)}
Jeremiah 31:3 (NAB) the LORD appears to him from afar: With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.
God’s love is age old He has always been loving
everyone. A lost person has rejected
that love and rejected that love.
Rev 3:20 Behold I stand at the door and knock and knock and knock and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me.
Hosea 11:4 (NAB)
I drew them with human
cords,
with bands of
love;
I fostered them like
one
who raises an
infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped
to feed my child,
they did not know
that I was their healer.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NAB) For
I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your
welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.
Isaiah 62:5 (NAB)
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
Romans 5:5 (NAB) and hope does not disappoint, because the
love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that
has been given to us.