“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
and everyone who loves is born of God
When God puts us into His family, He puts us there forever. The tense of the words “is born” means that from the point we received the new birth, God makes our spiritual birth permanent (perfect tense). The person born spiritually (with lasting effect, not again and again) has a lasting and permanent relationship that goes on forever with the Lord.
God is the One who did the birthing [passive voice]. We do nothing to put ourselves in the family of God, so regardless of whether we are carnal or spiritual, we belong to the family of God forever. Love originates from our new birth. As receivers of God’s love, God expects us to radiate His love to other believers.
PRINCIPLE:
As recipients of God’s love, God expects us to radiate His love to others.
APPLICATION:
God loves us regardless of our spiritual condition. His love is unconditional with no strings attached. God’s love for us never changes because He is immutable in His character. God loves us based on who He is, not on the basis of who we are.
What passes off for love today is two emotionally unstable people trying to lean on each other. Each is more concerned about his own problems rather than reaching out to the other. Strong people can love strongly. Weak people love weakly.
The absence of any capacity to love with divine love is evidence that that person is not born again or that he is in a condition of carnality. Both non-Christians and carnal Christians can love with human love, but they cannot love with divine love. Divine love does not operate by the concept of a mutual admiration society mode of operation.
Making clucking noises is not biblical love. This is a lonely-hearts club with all its attending power-lust and hustling in the fraternity. We no longer have a church when this mode of operation is evident; we have people trying to gain the approbation of others in the group. Churches today are being converted into mutual admiration societies. There is no difference in this case between a church and a fraternity.
Many people are incapable of love because their love is no stronger than their capacity for love. A person of vast capacity can love powerfully. A person of weak capacity does not have much ability to love, especially under duress.
The best thing we can do for our mate is to acquire the capacity for love. A person with a small capacity of soul gets hurt over the least problem. The best thing that a person can do for their marriage is to develop personal maturity. This kind of person does not get hurt over even significant wrongs.
Two believers out of fellowship might have strong compatibility between them. They may pass this off as spirituality, but it is simply two people with emotional maturity and great compatibility. In the final analysis, it boils down to mutual admiration. The believer in fellowship produces a love that transcends human love.
