FOS 4- Love Part 2

 Before we get into the fruit of love again, if you glanced at 1 Corinthians 12 just before the chapter on love that I had you examine, you noticed it spoke of gifts of the Spirit. Gifts of the Spirit are different from the fruit of the Spirit and are found listed in three sections in the Bible: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 and 28, and Ephesians 4:11. The lists of gifts are not all the same and we are not going to study them here, but I do want to note a few differences in gifts and fruit. The main difference is that not all believers are meant to have all of the gifts. The Romans and 1 Corinthians passages describe this and make it clear that though believers have different gifts, they are from the same Spirit and are all for the common good.

On the other hand, all believers should work on growing in all the fruit of the Spirit. I mentioned before that I call it fruit in the singular. I do this because we are all called to bear the same fruit, but that is not true for the gifts of the spirit.

The fruit is related to our character and holiness which is part of our sanctification process. When we become Christians three aspects of our salvation take place: justification (our initial salvation), sanctification (ongoing work of the Holy Spirit making us more like Christ), and glorification (when we go to heaven and are given a completely new body made to last forever and all sin is removed). Romans 8:29-30 mentions the first and last of those aspects. Sanctification happens as we live as Christians and allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to be more like Christ and as we are conformed we display more fruit of the Spirit. In Ephesians 5:25-27 we learn important things about sanctification and love. It’s right in the middle of a section on husbands loving their wives, and it compares the husband and wife relationship to Christ’s relationship with the church.

Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV - 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

What are the two actions Christ takes in these verses? vs1- He gave himself up for the church, vs1- cleansed her with the word (In scripture Jesus is referred to as the Word of God, but also the Bible is the word that teaches us how to be holy).

What is the outcome of all that Jesus has done? We will be presented to Christ in splendor, without spot or wrinkle (sin), so we might be holy.

Jesus has such a love for us that not only did He die to save us, but He is preparing us to see Him face to face. Our time between accepting Christ as Lord and Savior and greeting Him face to face is not a time where we either live it up(sin) because we have “freedom in Christ” or languish in our sins. It is a time when God is actively working in us to prepare us for resurrection and we get to participate in the transformation! Praise God!

With that in mind, let’s look at the verses from the homework I gave you in Love part 1.

1. In 1 Corinthians 13 you’ll notice that the first three verses compare three different spiritual gifts to love: speaking in tongues, prophecy, and the gift of giving/generousity (Romans 12:8)  What do we learn from Paul’s response to having each of these without love? Basically he says that none of it has any value or importance if love is not our motivation or part of who we are. Our good deeds mean nothing without love.
2. What did you learn about love from 1 John 4:7-12? -we should love one another, love is from God, love shows we know God and are His, God is love and showed it by sending Jesus (v.9 God was made manifest among us), when we love one another God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.
3. Look at 1 John 4:13 and see how the Spirit ties in to all this-“By this, we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” Do you see the progression God loves us, we become Christian and He abides in us (Holy Spirit), we love one another.
4. This idea of love coming from God and us sharing it with others is also reflected in Mark 12:28-31 where Jesus says the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And He then says the next most important is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
5. Another important concept we learned through the verses in the last study was in John 14:15 (ESV) “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Through the verses above and the other verses in Love Part 1, we are shown love is key to our relationship with God and others. It is listed first in the fruit of the Spirit and based on scripture, all eight other types of fruit hinge on love: first our love of God, then our love of others.

God exemplifies perfect love by sending His only son to die for our sins. The Holy Spirit works in believers to help us love, and we should work with the Holy Spirit instead of against Him. 

Learning to treasure God for who He is and all He has done will help us love Him more. Matthew 6:21 (ESV)   For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

How do we grow our love for God and learn to treasure Him? Get to know Him better in His word and through prayer. When we read His word, we learn His character, His magnificence, and see His forgiveness. I encourage you to read all of the Bible and not to neglect the Old Testament. You could listen to audio of the Bible if you don’t enjoy reading or are tight on time. The ESV Bible, Bible Gateway, and other apps are free and provide audio. I particularly love the way Genesis and Exodus show God’s greatness and contrast it with man’s sinfulness. It increases understanding of His lovingkindness and forgiveness which helps us see our need for His son.

One example is in Exodus when it tells about the fickle Israelites, God’s people, and all of the ten plagues and miracles God did to get them out of Egypt followed by His parting of the Red Sea (EX 14). Egyptian chariots chased after them and God closed the sea over the Egyptians while all of the Israelites made it safely to the other side. The Israelites made up a song to give God the glory for such a provision (Ex 15).

Three days later the Israelites began grumbling about the lack of water (Ex 15). How quickly they forgot what God could do. Yet God made clean water come from bad water to provide for them. On the fifteenth day after leaving Egypt, they grumbled to God about lack of bread and even said that they would have been better off in Egypt. Again God showed them that He would be their provider and created manna which was like a seed that they would make a type of bread from. This manna had never existed before and fed the Israelites for forty years while they wandered in the wilderness. Once they entered their promised land and ate the food of the land, it disappeared. There were several other amazing things about the manna you can learn in Exodus 16. In addition to the manna, God provided quail in the evenings so they would have meat.

God did wonderful things for His people because of His love for them and yet they didn’t trust Him. Soon after receiving manna, they complained again about the lack of water and God provided. When they arrived at the promised land two years later, they doubted God would get them safely into it after hearing about the giants who lived there. They wanted to choose a new leader and return to Egypt. Rather than destroy them and keep His promise by having Moses be the only one to enter, God allowed them to live. Though he did have them wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their hard hearts, he was merciful in letting those who didn’t have faith die so their children could take hold of the promise. All during that time He continued to provide for and protect His unfaithful people. So much more happened during the years Israel wandered, but that is a picture of how God’s greatness works alongside His love for us. He is patient with us and keeps His promises.

As we learn about God’s great mercy through studying things like this we grow in our love for Him and we see examples of being merciful and forgiving those who are against us. In the last study I had you look at Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” What better way can we learn than through God’s example throughout the Bible? Saturating ourselves with these truths strengthens us.

Over the next couple of weeks read through the following verses and we will examine them in my next study. Don’t forget to look at surrounding verses, though sometimes in Psalms and Proverbs they are not related. Take notes about what you learn about love. What comparisons were made? What is the opposite of love? Consider how understanding that helps us to better understand love.

Proverbs 8:13 ESV - 13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. (This is wisdom speaking according to vs. 12)

Psalm 97:10 ESV - 10 O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Amos 5:15 ESV - 15 Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Psalm 119:104 ESV - 104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:128 ESV - 128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right; I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:163 ESV - 163 I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.

Proverbs 13:5 ESV - 5 The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.

Romans 12:9 ESV - 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Hebrews 1:8-9 ESV - 8 But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV - 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

In the new heaven and earth there will be no need for prophesies, tongues, or knowledge because all will be known, but this passage shows us that love never ends. We will experience love to the full like we have never known!