“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:7-9 ESV)
There is an all-too-common misconception of the work of Christ suggesting that the reason he came to earth, lived, died, rose again, and ascended was to convince a reluctant God the Father to love the people for whom he died. It is as if the Godhead was divided on the plan of salvation, and the Father finally gave in when the Son successfully completed his work.
Such an understanding of redemption could not be further from the truth. Jesus did not come to convince his Father to love the elect; he came precisely because the Father loved the elect. The love of the Father undergirds everything Jesus Christ accomplished, and the love of the Father, which began in eternity past, is why Christ is offered to us as a Savior.
Theologian Gerhardus Vos once said, “The best proof that [God] will never cease to love us lies in that He never began.” God’s love exists outside of time and is as constant as his very existence. To say it another way, God has never existed without loving his elect. When John says, “God is love,” it is this reality of love as an essential part of God’s nature that he has in mind. A god who does not love is not the God of Scripture.
Not only is love one of God’s essential attributes, but it is an attribute that he has “made manifest among us.” This love is attended by action. God does not merely sit in the heavens and experience love within himself, but he showed us that love by sending his Son into the world. In fact, had the Son not come, God could not love us, because, as the prophet Habakkuk said, he is “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.” Sin separates us from the holy presence of God, and if there were no atonement for sin, there would be nothing that could make us pure enough to dwell in his presence.
As the hymnist Philip Bliss wrote,
I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.
Christ came “so that we might live through him.” We are by nature dead in our sins, and it is in Christ alone that we are made alive together with him (Ephesians 2:5).
The interconnectedness of redemption is on full display in John’s epistle. The incarnation of Christ and his active and passive obedience are part of God’s unbroken plan of salvation from eternity past to eternity future, all of which exists within the context of his perfect love for his elect.
It is this same love that compels us to love one another. If we claim to be the recipients of God’s love yet do not love one another, we prove that we do not truly know nor are known by God. If we are made alive with Christ because of the love of the Father that was poured out, we will, without exception, love one another.
Not only will we love one another, but we will go to the ends of the earth to proclaim the love of God to those who do not yet know Christ. Love is not a gift to be hoarded but wonderful news to be shared. God sent his Son into the world to give life to those who are dead. There is nothing that should motivate the missional efforts of God’s people more than being captivated and transformed by his love.
If you are in Christ, you are loved by God, which is a reality worth sharing.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
The love that you have for us as adopted children in Christ is a gift beyond our full comprehension. May your love for us produce in us love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and may it drive us to the ends of the earth with the good news of salvation.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for Hindi Good Soil resources to reach many with the gospel.
- Wednesday: Pray that the Bucharest Ministry Home would provide a home base for ministry to people in Romania.
- Thursday: Pray for the Maranatha Retreat Center to provide much-needed rest and refreshment to pastors and church leaders in Ghana.
- Friday: Pray for workers meeting the special needs of missionaries by providing them with practical resources during times of crisis, natural disasters, or emergencies.
- Saturday: Pray for the students and staff at William Carey Academy in South Asia to know and honor Christ through education.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries preparing to serve in Lithuania.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving in church planting to find great success as they labor to grow the body of Christ.
Featured Opportunity to Serve:
Director/Coordinator of Administration Management
Location: Bangladesh
Our team needs a humble and willing individual skilled in administration and management to come serve as the Director/Coordinator of Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh.
