Love Came Down
Notes
Transcript
Advent Readings Week 4: December 24th, 2023
Love Come Down – I John 4:9-14
Reading 1: Shalom. On this 4th Sunday of the Advent Season we are to reflect on the love that God has for us. Listen to how God describes His love for us in Isaiah 54:7-10:
“For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer…Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
God’s demonstration of His unfailing love for us came to us in the form of a baby in a manger. His compassionate plan to be faithful to His covenant of peace was to provide redemption for us through Jesus Christ. God was going to buy us back from Satan’s clutches.
Reading 2:
As we light the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th candles, and reflect on the love of God, may the wonder and glory of this night that we are about to celebrate resonate deep within our souls and may the King of Love fill you with hope, peace and joy everlasting.
All of this is only possible, though, if you accept this gift of love. If you open your heart to the King of Love, ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and invite Him to be Lord of your life, He will enter into your heart and transform you so that you can not only love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, but that you will have the ability to love others as Christ has loved you.
Let’s watch this spoken word video on God’s love come down.
Today, being the 4th Sunday in Advent and focusing on love. We’re going to take to heart what John challenges us to do in I John 3.1
1 John 3:1 (NKJV)
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
Read I John 4:9-14
Love Came Down
Love Came Down
Apostello - Key word. Grammatical usage of apostello indicates John is thinking specifically of the Incarnation here.
Apostello means sent forth on a specific mission bearing the full authority of the one backing that mission.
The incarnation was pre-planned before time began. Jesus’ coming was not plan B.
knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you
The timing of the incarnation wasn’t happenstance or chance.
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
The fact that He sent His Very Son and not a representative shows the seriousness and importance of this mission.
He is the only one that can accomplish it.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
In sending His Son, it’s like Him saying, “His coming is just like as if I was coming.”
Treat Him as if it was me.
The sending had a royal announcement. The angelic proclamation carries all the weight of this mission.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Apostello is used 3x in this passage and is in the context of love and His Son’s mission of love.
Love Sent His Son so that we might live through Him - vs. 9
Love Sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins - vs 10
Love Sent His Son to be the Savior of the World - vs 14
Love Sent His Son So That We Might Live Through Him - vs. 9
Love Sent His Son So That We Might Live Through Him - vs. 9
By This:
The love of God was made manifest (visible) - vs. 9
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
His glory is manifested in love.
His love is glorious.
Love = grace and truth
Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love.
Only Begotten
John alone uses monogenes to describe the relationship of the Father to the Son
mono - only one
genes - genetics / kind
genos is different from gennao - to beget
the very unique kind. The essence of Himself.
Only one of a class or kind
Only kind in its “genetics”
Unique in its “line” or “lineage”
a unique Sonship as distinguished from all other “progeny”
Jesus was never called the teknon Theou - “child of God”
Genealogy in Luke: lineage traced back to God in Luke - deity - priestly - identify with the entire human race - Mary’s lineage - actual line of descent - luke also notes the age of Jesus - 30, the same age that priests began their service in the temple.
Genealogy in Matthew: lineage traced back to Abraham/David in Matthew - man - kingly - Jewish ancestry - Joseph’s lineage - legal line
Love = so that we might live
monogenes
stresses here the depth of God’s sacrificial love in sending his “only” heir into a hostile world.
Love brings life
that we might live through Him
stresses the salvific dimension of the incarnation
Life brings light
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Love = Life and light
God’s heart was to bring life from death and light into the darkness. Love brings life to death and light to the darkness.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
The incarnation was the visible act of God’s love.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God wanted to bring glory, grace, truth, life, and light.
Love = grace, truth, life, and light
So to deny the sent one, the Son, means to deny salvation, to deny light, to deny life.
Love Sent His Son To Be The Propitiation For Our Sins - vs 10
Love Sent His Son To Be The Propitiation For Our Sins - vs 10
In this:
Love = Action - He acts in our behalf because He knows we can’t
(sarcastic - ouk hoti) - Not That We Loved God.
prior to conversion, there is no way to argue that believers loved God at any point before.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
We owed God and are debtors to Him. We weren’t lovers of Him.
In fact prior to conversion, all we did was heap up our sins and incur wrath.
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds:
Sending Jesus was purely benevolent love, not motivated by anything believers had done.
He Loved Us
Sending Jesus was not God returning His love for a love already given to Him, either.
He just sent His love representative down without any prior action on our part.
Again, because He knew we couldn’t do anything, nor would we want to do anything about it.
The world did not know what love was until Jesus came.
The world did not know they were killing love.
Every time they “kill” Jesus, they are killing love.
But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
To be the propitiation (payment) for sins. vs. 10
The satisfaction of the payment for a debt owed.
The means of putting away sin and establishing righteousness.
The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to continue to cleanse you and keep on cleansing you more and more. vs. 13
It is more than a completed act.
The propitiation is the living, present energy residing within you.
Love = Sacrifice
Love Sent His Son To Be The Savior Of The World - vs 13-14
Love Sent His Son To Be The Savior Of The World - vs 13-14
By This:
It is through His sacrifice (vs. 10) that He can be the Savior. This salvation is:
Internal not external - vs. 13
We abide in Him and He in us
The Holy Spirit is evidence of that
truth of the spirit
fruit of the spirit
gifts of the spirit
unity of the spirit
Testimony - witness
John and the Apostles
Us
Love = Relationship
Universal, but not universalism.
The appeal is to anyone and everyone. He came to save all.
It only applies to those who accept by faith. But not all are saved.
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Love = Indiscriminate.
There are no conditions put on God’s love.
God’s love will always do what’s best.
Love = freely given.
Sufficient For All But Only Efficacious For Some.
and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Only goes into effect for those who put their faith in the Sent One.
Love = Must be freely returned.
The Implication Of The Incarnation - vs. 11-12
The Implication Of The Incarnation - vs. 11-12
If God so loved us (in this way)
We also ought to do the same
Love = imitation
We need to be incarnational love to others
to go into the world of others whether they deserve it or not
and show them love how?
“If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Love = Serving Sacrificially
“But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
However, We cannot love if we do not have the love of God in us.
We love, because He first loved us.
Review:
The incarnation was God’s specific, special mission for His love to be made visible.
Love Sent His Son so that we Might Live through Him - vs. 9
Love Sent His Son to be the Propitiation (Payment) for our Sins - vs 10
Love Sent His Son to be the Savior of the World - vs 14
What Is Love?
Love = grace, truth, life, and light
Love = action
Love = sacrifice
Love = Indiscriminate,
Love = freely given and freely returned.
Love = relationship
Love = imitation
Love = serving
Closing Songs: Reckless Love, God So Loved