11-07-2021 Love Is The Gift Of Joy That Allows Us To Meet Again

Title : Love Is The Gift Of Joy That Allows Us To Meet Again

1. 4 types of love

There are 4 different words in Greek that can be translated as love :-

1. Eros

This represents the noble and beautiful love between man and woman that we all want to have. This is good and necessary in human life. However, it is self-centred, sensual and sexual. When the target of the eros love is your husband and wife, it creates a happy and blessed relationship. But, when it is not, it destroys the relationship.

• Philia

This represents the love between friends: Friendship. How important and blessed it is if we have a friend who can be always be on my side and back me up. This binds friends together and give them a sense of belonging. This is the main force that can be found in today’s fandom culture. However, we often see that this fandom group attacks other phantom group verbally, emotionally or physically.

• Storge

This represents the love between family: especially the love from parents to their children. What a great blessing if a child grows in the love his or her parents. However, a mother who loves her child so much often hides him even if he committed crime or so. Also we love our own children so much, we sometimes over use our power and treat other people’s children as a slave or a person who is unseemly. Human love is not perfect, it is good but when it is used wrongly, man’s love can creates hatred, war and discrimination.

• Agape

This represents God’s love. As God has no year or time to grow old, His love will always remain the same. Unlike man’s love, Agape is an unchanging love and an everlasting love (Jhn 3:16; 1 Jhn 4:7). God loves us with Agape love. Thus, God’s love is the History of Redemption.

• God’s love is the History of Redemption

1. God has called us with His love (Deut 4:37; Deut 10:15).

The Bible says that the reason why God called the people of Israel out from the slavery life in Egypt was because He loves His people. If it wasn’t God’s love, there will be no Exodus, no wilderness journey, and no entering to the land of Canaan (Luk 19:5-9).

Look at the story of Zaccheus. He is an usury man in today’s term. Yet, Jesus initiated to go into Zaccheus’ house and at the end, he became the descendant of Abraham, the covenantal descendant. This shows that salvation begins with God’s love. The reason why we are in God’s hands is because of His great love. Thus, let us remember His great love that was poured out upon us and let’s give thanks to God.

• God has trained us with His love

After they were taken out from Egypt, they were given the Law to be trained with. What is the essence of the Law?

In Mat 22:35-40, one of the Pharisees came and tested Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Greek word for ‘to depend’ is ‘Kremannuimi’ which means ‘ to hang, to suspend’. It means that the rest of the 10 commandments hang on these 2 commandments. Also, Rom 10:4 explains that Christ is the end of the Law.

It means that the reason why Jesus came and crucified on the cross was to fulfil and complete the Law. Thus, Rom 13:10 says that love is the fulfilment of the Law.

As the 10 commandments are the backbone of the entire Word of God, Jesus was saying that love is the greatest commandment and the essence of the entire Word of God. Through the Law, God wanted to train His people how to love people and maintain this love until Jesus comes. However, they lost the love of God.

Although the people failed God and crucified Jesus on the cross, Jesus offered up the prayer of forgiveness (Luk 23:34). After the ascension, the Bible describes that Jesus is standing next to the throne and interceding for us (Acts 7:55-56; Heb 7:25).

c) God will accomplish His redemption with His love (1 Cor 13:8-13)

Apostle Paul differentiated love from prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. Also, love is perfection, whereas others mentioned above are partiality. Love is maturity and others are childish. Love is to see face to face and know in full, whereas others are to see in the mirror and know in part.

More importantly, love is then, whereas others are now. Then is the time when God accomplishes His redemptive plan. The restoration of the Fall is about love and the consummation of the kingdom of God is about love (1 Jhn 4:7-8; Jhn 17:3). The founding pastor explained before, love is the tree of life. Love is the key to the blessing of transfiguration.

Conclusion: Let’s have God’s love in us

1. To have God’s love is to obey the Word of God (Jhn 12:50)
2. To have God’s love is to lay down our life for Jesus (1 Jhn 4:10; Jhn 15:12-14)

Remember that Jesus is still interceding for us to complete God’s love in our life. By our own power and might, we cannot fulfil God’s love. However, by God’s grace, we can.  Amen!