ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

I would like for us to read some verses having to do with Love…

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" Deut. 6:5

"And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Matt. 22:39

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" Rom. 13:10

"But You have, in love for my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind your back" Isaiah 38:17

"For God so loved the world (kosmos), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16




"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" John 13:34-35



"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" Gal. 2:20

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" Eph.2:4

"Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth to unfeigned brotherly love, love one another out of a pure heart fervently" 1 Peter 1:22

"He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me; but he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Jesus answered and said to him, If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him" John 14:21&23

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another" Rom. 12:9-10 (read through vs.21)
1 John chs. 2-5 …read when you can.

"And we have known and have believed the love which God has to us. God is love, and he that abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that even as He is, we also are in this world" 1 John 4:16-17

"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" Luke 6:27

"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies" 1 Cor. 8:1

1 Cor 13 (entire)  read when you can

"And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: because love shall cover the multitude of sins" 1 Peter 4:8

I love you.
What does that mean?
The dictionary defines love as …[a very strong affection: an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion”.] And then, after some romantic and sexual definitions, it defines it as, [“God’s love for humanity: the mercy, grace, and charity shown by God to humanity”] … and also… [“the worship and adoration of God”.]
I must admit, I was surprised to see the reference to God.

Well, I agree with (almost) all the definitions of love as found in the dictionary, but, in my opinion, they have the order wrong (when compared with my Bible) ...at least the dictionary I consulted does. I accept for my life that the Love of God in me is foundational to all other expression of “real” love in my life. To put it more simply…I do not really know how to love, or even what love is, without the Love of God and Christ in me. I am not saying I don't love my mother; I'm saying...compared to the Love of God, which He wants to perfect in me.

You might be a total stranger. Can you believe me when I say, “I love you”? Or my brother, mother, son or daughter. How do they know I love them? Is it taken for granted because we are family…earthly or spiritual? We do not have to actually do anything?… because we are a family, and families love each other? …right? I don’t think so.

As a brother or sister in the Lord, you would (or should) understand if I say I love you. But I must serve in that love. I am commanded, as I learn in the scriptures I just read. That may well be the easy part. How much more difficult is it for me (I confess) to love my enemies. I could say I have many enemies. All who wish to eliminate the knowledge or the notion of God is, I feel, an enemy. Anyone who wants to eradicate the work of Jesus is certainly an enemy…at least to the cross of Christ. And I despise those actions, and behavior and thoughts. But I am to love the enemy. I can hate the behavior, (which is sin and a consequence of not knowing the truth), but I am to love the enemy (person). The Bible speaks of more than one "kind" of love (another post, maybe). It is way easier for me to love a brother or sister, or family. And I suspect I am not alone in this weakness. Loving my enemy has to be motivated by the Love of God…of course. May we always remember that  “there, but for the Grace of God, go I.” *see reference 1

There are no phrases that truly declare our love for one another… not even “I love you”. No one word can ever incorporate an act of love, a commitment of love. Our declaration should be in our service to one another. Preferring others over ourselves is a manifestation of God’s Love in us…
Rom. 12:10 "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;" …with devotion, in self-sacrifice. Rare in today's world.





I believe love to be something none of us fully understand. That may be an obvious understatement… or, it might be offensive. I do not mean to be offensive. But I am talking about a force… a spiritual energy, a bond in creation, a healing power, a life-giving dynamic that we, I believe, do not fully understand. The key word there is "fully". GOD IS LOVE... do we understand that declaration? Too many of us are NOT honest with ourselves, let alone others. EXAMINE YOURSELVES! Too many go to church, "pray," have gotten baptized (wet), sing hymns, teach Sunday school, who might even be priests and "reverends" are NOT truly born again into the new creation, into the adoption as children of God.... and they are stealing your sanctification. They are to be pitied if no one helps them.

And then, the question that begs to be asked is…“how close do I come to fully understanding love” It must be discerned and understood, because I am to live in it and by it. A very relevant passage:
Col. 3:12-17 "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Here we have the character of Christ revealed to us. Colossians is a wonderful book. In the verses preceding Col. 3:12, I am reminded (vs. 1) that… “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,”  etc  …because I (the old man) am dead (vs. 3) and my life is hid with Christ in God! Verse 5 says… “mortify your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Why? Because the old man is put off and I am a new creation. Did God do a lesser work in this "new man" than He did in Adam? I think not...but rather, a greater work. We had better bring to bear all that we know and believe about the creation of Adam and then consider who we are in this new creation.

Verse 6 continues… “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.” Notice… the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience because of those evils mentioned above (lawyers would say..."including but not limited to"). For them there is wrath who commit those things. I am commanded to mortify them (put them to death, leave them in death). Do you see the difference love makes? For them there is wrath... for me there is Christ! And so I am beseeched in verse 12-17... (read it again) …put on love, the bond of perfection, vs. 14.

What is the bond of perfection? It is communion with God…on a daily basis.
1 John 4:16-17 "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected with us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."
Fellowship in the Divine. Love = "that which gives a divine character to all the qualities that have been enumerated in Col. 3:12 and 13, and that were manifested in Christ." *see reference 2. All for us! ...who are partakers of the Divine nature, because God is Love.

The raising of Lazarus is a beautiful account of, not only a resurrection but of God’s love in Christ. In John 11:3 it says that Lazarus’s sisters sent someone to Jesus to tell Him... “Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.” Would you think that specifically identifies who that sick person was? God loved the entire world… and yet, all that was said was, “he whom thou lovest is sick“. There is here either a very special relationship with Lazarus, or there is a parallel for all. God knows you and loves you!

In verse 33-36 we read, "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!"
Jesus was so moved to sorrow and grief that He wept. What an open display of compassion and love. So much so that the people said, “Behold, how he loved him!” Oh, He loves us just as much. I was sick. I was dead in sin. He has called every one of us (believers) out of that body of death where in we were bound hand and foot by sin, our face also bound and blind to the Truth. And He said “Loose him” and we were freed, hallelujah, into newness of life, praise God. This is the kind of love and compassion we should express every day, at least to each other. But God commands us to express it also to the world. That can only be done by a maturity into this bountiful Grace.

2 Pet. 1:2-8 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through  the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the  corruption in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self- control, perseverance,; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I believe the sequence here is important. Having “escaped the corruption in the world through the knowledge of Him who called us by (His own) glory and virtue, to be partakers of the divine nature”, in which faith we stand…we should in this faith, grow to be virtuous *2(moral excellence, an essential quality in the exercise of faith); and in this virtue we should grow in knowledge *2(especially of spiritual truth); and in knowledge, we should grow to be and act temperate *2(self-control, being man's response to God’s claims to righteousness, suggesting that what is learned is required to be put into practice); to temperance, add patience, *2(steadfast endurance, patience perfects Christian character) which, in essence, is Christ in us; to patience, we should add godliness *2(denotes that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him); to godliness, we must add brotherly kindness *2(brotherly love, love of the brethren); and to brotherly kindness, we must have love *2(to express the essential nature of God to all men).

And there we have it… an illustration of spiritual growth into the maturation which is perfection…to be conformed into the image of His dear Son, Rom. 8:29. This is love, which is shed abroad in our hearts…
*3[the love of God Himself, has been fully made good and revealed: peace, grace possessed, and glory in hope; and that by the pure love of God Himself known in Christ's dying for sinners… Faith believes in the God who has done this, and who, exercising His power in love and in righteousness, has raised from the dead the One who bore my sins, having entirely abolished them, and having perfectly glorified God in so doing].

This love in the brethren will not go unnoticed in the world. I will end with this verse… 2 Thess. 3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. Amen.

*References: 
   1 -- John Bradford
2 -- Vine’s Dictionary
3 -- J. N. Darby