March 13, 2017
John 3:16; 14:15
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
Here is our featured Scripture, John 3:16 and 14:15:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life….
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
How do I know my wife loves me? I know because she shows it in many everyday ways! We are more of an old-fashioned couple going on 49 years of marriage. Her domain is more the inside of the house, and mine is the outside. I help her with her tasks, and she with mine. But I know she loves me because she cooks me wonderful meals, keeps the house relatively clean (floors vacuumed and mopped), surfaces dusted, laundry done, grandchildren entertained, etc. I try to show my love to her by tending the yard, keeping the house in repair (including fixing what is broken inside, as my wife points things out to me), making sure our vehicles are in running order, etc. Also we try to be kind to each other and do special things for one another above and beyond the expected. We show each other love, not just by words, but by the everyday things we do!
Our featured Scripture is in two parts (both from the gospel of John):
• John 3:16 – This verse is called “The gospel in a nutshell! ” and it is perhaps the best known verse in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” You see, God could have stayed in heaven forever and left mankind to go on it’s sinful way – all the way to hell! – and He still would have been the holy God! But He loves us! And He showed us that love by giving His Son as a sacrifice on our behalf!
Even from the beginning we were special to Him! Man and woman are the only part of all creation which – before coming into existence by His command – God paused and called a Trinitarian conference (recorded in Genesis 1:26):
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our like-
ness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the
air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth.”
And when our first parents chose to disobey, God did not write them off! Just nine verses after the record of their deliberate sin (recorded in Genesis 3:1-6), the LORD told this to the serpent: “And there will be war between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed: by Him will your head be crushed and by you His foot will be wounded.” (Genesis 3:15 – Bible in Basic English). It’s called the Proto Evangelium, the first announcement of the gospel. And it refers to Jesus’ victory over Satan on the cross. The Lord crushed the power of the devil (his head) while the evil one bruised His heel! By the way, crucifixion is the only known form of capital punishment by which the victim’s heel is bruised – by the heel being bounced against the rough wood of the cross as the nail is driven through the foot!
So eons after that first act of sin (which caused the sin nature within, and was passed down to us all – see Romans 3:23; 5:12), “…God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We know God loves us because of what He did for us! He expressed His Love Language toward us by sending Jesus Christ to die in our place, paying the price for our sin and rebellion against Him!
Have you responded to His Love Language by accepting His Son Jesus into your heart and life to be your Savior?
• John 14:15 – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” This is our Love Language expressed to God! As said to another person, “I love you” is easy to say. But if it is to be genuine, these three words must be backed up by action! In this case, if we say we love the Lord Jesus Christ, we must show it by keeping His commandments! What are His commandments? They may be reduced to just one! It is found in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Paul expressed it this way in Romans 13:8 through 10:
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another
has fulfilled the law. For the commandment, “You shall not commit adul-
tery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear
false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other command-
ment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is
the fulfillment of the law. (See also Luke 10:27; I John 4:20, 21).
So, while all that Christ commands His followers to do can be summarized in loving one another, our love to Him is expressed by obedience to all He tells us to do! “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Another way to say this is to follow Him faithfully, obeying Him as your Lord! As He said at the close of the Sermon on the Mount in Luke 6:46: “…why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not the things that I say? ”
So, yes, speak the Love Language to God! For He has spoken it plainly to us! And what you express to Him with your lips, follow through with a life in obedience to Him!