What Is This Love Of God?

Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; 

and every one that loveth is born of God, 

and knoweth God. He that loveth not 

knoweth not God; for God is love. 

In this was manfested the love of God 

toward us, because that God went 

His only begotten Son into the world 

that we  might live through Him. 

1John 4:7-9

     How can an Authentic Christian show love? I imagine you can give several answers to that question and they would not necessarily be wrong. How can we love one another? First, it must be remembered that love, true Authentic Christian love is born of God and if then it is born of God and you are loving as He had outlined true Authentic love is then you know God. You who are loving authentically are born of God. What does this mean? How can a man be born again as Nicodemas asked Jesus. When you were born into this world you were and received the nature of humanity. When you are saved the Holy Spirit comes to reside in you giving to you a new nature, a nature that comes, not from human parents, but from God Himself. You are in the sight of God a new creature. Now that you know that you are a new creature in God and God is love it is your, and mine, responsibility to love as God loves. 

     A problem that is pervasive in Christianity today is a misunderstanding of God's love and our response to His love. It seems that Christians are speaking out of both sides of their mouths at the same time: i.e., the world needs salvation, but little if anything is done be far too many so-called Christians. I say so-called for if a person has come to know God then they would do all to show respect for Him, that is, come to Church looking respectful rather than looking as though you are going to the park, to the lake, to a party, even though you would not go before our President dressed in that manner. God is greater than our President. We go to Church and leave and say little or do little to promote and spread in our world the Gospel. And this is Love? This is the love of God? No! God sent Himself, His Only Begotten Son into this world to die for sin and to have that death be applied to you, that is, to make you favorable to God thereby the death that non-believers, that includes nominal Christians, no longer has hold on you. Yes, you will die, but not eternally, you will live eternally with God according to the expiation and propitiation of your sins and sinfulness before God. 

     Let us look at the words: "Only Begotten Son of God." When you have children you have begotten them and they are you albeit separate from you, and have the ancestry of others all humans. God begets, and there is no difference for from God His Son is begotten making Him to be of Him, to be the same, not another God, there is no ancestry to add to His nature. Jesus Christ is God and is God's only begotten. You were made, from the dust of the ground so you have a closer relationship to dirt than to God. God though puts into you His image so that you have this image of God to lead you and you have a choice, as did Adam and Eve, to be led by God. How can you choose? It is easy: Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the word of God. This faith is free (Ephesians 2:8-9), you cannot earn it for God gives this free although it costs Him His Begotten Son to die. You can choose to accept it, or you can choose not to accept it. Either way there is eternal consequences. 

     Love then, if it is of God, is different from the love that this world entertains as love. God died for you even though you did not deserve it. God came into this world to settle the debt owed to Him that man cannot pay, but God came for more, He came for you as well for He applies this propitiation and expiation founded in His death as the Son of God, the Only Begotten Son of God to you. God did not die, but the Man Jesus Christ in His humanity died. But God in love for His Only Begotten Son raised Him from this death for death cannot hold God, nor can death have hold on those adopted into the family of God. 

     God has done it all: therefore will you do your all for Him? Love is great and it even greater when it is the love of God.

Better it is that thou shouldest

    not vow, than that thou shouldest

vow and not pay. Suffer not they mouth

    to cause thy flesh to sin: neither say thou 

before the angel, that it was an error:

    wherefore should God be angry at thy

voice,and destroy the work of thine hands.

    For in the multitude of dreams and many

words there are also divers vanities: but 

   fear God.

                     Ecclesiastes 5:5-7