Growing in Love: Embracing God's Transformative Love
Summary
In our journey through the series "Growing in Love," we have explored the profound truth that love is our distinct calling and greatest need. Today, we delve into the practical question of how we can grow in love, drawing wisdom from 1 John 4. The Apostle John provides a clear answer: "We love because he first loved us." This foundational truth reveals that love is not something we muster from within but something that flows from God to us and through us. God's love is demonstrated in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, and is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This divine love empowers us to love others, regardless of our past experiences or wounds.
John emphasizes that God's love is not contingent on our actions; He loved us first, even when we were indifferent or hostile towards Him. This love is manifested in the sacrificial act of sending Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins, offering us life and hope. Furthermore, God's Spirit abides in us, bringing His presence and love into our lives. This indwelling Spirit transforms us, enabling us to love in ways that reflect God's own love.
Our response to God's love involves three key actions: loving others, believing in the truth of the Gospel, and abiding in God. Loving others is a natural outflow of receiving God's love, and it fulfills His purpose as His love is perfected in us. Believing in the Gospel truths deepens our capacity to love, as we are persuaded of God's love for us. Abiding in God means living in a relationship with Him, finding rest, joy, and nourishment in His presence.
To grow in love, we must reflect on God's love for us, remember that love is His command, and ask Him to help us grow in love. We should be intentional in our pursuit of love, aligning our actions with our deepest desire to live for God. Finally, we find joy in the privilege of our calling, knowing that God's love reaches others through us.
Key Takeaways:
- God's Love as the Love is not something we generate on our own; it flows from God to us and through us. Understanding that "we love because he first loved us" shifts our perspective from striving to receive love to being conduits of God's love. This truth offers hope and healing, as God's love is not dependent on our past experiences or wounds. [03:46]
- The Transformative Power of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit abides in us, bringing God's presence and love into our lives. This indwelling Spirit transforms us, enabling us to love in ways that reflect God's own love. As we believe in the Gospel, the Spirit's work deepens, changing how we speak, think, act, and love. [16:57]
- Our Response to God's Love: Our response involves loving others, believing in the Gospel truths, and abiding in God. Loving others fulfills God's purpose as His love is perfected in us. Believing in the Gospel deepens our capacity to love, and abiding in God means living in a relationship with Him, finding rest, joy, and nourishment in His presence. [18:41]
- Practical Strategies for Growing in Love: Reflecting on God's love, remembering love as a command, asking God for help, being intentional in our pursuit of love, and aligning our actions with our deepest desire to live for God are practical strategies for growing in love. These actions align us with God's purpose and enable us to love as He loves. [29:06]
- The Privilege of Our Calling: God's love reaches others through us, fulfilling its intended purpose. This privilege calls us to find joy in being channels of God's love, as His presence and love are made known through our actions. Embracing this calling allows us to experience the fullness of God's love in our lives. [40:33]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:16] - Love as Our Distinct Calling
- [00:36] - Love as Our Greatest Need
- [02:34] - The Question of How to Grow in Love
- [03:34] - The Source of Love
- [04:55] - God is Love
- [06:29] - The Power of God's Love
- [08:22] - The Manifestation of God's Love
- [10:49] - The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
- [13:33] - The Transformative Work of the Spirit
- [18:27] - Our Response: Love, Believe, Abide
- [24:09] - The Interwoven Themes of Love
- [28:49] - Practical Strategies for Growing in Love
- [36:59] - Aligning with Our Deepest Desires
- [40:33] - The Privilege of Our Calling
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
- 1 John 4:7-21
- John 13:34-35
- Romans 5:5
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#### Observation Questions
1. According to 1 John 4:19, why are we able to love others? How does this verse summarize the message of the entire passage? [03:46]
2. What does the sermon say about the role of the Holy Spirit in our ability to love? How does the Spirit transform us according to the pastor? [16:57]
3. How does the sermon describe the relationship between God's love for us and our ability to love others? [19:42]
4. What are the three key actions mentioned in the sermon that are part of our response to God's love? [18:27]
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#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does understanding that "we love because he first loved us" change the way one might approach relationships with others? [03:46]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence changes a believer's life, particularly in how they love others? [16:57]
3. How might the concept of abiding in God, as discussed in the sermon, influence a believer's daily life and decisions? [22:29]
4. What does the sermon imply about the connection between believing in the Gospel and one's capacity to love? [21:10]
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#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt God's love in a profound way. How did that experience influence your ability to love others? [05:33]
2. The sermon mentions that God's love is not dependent on our past experiences or wounds. How can this truth bring healing to areas of your life where you have felt unloved or hurt? [06:29]
3. Consider the people in your life who are difficult to love. How can you intentionally show them love this week, knowing that God's love flows through you? [19:42]
4. The sermon encourages believers to ask God for help in growing in love. What specific prayer can you commit to this week to seek God's assistance in loving others more deeply? [33:25]
5. How can you be more intentional in your pursuit of love in your daily interactions? Identify one specific action you can take this week to align your actions with your desire to live for God. [34:31]
6. The sermon speaks about the privilege of being a channel of God's love. How can you find joy in this calling, and what steps can you take to embrace it more fully in your life? [40:33]
7. Reflect on the idea of abiding in God. What practical steps can you take to deepen your relationship with Him and find rest, joy, and nourishment in His presence? [22:29]
Devotional
Day 1: Love Flows from God to Us
Love is not something we generate on our own; it flows from God to us and through us. Understanding that "we love because he first loved us" shifts our perspective from striving to receive love to being conduits of God's love. This truth offers hope and healing, as God's love is not dependent on our past experiences or wounds. God's love is demonstrated in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, and is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This divine love empowers us to love others, regardless of our past experiences or wounds. [03:46]
1 John 4:19-21 (ESV): "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother."
Reflection: Think of a person in your life who is difficult to love. How can you allow God's love to flow through you to them today?
Day 2: The Holy Spirit Transforms Our Capacity to Love
The Holy Spirit abides in us, bringing God's presence and love into our lives. This indwelling Spirit transforms us, enabling us to love in ways that reflect God's own love. As we believe in the Gospel, the Spirit's work deepens, changing how we speak, think, act, and love. The transformative power of the Holy Spirit is essential for us to love others genuinely and selflessly, as it aligns our hearts with God's heart. [16:57]
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."
Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you struggle to love others. How can you invite the Holy Spirit to transform your heart in this area today?
Day 3: Our Response to God's Love
Our response involves loving others, believing in the Gospel truths, and abiding in God. Loving others fulfills God's purpose as His love is perfected in us. Believing in the Gospel deepens our capacity to love, and abiding in God means living in a relationship with Him, finding rest, joy, and nourishment in His presence. This response is not just a duty but a natural outflow of experiencing God's love in our lives. [18:41]
Colossians 3:12-14 (ESV): "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."
Reflection: Reflect on your daily routine. How can you intentionally incorporate acts of love towards others as a response to God's love for you?
Day 4: Intentional Pursuit of Love
Reflecting on God's love, remembering love as a command, asking God for help, being intentional in our pursuit of love, and aligning our actions with our deepest desire to live for God are practical strategies for growing in love. These actions align us with God's purpose and enable us to love as He loves. By being intentional, we actively participate in God's work in our lives and the lives of others. [29:06]
1 Peter 4:8-10 (ESV): "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."
Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to intentionally pursue love in your interactions with others?
Day 5: The Privilege of Being Channels of God's Love
God's love reaches others through us, fulfilling its intended purpose. This privilege calls us to find joy in being channels of God's love, as His presence and love are made known through our actions. Embracing this calling allows us to experience the fullness of God's love in our lives. We are invited to participate in God's mission by being vessels of His love to the world. [40:33]
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (ESV): "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us."
Reflection: How can you embrace the privilege of being a channel of God's love today? Consider one specific action you can take to demonstrate His love to someone in your community.
Quotes
Love is not something that we somehow have to work up from within ourselves. It's not something that we have to try and produce or find what it is not. No, love is something that comes down. That is what he's telling us here. Verse 7: love comes from God. [00:04:29]
God loved you before you ever loved him. He loved you when you had no interest in him at all. He loved you when you ignored him. He loved you when you rejected him. You did not win the heart of God by loving him. No, God has won your heart by loving you. [00:07:19]
God sent his son so that we might live through him. This is why Jesus suffered. This is why he died on the cross. He died as the propitiation for our sins, that is, the sacrifice that would remove the judgment and the condemnation that sin brings. [00:10:09]
The Holy Spirit brings the presence of God and therefore the love of God into the life of every Christian believer. And John says in verse 7 that love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God. What a remarkable statement that is. [00:11:53]
The more deeply you believe these life-changing truths, the more deeply you are going to be able to love. Think of it like this: the love of God is like the waves of the sea eroding away even hard rock on a coastline. It just keeps washing up, washing up, washing up. [00:21:15]
To abide simply means to dwell or to live. Abide is what you do in your home; you live there. What that means is you rest there, you eat there, you find joy there. Now John says that we abide in God. That means we find rest in God, we find joy in God. [00:22:31]
God loves us, God sent his son for us, and God abides in Us by his Holy Spirit. Because God has done these wonderful things, we therefore love, we therefore believe, and we therefore abide. Now these are the six major themes of these marvelous verses. [00:23:42]
Reflect often on how God has loved you. We've seen that everything flows from God's love for us. We love because he first loved us. God loved us first, and Jesus says, love one another as I have loved you. [00:28:58]
Ask God that you may grow in love. I take this from the very obvious fact that the Apostle Paul expresses prayers that God's people may grow in love time and time and time again in the New Testament, more than we could ever list here. [00:32:43]
Be intentional in your pursuit of love. I draw this one very simply from the language of the New Testament. You see, the New Testament speaks to Christian believers in a way that you could not speak to anyone else because Christian believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. [00:34:31]
Find joy in the privilege of your calling. Verse 12 of 1 John 4: no one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. No one has ever seen God. Take that in. [00:39:29]
God loves others through us. God's love will reach into the life of another person this week through you. Find joy in the privilege of that calling. That's what he means, you see, when he says that God's love is perfected in us. [00:40:27]
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