Hello Friends!
Welcome back to part four of “We love Him
because He first loved Us.”
Let’s continue our study with the fourth lesson: THE POWER OF HIS LOVING DELIVERANCE…
We love Him because He first loved Us (Part 4 of 5)
Look at our verse again: “We love
Him, because He first loved us.” John
is saying that God’s love for us is the cause – the effectual cause – of our
love for Him. Once again, he is not saying merely that God’s love is a motive
or an incentive for our love. Rather, John’s point is that God’s love is the
actual productive cause of our love.
Remember that it is impossible for an unregenerate person to
love God. The heart of fallen flesh is by definition an enemy of God. It has no
power to change itself any more than a leopard can change its spots. It is the
nature of a sinner to love sin and nothing is more contrary to a sinful heart
than love for God. So it is morally impossible for the sinner to love God.
“Who then can be saved?” Do you remember Jesus’ answer to that question?
With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible – Matthew
19:26
He does the impossible. His own love for us is such that He
purchases us and pursues us and persuades us lovingly to love Him. And in order
to make that love possible, He even graciously gives us new hearts that are capable
of loving. That’s the promise He makes to His people in the book of Ezekiel:
Then I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you
from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause
you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them – Ezekiel
36:25-27
That speaks of God’s regenerating work, whereby He resurrects us
to a state of vibrant spiritual life, enlightens our minds to understand His
truth and makes the glories of His love so attractive to us that we find them
absolutely irresistible. In fact, that is exactly the expression we sometimes
use to speak of this truth – irresistible grace.
Some people misunderstand that term and imagine that there is
some type of violent force or coercion involved in God’s drawing us to Jesus
Christ. But irresistible grace isn’t something that pushes us against our wills
toward Christ – it draws us willingly to Him!
It is similar to my love for my wife Ann. I find her
irresistible. But she doesn’t force my love for her. It is her sheer
attractiveness and charm that draws me to her... But she is irresistible to me!
God’s saving grace is irresistible to the elect in the very same
sense. We speak of it as “effectual grace” because it always secures its
object. God always procures a reciprocal love from those upon whom He has set
His redemptive love. As the Apostle Paul wrote:
For the
love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all,
then all died – 2
Corinthians 5:14
He died for us – so we cannot live unto ourselves. Think about
what this means: We cannot take personal credit for loving God. Our love for
God is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is the work of God in us. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” – our love for Him is the natural fruit of His great love
for us. This is the power of His loving deliverance!
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate lesson #5…
May the
Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while
there is still time… Hallelujah and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings!
Shane <><