God Provides Love
1. Human Love
1.1. Physical – eros
1.2. Family – storge
1.3. Affectionate – philia
1.4. Love of choice - agape
2. The scriptures speak regarding God’s Love
2.1. Rom. 5:5 - And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
2.1.1. A blessing, which Paul enumerates, is the assurance that the Christian's hope will not meet with disappointment. The confidence that our hope will be fulfilled rests in God's great love for us.
2.2. 2 Cor. 13:11-14 - Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
2.2.1. These four verses serve to conclude not only this chapter, but Paul's epistle as well. All that remained was for Paul to bid a fond farewell. He wanted the saints at Corinth to be comforted, and to live in peace. That would be accomplished when they had "the same mind." The phrase "be perfected" may also likewise be translated "be restored.” In other words, through your repentance and reformation, "be restored."
2.3. Eph. 2:4-6 - But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus
2.3.1. Verses 1-3 increasingly described man's risk because of his "trespasses and sins." Man, according to those verses, was headed toward the ultimate wrath of God. The certain doom of man in the preceding verses is forcefully reversed by the words, "But God," in this verse. God intervenes to rescue man from his inevitable state of being lost. God intervenes because of His mercy and love. The very character of God, His mercy and love, made it essential for Him to provide for the salvation of man.
2.4. Eph. 5:1-2 - Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
2.4.1. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us and cares for us (Matt. 7:7-11; Eph. 2:4).
2.5. Titus 3:4-7 - But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
2.6. 1 John 3:1 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2.6.1. John seeks to impress his readers with the dignified nature, the glorious quality, and the enormity of Jehovah's lavish, generous love that He has beautifully given to His precious people. It is a love we do not deserve and yet one in which we can experience deep delight. It has not been a hidden or concealed love. It is a bestowed, a revealed, and a giving love. We, as God's children, are its rich recipients.
2.7. 1 John 4:8-11 - He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
2.7.1. Loving God consists of our sincere desire to please God by doing His will, not our own. When we place our wills, our wants, our "think-so's" ahead of God's will we can in no way be said to love God.
2.7.2. Love that is not demonstrated is not love. John exhorted us to do more than just say we love one another. Unless we love in deed we do not in truth love. God did not simply declare His love for us; He showed it by what He did.
2.7.3. We have learned through God's love what it is to love. We have been moved by God's love to actually love. To see pure love we must look at His love for us, not our love for Him.
2.7.4. God first loved us with no conditions, in spite of the fact that we were unlovable. He loved because His very nature is love. If God so loved us, who are we to deny love to one another?
2.8. 1 John 4:16 - 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.
2.8.1. A blessing which comes with loving God is that knowledge and assurance are ours. Brother Guy N. Woods has pointed out that the force in the original language actually means that "we have arrived at this knowledge and continue to possess it, and have believed and continue to do so, the love which God has in us."
3. How did God show his love?
3.1. 1 John 3:16 - Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
3.2. John 3:16 - 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. Rom. 5:8 - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
4. Jesus Christ
4.1. Matthew 26:2-4
4.2. John 12:3-6
4.3. Mark 14:10-11
4.4. Preparation for Passover
4.5. Washes feet of disciples
4.6. Judas announced as betrayer
4.6.1. Matt. 26:20-25
4.6.2. John 13:27 – What you do, do quickly
4.7. Lord’s Supper – Matt. 26:26-29
4.8. Peter, prediction of denial – Matt. 26:30-35
4.9. Last words for disciples – John 14-17
4.10.Christ in the Garden
4.10.1. Luke 22:39-46
4.10.2. John 17 – Christ prays for himself, his disciples and all believers
4.11.Christ betrayed
4.11.1. John 18:3-12; 15-18; 25-27
4.11.2. End of verse 27 – Luke 22:61 tells us the Lord turned and Peter remembered the words of Christ. He went out and wept.
4.12.Trial and the Cross
4.12.1. Matt. 27:1-50
4.12.2. Verse 26 – scourging; a short whip with small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bones designed to tear muscles, shred skin and turn the body into a bleeding mass of bruised tissues
4.12.2.1. Christ received repeated blows to his chest, back and legs
4.12.3. Verse 29 – a crown of thorns shoved down on his head; thorns which would have been at least an inch long digging into his scalp
4.12.4. Verse 30 – when struck on head, they would have dug deeper into scalp
4.12.5. end of verse 48 - Luke 23:34 tells us at this point Christ says “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do