Welcome back to part two of “We love Him
because He first loved Us.”
Let’s continue our study
with the second lesson: THE
PRIORITY OF GOD’S ELECTING CHOICE…
We love
Him because He first loved Us (Part 2 of 5)
It was really surprising to me that after I
became a Christian and started reading the Bible, I found that these words are
taken directly from Scripture: “We love Him,
because He first loved us.”
What I didn’t understand then – but I
understand now! – is that this verse isn’t speaking merely about the motive for our love. It is
a profound statement about the grace of God that sovereignly secures our love
and transforms us from God-hating enemies into adopted sons and daughters whose
hearts naturally overflow with the purest kind of love. Not only love for God,
but also love for one another.
“He
loved us first”. That is exactly what our verse says. It is also
the whole gist of what the doctrine of election teaches. God’s love for us
precedes any movement toward God on our part – God loved us first. The apostle John is actually
echoing something Jesus once said to him. That last night prior to the
crucifixion, when the disciples were alone together with Jesus, after they ate
the Passover meal together in the Upper Room, Jesus said to them:
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you – John 15:16
Now, John and the other apostles might have
protested, “But that’s not
true, Lord; we did choose You.” After all, they had left all to
follow Him. Peter also said so explicitly:
Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You – Mark 10:28
They had made a conscious, deliberate
choice to abandon their former lives, their loved ones, their livelihoods, and
all they had – in order to follow Jesus Christ. They had indeed chosen to devote their
lives to following Him. And in the case of John and his brother James, giving
up their livelihood meant giving up the family fishing business, which by all
appearances was a lucrative business for them.
John himself had met Jesus while John was
under the discipleship of John the Baptist. As soon as he and Andrew understood
that John the Baptist was pointing to Jesus as the promised Messiah, they left
John the Baptist in order to follow Jesus. In a very real sense, they did choose Jesus. So what
did Jesus mean when He said “You did not
choose Me, but I chose you”?
He meant simply that whether they realized
it or not, He had chosen them first.
His choice was the decisive one. They would never have chosen Him at all had He
not first chosen them. They
loved Him because He first loved them.
Even if you are not completely convinced of God’s
electing choice, you implicitly affirm this truth. You acknowledge it every
time you thank Him for saving you. You know in your heart that you cannot take
personal credit for your love toward God. You did not love Him first – “We love him, because He first loved us.” You and I are no better than the
unbelieving people who still hate and reject Him. The only reason we love Him
while they remain at enmity with God is that God’s loving grace has worked a
miracle in our hearts to enable us to return His love.
The Apostle Paul asks:
For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? – 1 Corinthians 4:7
Do not think for a moment that you can take
credit for your love toward Christ. If you love Him at all, it is only because He first loved you. That is the very
essence of the doctrine of election.
“We love Him, because He first loved us.” In other words, God took the initiative in salvation. God is both the Author and
the Finisher of our faith. He started the process and He finished the process.
His love for us not only came before any love we have for Him; but His love is what secured
our love for Him. That’s exactly what this text says – “We love Him, because He first loved us.”…
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s edition as we investigate lesson #3…
May the
Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect love, mercy and grace!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
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