The Love of the Father
Study Text: John 15: 9 - 12
Introduction:
- God is the source of love. Because God loves us He gave us His only begotten Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
- If God so loved us, then, we should be willing to love Him with the whole of our hearts and lives, and to love one another.
- When we love God, we keep His commandments. The victory that overcomes the world is our faith because it is of God not of ourselves.
- We shall be discussing the topic under three subheadings:
1. The Manner of the Father's Love
2. The Motivation of the Father's Love
3. The Message from the Father's Love
1. The Manner of the Father's Love:
- The love of the Father for the Son is the ultimate of loves. The Lord Jesus speaks of the Father's love for Him being before the foundation of the world, showing that it preceded all creation, originating singularly in the Godhead, and being from eternity past. John 17:24
- No other love is like this love between the persons of the Godhead in eternity past. The Father opened heaven twice to tell of this love that He has had for His Son: (Matthew 3:17, 17:5).
- The same love He has had for His Beloved Son, such He has had for us, those He has chosen out of the world and given to His Son. In this love we have seen His act, for "He has not spared His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32).
- Again, in emphasizing the greatness of His love for His own, the Lord Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, I also have loved you: abide in my love" (John 15:9).
- The love of the Father for His Son has been extended towards us in every way and to its fullest extent. The Father has loved us just as He has loved His Son, and the Son has loved us just as the Father has loved Him.
- What a glorious fellowship of mutual love for the Lovely Son! "God is faithful, by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (I Corinthians 1:9).
- He has given us the same Love for the Son, so that we might love Him as well, and thus be full partakers in this glorious fellowship of love.
- The Father has loved the Son. The Father has loved us as He has loved His Son. The Son has loved us as the Father has loved Him. And the love with which the Father has loved His Son is given to be in us.
- This is a glorious thing done to us, and it demonstrates to us the marvelous ways God has.
2. The Motivation of the Father's Love:
- God will do anything to communicate that love, even suffering, the loss of God’s own Son as a consequence of the world’s sin, our sin.
- This is the gospel. This is the good news. This is the truth shown in God’s light.
- Love is God’s motivation. Love is what motivates Jesus to eat with sinners, the prostitutes and the tax collectors. Love is what led Jesus to despise the shame and endure the suffering on the Cross, and even to pray for His enemies and persecutors.
- God’s love is what has inspired the Church for 2,000 years to reach out to people on the outside all around the world as instructed by Jesus. Acts 1:8
- As a result of our full understanding of the story of God’s love, and God’s motivation, we are expected to reflect God’s love by walking in obedience to His commands and by expressing love to other people.
- Because we have received the free gift of grace, on the platform of love, we are expected to share His love with our friends, with our neighbours, and with our world, this world God so loves.
3. The Message from the Father's Love:
- The message to us from the Father's Love was simply communicated and illustrated to us in the Parable of the Lost Son, where a father has two sons, one a prodigal and the other in self-pity.
- He is a model father from whom we can learn so much on the Father's Love. As we look at him and learn from him, we see him demonstrating love with an open hand, with an open arms, and with an open heart.
I. His Love with an Open Hand: (Luke 15:11-13)
- An open hand signify allowing for freedom to choose after the right information has been given. Not taken by compulsion, but allowing a free will.
- This father was wise enough to open his hand to his sons and let them go.
- Many fathers have lost their children because they gripped them so tight they never let them go on their own.
- He could have refused his son's request. He could have held back the inheritance. He could have played the comparison game with the older brother.
- But here was a father who was prepared to stand by what he had put in that boy from childhood (Proverbs 22:6).
- Some parents hold so tight that they lose their children. This father was wise enough to open his hand and let him go. There are some prodigals who choose to learn the hard way.
II. His Love with an Open Arms: (Luke 15:20-24)
- Open Arms signify readiness to forgive at all times. When the boy came home, the father saw him when he was "a great way oft" and he ran to meet him with open arms.
- The boy came walking but the father came running. His love had been big enough to release him with open hands, and now it was big enough to receive him with open arms.
- We are not talking here about a boy who came home with the same rebellious and arrogant spirit, but here was a boy truly repentant. Here was a father with open arms.
III. His Love with an Open Heart: (Luke 15:25-32)
- An open heart signifies true love and being there in sincerity at all times.
- The most notable characteristic of this model father was his presence and transparency. He was there for his sons no matter what their problems.
- The most valuable gift he gave them was his presence. When the celebration was on, where was the father? We find him outside with an open heart assuring the wounded older brother of his love and support.
- The real message here is that our Heavenly Father deals with us in the same way. He has open hands toward us. We can choose freely the way we want to go, after revealing to us His perfect counsel.
- He loves us with an open arm and we can voluntarily return to Him when we sincerely turned away from our wrongs and wickedness. He meets us with open arms, just as He opened them wide on the cross. Isaiah 55: 6-8
- He shows us His open heart. He opened his heart at Calvary for the whole world to see and He invites us into His arms today.
Conclusion:
- Generally, from the discussion so far, we can establish the following points:
1. Love is a Person: And that Person is God. (1 John 4:8)
2. Love is attention:
Love makes us to pay attention to whoever or whatever is the object of our love
3. Love is consideration:
Many people don’t put others into consideration in the actions they take.
4. Love is action:
Love is not just what a person feels, love is what a person does
You do things to confirm love; love is not just an emotion, love is a demonstration.
5. Love is donation:
In the journey of love there is always something to give: you give of your time, energy, resources, wisdom, and forgiveness.
Anyone who claims to love you but is only seeking what to get from you and is not looking for what they can give to you, then that love is fake.
6. Love is protection:
You want to protect the principles, character and integrity of the one you love.
7. Love is affection:
Affection should not stand alone; affection without action is infatuation.
