I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      When we consider the love of God, we may think of it from two standpoints: His love for us and our love for Him.

B.      Presently, let us consider the love that God has shown for us.

II.      WE KNOW GOD’S LOVE THROUGH CHRIST

A.      Consider these two passages of Scripture that declare the greatest expression of God’s love for us.

                                                             1.      “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

                                                             2.      “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so 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.” (1John 4:9-10)

B.      To understand the depth of God’s love for us, we must understand the sacrifice that He made for us.

                                                             1.      Consider the meaning of the phrase “His only begotten Son.”

a.       The phrase “only begotten” is accurately translated from the Greek word monogenes.  This word is used in the New Testament in reference to only two relationships – Isaac's relationship to Abraham (Heb. 11:17) and Jesus Christ’s relationship to God the Father (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1John 4:9).

b.       In Jesus’ relationship to the Father, God’s “only begotten” indicates the unique position of Jesus as the Son of God.

i.         He is the sole embodiment of the person and character of the One who sent Him.  The Scriptures speak to this fact, saying that Jesus is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb. 1:3) and “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15).  Jesus said of Himself that “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

ii.        There is no being that could hold this position other than the only begotten Son of God.  The Father loves the Son deeply, and their relationship is intimate such that the Scriptures say, “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18).

c.        The phrase “only begotten Son” does not indicate that Christ became the Son of God by incarnation.

i.         In John 1:1, the Scripture says in reference to Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Thus, we see the eternal relationship of the Son and the Father.

ii.        Other verses indicate that Christ was already the Son of God when God sent Him into the world (John 3:16; 1John 4:9 – see above).  Christ did not become the Son of God when He was born, but He has always been the Son of God.

iii.      The relationship of the Son of God and God the Father is not generational as it is with sons and fathers among mankind.  We misunderstand their relationship if we perceive it in that way.  The Sonship of Christ does not depend upon birth.

                                                             2.      The fact that God exchanged His most precious treasure for us shows us how much He loves us.

a.       God did not send an angel to die for us, but He sent the best of heaven, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1).

b.       God loved us such that He gave up His Son, and the value of that great gift is in the Sonship of Christ.  To give His only begotten was the most that the Father could give.

C.      By sacrificing His own Son for us, God removed all doubt regarding His love for us.

                                                             1.      We may not always understand everything that happens to us, but we can never honestly doubt God’s love for us.

                                                             2.      God’s sacrifice gives us supreme confidence, for “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

III.   GOD LOVED US WHEN WE WERE UNLOVABLE

A.      God’s great love for us is even more amazing when we consider that He loved us when we were unlovable.

                                                             1.      Notice Romans 5:6-8 – “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

                                                             2.      It would have been remarkable for God to give His only begotten Son for people who were righteous and good, but it is beyond wonderful that He gave Christ for unworthy sinners, which we were.

                                                             3.      God did not wait for us to initiate a reconciliation, but instead His great love for us motivated Him to give His Son “while we were yet sinners.”

B.      Let us understand just how unlovable we were.

                                                             1.      It has often been said that God hates sin but loves the sinner.  However, consider these passages:

a.       “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.” (Ps. 5:5; see vv. 4-7 for context)

b.       “The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” (Ps. 11:5; see vv. 4-7 for context)

                                                             2.      The truth is that God has no affection for sinners, for sinners are marred in sin, which He hates (Prov. 6:16-19).  Yet at the same time, God loves sinners through His mercy, grace, and compassion extended to them through Christ.  God’s hatred is in His holy nature, but His love is in His merciful actions.

                                                             3.      While we were sinners, we only provoked the wrath and hatred of God, but God’s character of compassion and love overcame our vile state.

a.       By sinning, we earned the wages of death, but God instead freely gave us the gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23).  God’s holy justice would have put us to death, but His compassionate love let us live.

b.       Even now, God’s love brings about His patience as He provides opportunities for sinners to come to repentance (2Pet. 3:8-15).

IV.    NO FORCE CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE

A.      Consider Romans 8:35-39 – “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

                                                             1.      If God loved us when we were yet sinners, then no force on earth can prevent Him from loving us now.

                                                             2.      This message is especially true for Christians when it seems that the whole world is turning against them.  It tells them that when everyone else hates them, the God of heaven still loves them.

B.      Even though no outside force can separate us from God’s love, we can choose to separate ourselves from His love.

                                                             1.      Notice Romans 2:4-5 – “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

                                                             2.      God does not force us to accept His love through Jesus Christ, but He allows us to resist and rebel against Him if we so choose.  If we do so, then we will receive the full brunt of His wrath without the intercession of His love.

V.      CONCLUSION

A.      Consider 1John 3:1 – “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.”

B.      If God can love us so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that we could be adopted as His children, then surely we should love Him so much that we will devote ourselves to Him in gratitude for His wonderful gift.