Love
Can God be taken by surprise? Of course not. He knows all things, sees all things, and lives outside of what we call time. He truly is the Great I Am – always present. When Adam and Eve sinned, was God surprised? Definitely not. He knew that we would fail, but He created us anyway. Before my wife and I had children, we knew that they would struggle at times and not be perfect, but we decided to have them anyway. Just like we looked forward to loving our children, in spite of whatever mistakes they might make, God did the same. Because of His love for us, He created us. Just like we treasure spending time with our children and grandchildren, God loves spending time with us.
Chosen Beforehand
Ephesians 1:3-4a (NASB)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
God chose us (everyone who will come to Him) “before the foundation of the world.” He didn’t have to do it, but He did. His love compelled Him. In the same way that I made a commitment to my children before they were born, God made a commitment to us before He created us. He chose to love us, protect us, and be with us, while also allowing us to have a free will. True love is only possible when it is a choice. God allows us to either choose or reject Him.
His Purpose
2 Timothy 1:8-9 (NASB)
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,
We were not created “on a whim.” God had and still has a purpose for each one of us. God’s purpose is for us to receive his gift and grace that He has given to each one of us. Each one of us has a “holy calling.” This calling is not because of any good deeds that we have done. We can’t earn God’s love; He gives it to us freely. If we were to try to buy it, we couldn’t afford it, anyway.
God’s Love
Ephesians 2:4-7 (NASB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus committed to loving us, He held nothing back; He was all in.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, “emptied” and “humbled” Himself to the point that He became a man. He not only became a man, but a servant of men. He did not come to rule, but to serve. He showed us and told us that was how we should serve each other.
Perfect Time
Galatians 4:4-5 (NASB)
4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
The “fullness of the time” means that Jesus did not come too soon or too late; He came at the perfect time. He did not hesitate. He committed to us before He created us, so at the right time, He came and lived among us.
He Became a Curse
Galatians 3:13 (NASB)
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us or it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
We were under a curse, just like Adam and Eve were, because of our sins. We have all sinned; we have all fallen short of God’s calling for each one of us (Rom.3:23). Jesus knew that would happen, and He also knew that there was only one way that we could be reconciled to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus took our sins on Himself when He was on the cross, so that we would no longer be under the curse of sin. He then put that curse to death, because He had no sin Himself, making His sacrifice the only possible perfect sacrifice, completely fulfilling the justice that our sins deserved.
He Condemned Sin
Romans 8:3-4 (NASB)
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Sin no longer controls us, if we are living in Christ, and are walking “according to the Spirit.” We can now walk (live) freely, without being controlled by sin.
Our Debt is Canceled
Colossians 2:13-15 (NASB)
13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
Jesus took our sin debt that we all owed, and He “nailed it to the cross.” He did this publicly, taking away the power of death that Satan was able to hold over our heads. We no longer have to fear death, if we are living in Christ. Satan, his demons, and all those who choose to follow him, have no right or authority over us; we now belong to Jesus!
Freedom
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NASB)
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
The fear of death is something that is common to almost everyone. Before we were born again, we rightfully feared death, knowing instinctively that death was not a good thing. This made us slaves all of our lives. When we found Christ (or were found by Him), He set us free from this slavery. He bought our freedom with His own blood, with His unimaginable sacrifice for us. We no longer have to fear death; we no longer have to worry about what others might do to us.
No Fear
Luke 12:4-5 (NASB)
4 “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.
5 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
The only One Who we need to impress is our all-loving God. He paid the price for us and showed us the way. Jesus even came and gave us His perfect example of how to live. We can now live without fear. If someone threatens my life, I will not allow that to control me. I only have to fear God – no one else, and He loves me more than I can understand. God is love (1 John 4:8).
Our Part
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Jesus paid the price, He taught us, He gave us the perfect example of how to live, and we see that He even planned out the best way for each one of us to live. He has laid out things for each one of us to do. Just like He had a calling and purpose, we do, too. He made a commitment to us before He even created us. He then followed through on each step of that commitment.
We made a commitment to God when we said that we would follow Him. We now need to follow through with that commitment, no matter the cost, no matter how difficult, no matter what we might think. He always knows best.
Love One Another
1 John 4:9 (NASB)
9 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.
10 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.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
As Christ loves us, we should love each other. As He forgave us when we didn’t deserve it, we should forgive each other when we don’t deserve it. As He gave His all to show His love for us, we should give our all to show our love for others.
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