We have been looking at questions asked in 1999. I didn’t answer those questions in 1999, because some crackpots, I mean, poor Biblically ill-informed people were telling us that the world was going to end with Y2K. If that were to be the case, I figured I could save myself a lot of work if I put off answering until the year 2000. Y2K came and went, and even the special Leap Year day came and went without all the predicted drama. So, it’s back to the grind. There doesn’t seem to be any easy way out, or rest for the wicked. They say the righteous don’t need any, but I’m sure tired!

Please, I jest with almost all of the above. Y2K and its effect was one of those 1999 questions. Another subject we looked at was the nature of Christ, and could He have sinned as a human, while on earth. We have just completed a question on Biblical friendship. If you were absent or want a review, all of the above are on our Web Site, or will be shortly.

By no means were these complete answers to those questions. To have given a complete answer to any one of those questions would have required a survey and comparative study of the entire Bible. The answers were intended as a foundation on which to build further studies, and as sign posts, pointing the way to proper study in any one of these areas.

The next question on the list was in regards to agape love, or God’s love. I endeavored to formulate a study of two lessons that would adequately cover the intent of the question. The longer I worked on such a study, the more evident it was that doing so would not answer the question. That type of study would only magnify the confusion, or at best create more questions than it answered.

Already built into our regular series was a segment on God’s love. God’s love is part of God’s essence or person. Other parts of God essence are holiness and righteousness along with many other attributes. This particular segment of our study was yet several months down the road. In an attempt to answer the question properly, I have jumped this segment ahead, so we can explore a more understandable answer to the question on agape love. This will also allow us to move back into our regular series a little sooner.

As with any aspect or attribute of God, God’s love is unique. The Love of God has no equal in all of creation. There are no examples to hold up, in a show-’n-tell session, so we can see what God’s love looks like. The only place we can find an example of God’s love is to look at the Person of God, and to examine His plan and work. Looking at the Person or essence of God will reveal His love. Looking at His plan and its execution will reveal the effects of that great eternal love.

To have any understanding of the Love of God, we must have at least a kindergarten level understanding of God, Himself. So let’s get out the Spiritual Play-doh, blocks and colors. I don’t intend any of that as demeaning, or belittling of our Bible knowledge.

However, many believers have what they consider a post graduate degree in Biblical things such as predestination, election, the antichrist, things to come, etc. Tragically, some, in their spiritual genius, have skipped all the basic grades that make it possible to understand the greatest Biblical subject of all -- The wonders of God, Himself.

Matthew 18:4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 10:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

Knowing God's Love

All of us need to come down from of our ivory towers of Spiritual and doctrinal knowledge (built by our own egos), become as little children in faith, and examine as fresh and brand new the elementary truths of God and His person. In that way, we will be equipped to see, and comprehend the love of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Some of the passages in our search of the Scriptures for this subject of God’s Love will be used to further confirm a truth. Others will need some detailed examination in order to bring clear understanding of the subject. Our search is to discover basic truths concerning the Love of God, not to exegetically work our way through each of these passages. To do so, would require another life time for all of us. There will be times when we will have to spend considerable time in a passage in order to properly see the truth concerning the Love of God.

This passage of Ephesians 3 will be our launching pad for this study. For all skeptics, I want you to notice this is a study in the book of Ephesians. It was the study of Ephesians that started us on this journey through the Scriptures in search of God’s holiness for our personal day by day living. See! We’re still in the study of Ephesians. I received a call a few weeks ago from a person, looking for a church. They ask if our church taught Expositorily. I told this person that I thought our church would qualify.

Let’s take a walk around our launching pad , and see some factors that are needed if we are to comprehend this love of God. This passage tells us that God will grant the ability or right to know this love.

A human does not have the ability or right to know God’s love. Just being a believer does not give you the ability or the right to know God’s love. A non-believer or a believer can experience God’s love, they can know about God’s love, but to really know God’s love comes only through God granting the ability and right to do so.

This granting by God is not based on some whim of God, or how He’s feeling on any particular day. God will grant us the ability and right to know His love based on some well defined criteria. As pointed out, we don’t have the time to tear all of these verses apart, but please see some very important things as we move along.

This granting of the privilege to know and comprehend God’s love is based on:

God’s riches

There are no greater riches of God than His love. For God’s love is a very part of His Person. Contrary wise, if you don’t know this love, if you can’t comprehend this love, if you are not experiencing this love then your spiritual bank account has little or no balance.

Strengthening the inner man

The condition of the inner man will make a real difference in whether or not we can know this love of God.

Colossians 3:9-11 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.


Lying to one another drains the spiritual strength from the "inner man". Over and over again, in the teaching of the Holy Spirit throughout the Word of God, believers are prohibited from using or living a falsehood. None the less, many believers not only continue in such a state of falsehood, they hone that skill to a fine art. God help us!

I know it sounds like a broken record, but over and over again the Bible says that it is through knowledge, teaching or doctrine and the application of both that we grow, overcome sin, live holy lives, find strength for the inner man, etc. If the Bible says it over and over again, then I had betterteach it over and over again,and we had betterheed it carefully!

No matter how many times, or in how many different ways the Holy Spirit states that fact in the Word of God, someone is sure to say, "Yes God, but we need to add just a little to what You’ve said." When we say, "Yes God, but...", we are actually telling God that we know better and more than He does.

Please take the time to go back a few paragraphs in these notes and read, again, the passage we are using for our launching pad. Ephesians 3:14-19

Being rooted and grounded in love

This process of knowing God’s love is truly a growing experience. We can’t really know God’s love until we are rooted and grounded in that very love. As our roots grow deeper into this love of God, then we can and will know more of the God’s Love. Knowing and growing go hand in hand.

Rooted = (Greek) = To cause to take root -- but not the root itself (root stimulator).
Colossians 2:6-8 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

Folks, there is no way of getting away from it! Our rooting in this love comes as a result of having been taught v.7. If we allow philosophy, empty deceit and the basic principles according to the tradition of men to be the mode of operation, we will be robbed of our rooting ability, and will have no way of surviving in this spiritually dry world.

Grounded = (Greek) To lay the base for; A substructure or foundation.
Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight-- 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

This same Greek Word for grounding is used of a solid rock in...

Luke 6:47-49 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

Please, don’t throw anything! But I must remind you, or I would be like so many others who don’t. The cause or power of our "grounding" in Colossians 1:21-23 is the good news, preached. Notice, also, the foundation of the rock was based on hearing and doing what was heard. The reason the foolish person built on the sand was hearing but not doing what was heard.

Both houses did quite well at first. As a matter of fact, the one on the sand would have been a much more enjoyable place to live. The homeowner didn’t have to climb up on the rock to get in, every time. Besides that, he could walk in his sandy yard, and squish the sand through his toes (a real vacation pad).

The difference in these two buildings is seen when the real pressures of life must be faced. The one who heard and acted on what was heard was able to stand when the real test came along.

I’m sure it was much more enjoyable to build the house on the sand, because building on rock is difficult, you have to endure sound doctrine. You see, the point of the Christian life is not the immediate pleasure of building, but the future stability produced by the process. It is the process of building that is important. Paul said we are to take heed how we build on the foundation.

1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

There are several other things in this passage that are also important in the process of comprehending and knowing the Love of God. I have not left them out because they are not important, but for the sake of time. When these things of Ephesians 3:14-17 are active in the life of a believer, then that believer can comprehend and know the Love of God. Please read again the passage we are using as the launching pad! What I have to say is of little importance compared to the Scripture, itself!

Motive

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Comprehend(Greek) - to lay hold of so as to possess as one’s own; to appropriate. Hence it has the same twofold meaning as the English to apprehend = a. To seize upon or take possession of b. With a beneficial effect. The beneficial effect is a result of seizing upon. The benefit is not the motive for the seizure.
Know [Ephesians 3:19] (Greek) - to know experientially in contrast to intuitively or academically.
Knowledge [Ephesians 3:19] (Greek) - to have information through inquiring or investigating. This is present and fragmentary information often acquired from someone else.

We are at a very important juncture in our quest to know the Love of God. That juncture is motive. We’ve already seen a little of God’s concern about our motive expressed in the meaning of the word comprehend. The question we must answer is, "Why do we want to comprehend God’s love?" Is it really to know the only wise and true God, or is it because we think that by knowing God’s love, we will have our personal needs and desires met? Thereby, gaining some benefit for self. This should not be our motive! When our motive is wrong, God will not give us the ability and the right to know this love.

God is very concerned with our motive. Even the words that the Holy Spirit uses in this passage bear out His concern. The great spiritual blessings of God’s Word cannot be understood by many believers, because they come to the Word of God with the wrong motive. Therefore, they cannot know the spiritual truth of those facts.

When facts of the Word of God are presented, and someone says that they aren’t getting anything out of those facts, I know something about that person’s spiritual condition and their motive. A great deal of the fault of not receiving blessing from the facts of the Word of God lies with the person who is bored with those facts.

Hebrews 3:17-4.3 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest," although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The Word preached by Moses, did not profit the Israelites in the wilderness, because they did not mix what they heard with faith. We want teachers to do and say things so we will enjoy our time spent in the teaching session. That’s called entertainment. However, the Bible says we are to be doing something during each teaching session. During a Biblical teaching session, we need to be in the spiritual kitchen doing some cooking with the ingredients given, instead of sitting the dinning room enjoying the show that’s been prepared, or complaining about it.

We saw that reality in the last lesson. We looked at two passages for our Biblical confirmation. However, there are many passages that bring out this same penetrating truth.

Hypocrisy

2 Timothy 3:5-8 ...having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;

You remember the story. Moses was sent by God to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel. God used miracles to demonstrate that Moses had been sent from God. God also used miracles, in the form of plagues, to bring about the deliverance of the people from Egypt. Several of the miracles that God performed through Moses were imitated by these two Egyptian magicians, Jannes & Jambres. The outward evidences of these magicians were the same or similar to what Moses did, but the divine commentary, the Bible, says,

2 Timothy 3:8 ...these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith

The Holy Spirit said that these men were similar in nature to people today who have a form of godliness, but deny the power. Even though the outward form was similar, that outward form did not make them able to come to the knowledge of the truth. There are several reason why some believers are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. We will only look at a few. God does not give this ability and right to know the better or deep things of God to spiritual hypocrites.

Matthew 7:6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

God is very careful to whom He gives His pearls or to whom He gives those things that are holy. That verse says a lot, but it doesn’t really say all that much to us, until we put it in its context. Then it says far more than we often want to hear!

Matthew 7:2-5 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck out of your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.

You know, there aren’t many fundamental churches that would want Jesus Christ as their pastor. Yes, we talk a good fight! We know that Christ is not available to fill the pulpit, so we say we’d sure like to have Him as our teacher.

But Christ shoots right from the hip to the heart! He’s not always positive in His presentation, either. Never once did Christ say, "Let’s do some ‘brain-storming’ on this subject, and see if we can glean some insights from our experiences." Take a deep breath and let the sting of Christ’s cutting remarks and their truth settle just little bit. Then, let’s move on to see some of the other truths taught by Christ in these statements.

First, let’s see that Christ is talking about relationships between believers. That is seen in the reference to these as brothers. This was not in the sense of blood relative, but socially and/or spiritually.

There are at least two or three months worth of lesson in this passage, but let’s only spend enough time in the context to set the stage for our further understanding of receiving from God the ability and right to know the deep things of God. For this series, that deep area, we’re looking at, is the Love of God, but these truths apply to most other areas, also.

Notice two things in regards to this relationship and our "corrective judgmentalism":

Before we start the Biblical journey, we need to adjust our spiritual glasses so we can clearly see what the Scriptures are saying. We will not spend time on the first one on this list, because most people understand that social fact. However, even many who know better, do not always admit to, or at least live like they know the fact of the second one on the list.

Therefore, even before we look at the Biblical evidence, we need to set our minds to the fact that we are looking at the God of Love, and God’s actions in pure love. This little journey will not only give us more evidence of the fact that God gives us the ability and the right to know the deep things of God, based on certain criteria, but it will, also, establish a real and true aspect of God’s love that is often overlooked even by fundamental believers.

The realization, the knowledge and the experiencing of God’s love 
will be effected to a great extent by our relationship with other believers.
Mark 11:26 "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Notice the sequence: If you do so will I do or vise versa. This passage is not talking about a childish demonstration of a spoiled brat trying to getting revenge. These are facts and actions of a holy God acting in pure love.

Obadiah 1:15 "For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head.

This is God’s response, in love, to nations that have not acted in righteousness. There is no direct application to the believer, except this passage continues to established a principle of God’s actions for believers and non-believers, as will be further established from other passages, also.

Revelation 18:4-7 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 "For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 "Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix for her double. 7 "In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.'

There is no way we can teach all these passages and their contexts, but please see a principle that we’ll not spend time on now, which is mentioned in this passage. If you are a part of, or in close association with those who are marked for God’s judgment, you will share in that judgment, by the fact of proximity.

If you find yourself in this situation, you had better come out from them. That is a great truth, and we need to heed it! It only has an indirect relationship to our present subject. For this lesson, notice the "If you do in like manner your judgment

2 Thessalonians 1:4-8 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of their response in patience and faith as they experienced persecution and tribulation, these people were counted worthy by God. They weren’t counted worthy for salvation because of their response, but for position and/or service in the Kingdom, yet to come. We know this Kingdom is yet to come by the context in v.7-8. I hope you will spend a day or two in this passage on your own. I don’t dare even mention some other wonderful truths in this passage, because it would take us far from our present subject.

Psalms 18:24-27 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25 With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; 26 With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 27 For You will save the humble people, But will bring down haughty looks.

That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? It would be nice if we could relegate this passage to some other deeper meaning, or maybe an application to those in the Tribulation or the Garden of Eden or to someone else or someplace else, rather than to me, personally, and to this time, right now! However, it applies to you and me, right now, right where we are.

James 2:12-13 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

There are many, many more clear evidences of these facts in the Scriptures. However, I think that we have seen enough evidence to satisfy even the most picky engineer, and I thank God for every engineer in our group, and for all the non-engineers, too. It’s just easier to pick on the engineers. I’ll wait until after the tax season to pick on accountants.

We took this little journey to establish a principle that our salvation is freely given to us, based on the work of Christ only. However, our rewards, blessings, service, knowledge, etc. are very individualized according to our actions and attitudes toward the truths of God, through faith.

I trust we learned much more than that in this study, but I hope we learned at least that much. Let’s go back and finish what we started in Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:2-5 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck out of your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
If we want God’s "pearls", we must remember to be honest in our motives in all things, 
especially in our relationship and judgment of others in Christ.

God despises hypocrisy! v.5. If you are not living honestly, and if your motives are not honest, then don’t expect God to give you the ability or the right to have God’s pearls, or the deep things of God.

Just a side-light. If you are not living honestly or if your motives are not honest, then God categories you in a similar general classification with the dogs and swine in v.6 and those are not names of God’s pets, either.

© Clyde White, Austin TX, 2000