THE GOD OF LOVE - LOVE LIFT YOU UP WHERE YOU BELONG
WEEK THREE - LOVE LOVE ME DO
But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:4-5)
“But God” … You were already dead to God in your sins, already separated from Him. You were already walking in the ways of the world. You were already following the Satanic influencers. You were already living in the passions of your flesh. You were already carrying out the desires of your body and mind like rebellious children. BUT GOD!
But because of God’s amazing love and mercy you NOW have life. God himself is the Creator of this great and happy change in you. What did you do? What was your role? Friends, what you did was you said, “do it to me Lord, love love me do”.
As the Beatles sang, in your prayers and confessions you said to the God of Love:
Love, love me do
You know I love you
I'll always be true
So please, love me do
Whoa-oh, love me do
And he did the rest.
God resolved to show you mercy, and he did. He vouched safe your salvation in His Son Jesus. And as a sign unto you and as a witness of his great love, for the whole world, he raised Jesus from death and now likewise offers life to you. And this means that, because of this undeserved gift of life, every converted sinner is a saved sinner.
So often the world will challenge the believers by asking why does your loving God require this death of his Son? Why does a God who is love hate sinners? How can this God of love be so merciless towards people he himself created? The truth is he doesn’t hate them, in fact he said he so loved that world that he sent his only begotten Son. What he hates, what he has no mercy for, is sin. And for good reason. Sin is a kind of death. God hates death. God gave us all life and he wants that life to continue forever. Sin, like death, destroys the body. Death disconnects the body and the spirit from the founts of life. The bodily functions in death quickly disconnect and dissolve. The is no longer an opportunity for new life in death. In fact, as death takes hold of the body on a microscopic level the cells themselves are forced to eat themselves alive. The body cut off from the power of life, cannibalizes itself. We call this “rot”. And so, it goes when we are dead in our sins. We are no longer capable of receiving the life-giving opportunities God has created for us. When we are “living” in our unrepented sin, cut off from God’s love because off our sin, we are rotting away spiritually. As bodily death enslaves our senses, forever sealing up all our strengths and thoughts, so does our state of sin. God’s Grace unlocks and opens up the life-giving love and enlarges our soul, making room for God’s Spirit to revive and restore.
WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE FOR OUR SINS?
Salvation from start to finish is an act of pure grace flowing from the heart of God. Notice the representative principle in these verses (Ephesians 2:4-5), we are made alive (no longer dying) together with Christ, and we sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. It is Christ-salvation, not self-salvation. We are not accepted by the Father on the love love ME do, but rather on the perfect life Jesus lived. We are glorified because of the love love HE do (I know that’s horrible grammar). As far as God is concerned, those in Christ are regarded as holy and righteous as Jesus Christ.
This is our new identity. Our new citizenship. Life in Christ is our new nationalism so to speak. This is the love love we do. This is our pledge of allegiance, to love love as HE do. And we should not spiritualize this idea too much. This idea that we are children of God’s kingdom, citizens of heaven. We cannot just put it on and take it off at will like putting on the “good going to church” clothes on Sunday morning and hang it back up in the closet for next Sunday. Our citizenship in God’s kingdom is real here and now. It’s to Him we owe our allegiance, in everything we do every moment we do it, whatever that may be.
Jesus came announcing the good news of the nation of heaven, the nation of God. And he called us out to do likewise. Our citizenship in heaven, changes our relationships to earthly loyalties. And as Jesus said, no one can serve two masters. Where we belong and what we are doing has shifted.
FOR DISCUSSION:
Because you are in Christ, do you view yourself as a foreigner and exile in the world?
Further Bible study - Ephesians 2:19 – “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”
Conclusion:
Friends, we who are in Christ stand firm in the knowledge that is built upon these three pillars: One Lord, one faith, one baptism. It is who we are and what we do. God covers each one of us, God’s presence itself adorns us, clothes us, he lives within us, he does his work through us. This identity we all share with each other. This is what makes us citizens of heaven. This love love we do.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that we have been released from bondage to sin and death. Thank for your Son our Lord Jesus. May we live each day to Your praise and glory as citizens of heaven. Amen.