C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON FOR MARCH 10, 2019. Topic – Eternal Plan of God for Man. .
C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
Eternal Plan of God for Man.
March 10th, 2019.
II. MORE UNDERSTANDING OF DIVINE LOVE (Romans 5:1-5; 1 John 4:10-16)
Divine love is that which comes from God to man. Our understanding of God’s love comes from the knowledge of, and ability to judge a particular situation correctly, in line with His own standard. A deeper understanding of God’s love is what is needed for enhanced and enriched fruitfulness. This is the essence of our being.
A. CHRIST’S LOVE FURTHER EXPLAINED (Rom. 5:1-5)
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in out hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (v. 5).
i. There are about 3 distinct words for love in Greek New Testament:
* Storgos: used in nature form (Rom. 1:13); a nature love, an instinctive concern for one’s offspring, found in both animals and men;
* Philos (1 Jn. 4:9,10): This is a beautiful and friendly love (Rom. 12:10); and
* Agapeo: A divine love, found only in God, not dependent on the beauty of the personality being loved. It wasn’t found in the heart of any man prior to the ascension of Christ (cf. Jn. 21:15-19; Rom. 5:5).
ii. God desire that His children should possess agapeo, the kind of His own love, but because of the fallen human nature, this is difficult. Hence, He sent His Son to solve the problem of sin (1:12; Jn. 3%3-5; 1 Jn. 3:1).
iii. Being born again makes us partakers in His divine nature, so that we may be capable of loving as He loves, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through list (2 Pet. 1:4).
iv. Jesus loves us so that we can be true ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:18ff) and be as He is in this world (1 Jn. 4:17).
v. When Christ’s love is genuinely experienced, it will be easily expressed, without controversy. The Christian experience of God’s love comes from deliberate seeking of His Word. Before we can be approved of Him, we must have known Him through diligence in our walk with Him (Rom. 5:5).
B. CHRIST’S LOVE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS (1 John 4:10-16)
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (v. 11).
i. Paul stated the characteristics of divine love (1 Cor. 13:4-8). This should serve as a checklist for our own kind of love.
ii. A close examination of the love exhibited by Christ reveals that divine love is never at ease in its comfort zone, seeing others suffering. Jesus left His ‘comfort zone’ in heaven (Jn. 1:3) to come and deliver man from eternal destruction (Rom. 5:8,10; 2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:4-8; Heb. 4:15).
iii. The young rich ruler failed this test of true love while justifying himself to have fulfilled the law (Lk. 8:18-30). Are we better today?
iv. Possessing this kind of love will create no difficulty to loving your enemies (Matt. 5:43-48). In fact, the greatest test of Christians’ love is love for our enemies (cf. Rom. 5:6-10).
v. If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another (Jn. 13:35; 1 Jn. 4:10ff). It is not give and take kind of love.
vi. The striking feature of divine love is patience aimed at rescuing sinners and enemies from eternal damnation (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9). This is exactly the kind of love God requires from His people.
vii. Everyone who experience Christ’s love is under obligation to sacrificially extend same to all and sundry, in equal dimensions. Love definitely suffers long by enduring pain, provocation, injury without indignation or revenge (Prov. 10:12; 1 Pet. 4:8).
LESSON DERIVED
1. God’s love in Christ is beyond description; He demonstrated what love should be. This love should inspire us towards genuine vertical and horizontal love.
2. There is no other proof we can show to convince the world of the genuine uniqueness of our faith, to win them to Christ than manifesting Christ’s kind of love. This is greater than all spiritual gifts.
QUESTIONS
1. God is love. Discuss.
2. Is loving one’s enemy still possible in this generation?
3. What effect can loving Christian brethren and our enemies have on church growth?
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1:
i. God is love, and this has been correctly revealed in the Scripture (1 Jn. 4:8).
ii. God fully demonstrated/proved this by giving to sinful humanity, His only begotten Son to die for humanity’s sin (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8). Only love could have sacrificed itself for another, unconditionally.
iii. He is love by being patient with humanity, rather than destroying us when we least deserved His compassion.
iv. He is love by His display of kindness in all ramifications.
v. His love persuades to come to Him, never forcing His will on us though He cannot be questioned, if He does so.
ANSWER TO QUESTION 2:
i. Loving one’s enemy is still possible.
ii. It is made possible for all believers by virtue of the love of God in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
iii. This is the most astonishing piece of morality given to man.
iv. It is natural for man to revenge. Only those who have truly met Christ will find it easy, by His grace, to love their enemies.
v. The hope of eternity with Christ despite that we were once His enemies, should make us to love all, our enemies inclusive.
ANSWER TO QUESTION 3:
i. The effect of loving Christian brethren and our enemies on Church growth is a positive one.
2. Loving Christian brethren ensures being bond in Christly unity, stability, and productivity.
iii. Loving our enemies will aid soul-winning.
iv. It will also be a source of good public relations for the Church.
v. Love is also a form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), as a show of it brings easiness of burdens to the society.
vi. Love founded the Church, and sustains it; love is the attracting and contracting force that grows the Church (cf. Acts 2:42ff).
LIFE APPLICATION
A man was asked to defined love. Instead of opening his mouth for analysis, he called for all the debtors around and paid all that they owed. He also gave them extra money to sustain their lives. When he was asked to explain what he has just done and its relevance to the request made of him, he answered that that was how best he could define love. He said that love is indescribable, but practicable. Love is action and God had demonstrated that to us. If you must show you have love, don’t say it, just do it!
CONCLUSION
This lesson has really showed us how God displayed His love for Humanity. We are expected to do as He did so as to show that we are His. If we are grateful for what was done on the Cross of Calvary, we ought to carry some crosses for God, and others placed around us. Remain blessed!
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DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK TWO
Mon. 4: God is Love (1 Jn. 4:7-9)
Tue. 5: Godly Love takes the Initiative (1 Jn. 4:10-12,19)
Wed. 6: God’s Love Should Motivate Us (Jn. 13:34,35)
Thur. 7: Godly Love is the Greatest (1 Cor. 13:13)
Fri. 8: God’s Nature Generates Love (2 Pet. 2:3-4)
Sat. 9: Godly Love is Practical (1 Jn. 3:18)