God is Love

by Joey Davis

When I get to heaven, I want to meet the Apostle John. In my daily walk, i am often envious of his relationship with the Savior.. They. were friends as well as Master and servant.

In one of his letters, he writes a simple phrase, "God is love" ( 1 John 4:8,16).

Being both short and sweet, John sums how the Spirit manifests Himself in our lives. He had seen this manifestation through God's only Son. When Jesus stated that the disciples should "love one another as I have loved you," none of those who heard asked for any kind of explanation. His love was unmistakable.

By this manifestation of the Spirit, we can know that God lives in us and we are His children, because after all . . . God is love.

I don't know if you have ever compared the definition of "agape love" in I Corinthians 1 3:4-8 with the "fruits of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23. If you have, you recognize that our expressions of love to others are a work of the Spirit of God within us.

Let's compare these two texts by writing 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and see how each phrase is the outcropping of one of the fruits of the Spirit which will be in parentheses.

"Love is patient (patience), love in kind (kindness), and is not jealous (goodness); love does not brag and is not arrogant (meekness), does not act unbecomingly (self control); it does not seek its own (selfless love), it is not provoked (peace), does not take into account wrongs suffered (faithfulness), does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth (joy), bears all things (faithfulness), believes all things (kindness), hopes all things (joy), endures all things (faithfulness). Love never fails (faithfulness) . . ."

Do you see the connection? God is love. The Spirit expresses the love of the Father. And He uses us in order to accomplish making this love manifest.

Jesus stated that "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another" ( John 13:35).

So the question is . . . are the fruits of the Spirit exemplified in your life by your expressions of agape love?"

• Agape Love -Jan 03, 1999
• Jesus Loves Me -May 20, 1990