Valentine’s Day: God’s love for His own

What is God’s unique love for His redeemed people?

He made us His children and given us One who is greater than the one in the world

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 Jn 4:4)

He enabled us to love others as a manifestation of our love for Him

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 Jn. 4:7)

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 Jn. 4:10-11)

He manifested His love to us by the giving of His Son

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 Jn. 4:9)

He gave us His Son in spite of the fact that we did not love Him

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn. 4:10)

He gave us His Son to liberate us from our sin — all of which was against Him

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 Jn. 4:10)

God’s love for us is our security

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 Jn. 4:16)

Because God loves us we have no fear — even of the final judgment

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 Jn. 4:17-18)

He initiated His love for us (and we have no ability to love anyone apart from that initiating love from Him)

We love because he first loved us. (1 Jn. 4:19)

It is impossible to love God and hate other lovers of God at the same time

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. (1 Jn. 4:20)

If we are loved by God, we must reciprocate that same love to all others loved by Him

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 Jn 4:21)