You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching we may present everyone mature in Christ. Father, we thank you for this evening. We thank you, Lord, for your word. And oh Lord, now we quiet our hearts and minds to approach your word with reverence and awe. We tremble, oh Lord, at your word. And we know, Lord, that you speak to us. You enlighten our minds through your word. You renew our minds. And tonight, oh Lord, we pray that as we come to the end of John chapter 13, we will see that there is indeed a new commandment. And then we will see the Lord tell Peter that he will indeed deny him. And oh Lord, we pray that through these truths that we read tonight, we will grow and be edified. We pray you would be glorified. We pray for Pastor Barry in the fundamentals class tonight, oh Lord, that as they walk through the fundamentals class, they would be encouraged, strengthened, and they would grow in wisdom and faith. We pray for our youth, oh Lord, that as they study your word tonight, they would be encouraged, edified, and built up, and that they would see Jesus in your word. Thank you, Father, for our time together in Christ's name. Amen. I'd like to read from John chapter 13 verse 31 to the end of the chapter, John 13 31. When he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, where I am going, you cannot follow me now. You cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times. Okay, let's go to verse 31. Let's back up and begin to walk through this. When he had gone out, when who had gone out? Well, when Judas had gone out, look up in verse 30. It says, so after receiving the morsel of bread, that is, Jesus gave Judas Iscariot the morsel of bread. He dipped it in the sop, in the oil, whatever it was, the figs, the olives, whatever it was, and he gave it to Judas. Well, let's go back. Jesus said, verse 26, it is he whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, what you were going to do, do quickly. Now no one at the table knew why he had said this. Some thought that because Judas had the money bag, Jesus was telling him, buy what we need for the feast. or that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out, that is Judas, and it was night. And indeed it was, it was a night of betrayal, it was a night of sorrow and anguish on his part, remorse, not godly sorrow in that he repented, but it ended up being a night of suicide, and ultimately a night that he fell from his, the hanging tree, and his bowels were burst open. So it was quite a dark night indeed for this man, Judas, who betrayed our Lord. So verse 31 starts out, when he had gone out, that is Judas. And here it's a pivotal place. No longer do we have one who is a betrayer in the midst. Jesus is now only with his disciples. And you see the sided shift in the way Jesus speaks. He's not saying anymore, except you are all with me, except one. He's not making any exceptions. Now he's speaking very frankly, very openly, and he's directing instructions to his beloved. We read earlier in verse 1 of chapter 13, he loved them to the end, to the ultimate, in full, and he says, now, he begins, when he had gone out, Jesus said, now, right now, is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. It's interesting, the number of times glorify and glorified is listed in verse 32, and it's just amazing how many times it's used in 31 and 32. So he says, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. So, how? Why now? Well, now, in the releasing of Judas, now the plan is about to be carried out. That part of God's sovereign will has been completed. Judas has gone out to probably knock on the door of the priest to look for his money, how he's going to betray him. That whole plan has been kicked in to action. Jesus begins to speak to His men. Now is the Son of Man glorified. Look back at 1.14, the first instance we see where John in his epistle uses this word, uses the word glory. Verse 14, he says, Okay, that is the Son, the second person of the Trinity. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. What is the glory of God? The glory of God is the revelation of God, and we find that the revelation of God is most fully revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The heavens declare the glory of God. glory of God. So there is, Paul told us in Romans chapter 1, a natural revelation that God, through His creation, reveals Himself to us so that we are without excuse. But the full expression of His glory is in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and we're going to see that it is primarily through the crucifixion. At the cross, was God revealed His glory in a way that He has never or will ever reveal that glory again. And we'll look at that. So, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. How did He glorify Himself? Well, His power. God revealed Himself in His power. God is the most powerful being there is, right? There is none like Him. He is what? Omnipotent. Okay, he is without limit in his power. Well, let's look at a verse that's very interesting in relation to power. Let's go to 2 Corinthians 13, verse 4. 2 Corinthians 13, verse 4. Since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me, He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but in dealing with you we will live with Him by the power of God." So the world looked at the crucifixion as the most weak thing that could ever occur. But in that weakness, God revealed his power. One other place to look in Paul's writings would be 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 25. This is one of my favorite sections of Scripture where Paul explains. In fact, let's go to verse 18 on this one. 1 Corinthians. 1.18, chapter 1, verse 18, we're talking about the power of God revealed at the cross. For the word of the cross is folly, the word in the Greek is moronic, okay? It's moronic. The world looks at it and it's like, it doesn't make any sense. For the word of the cross is folly, the word is the message, the proclamation, Folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach, To save those who believe that is the content of the message Years ago in the way the king james read it was the foolishness of preaching And I agree there's a lot of foolishness in preaching But he's talking paul is talking about the content the gospel the power of god that he referred to in romans chapter 1 verse 16 That it is the power of god unto salvation the message of the cross the message of the gospel So here he says For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach, that's a better translation than the original King James, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. And then verse 25, Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." So, we see what the world saw as weakness was actually the veiled power of God through the Gospel. Now, the other thing that is revealed and brings glory to God is His justice. Let's look at Exodus chapter 34 and verse seven. Exodus, Genesis, Exodus, chapter 34, verse seven. Well, let's go to verse one. I hate to pick it up if we don't have the context. This is where Moses makes new tablets, that's the heading. The Lord said to Moses, cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first. Why did he not have the first? He threw them down, right? So, cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. No one shall come with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds gaze opposite that mountain. So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first, and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord descended on the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord! The Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but listen, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. God will not clear the guilty. in His justice. He must punish the guilty. But the beauty of the cross, where He glorifies Himself, He is both the just and the justifier. He must punish sin, but He puts the punishment upon His Son. So He is both just and the justifier. Then let's look at Zechariah 13, verse 7. Zechariah 13. Verse 7. If you're having trouble finding it in the real Bible, it's on page 1323. I like saying that. See if they're paying attention. This is where the prophet declares that the idolatry of Israel will be dealt with. In verse 7, it's a prophecy for the Lord Jesus Christ. Zechariah writes, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and here's the verse that's quoted, Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. I will turn my hand against the little ones. So, what happened at the cross? The shepherd was smitten, was struck, and his little ones, his disciples scattered. In fact, sadly, only one snuck back and stood with the women, and that was the writer of our gospel, John the Beloved, okay? So. So God reveals his glory, okay? In the Son, in the person of the Son, he reveals his power, he reveals his justice, he also reveals his holiness. Let's go to Habakkuk chapter one, verse 13. Chapter one, verse 13. Habakkuk's an interesting book. It's a series of complaints. And when you come to verse 12, he says, Are you not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One? Chapter 1, verse 12. We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. So he's using a foreign nation to come against the people of Israel, and Habakkuk has a real problem with this. that they are being used to bring judgment upon his people." Verse 13, "'You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?' So he had this issue. But the statement is that you do not look upon evil. God is not pleased with evil. Okay? So, in this context, we see that the holiness of God demands justice, as we have already said. But let's flip this over, keeping this in mind, that God cannot look upon where He says, you who are purized unto see evil and cannot look at wrong. It's not that He cannot look at it, He's not pleased with it. Okay? Let's go to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13. Galatians 3 and verse 13. Here we're dealing with this matter that Christ became a curse for us. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. So when we read in the Old Testament that anyone that was hung in a tree was cursed, okay, Then when Christ took to the cross, was placed on the cross, a lot of the Jews said, no, that can't be the Messiah, because of that very quote, that cursed is anyone that is hung on a tree. But God, through the wisdom of the cross, and the way he has redeemed man in his sin, took the curse on our behalf. Okay, so he had dealt with this matter of holiness. In fact, in Psalm 22, and then we read in the synoptics, he cries out upon the cross, my God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? He was forsaken so that we would not be forsaken. He took our place upon that tree because we were the ones who should have been hung on that tree and cursed because of our sin. But he took that curse. One more faithful, well two, faithfulness. The soul that sins must die, right? Surely die. And what happens? Rather than us paying that price, Christ himself pays that price in our place. We call that penal substitutionary atonement, all right? We've talked about that before. And then the last one is love. And we see no greater love than at the cross. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. that the one believing in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then let's turn to 1 John 4.10. We looked at this when we preached through this section. 1 John 4.10. In this is love. One definition. What's love? Not that we have loved God, but that He loved us. and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, the wrath bearer, He who took the wrath of God upon Himself on the cross that was due you and due me, all of the elect of God. So we see then at the cross that the Son indeed glorifies the Father and the Father glorifies in Him. And then verse 32, if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. John Calvin said of this verse, I love this, he glorifies God the Father, for in the cross of Christ, as in a magnificent theater, the inestimable goodness of God is displayed before the whole world. That the cross is as a magnificent theater. It's an acting out, a revelation, a manifestation of God's love, God's power, God's justice, God's holiness, God's faithfulness, and ultimately, the greatest act of love that mankind will ever see. Look at chapter 17, verses one through five of the Gospel of John. Chapter 17, Jesus speaks here. It's interesting, this prayer is patterned after Moses' farewell discourse in Deuteronomy. It's pretty neat to see the parallels when you look at it. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given Him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. So then, who is glorified at the cross? The Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, we're going to see in a later time. Verse 33, little children. I love that. Who's he speaking to now in the room? His disciples. Judas isn't there. Now he's speaking to his little children affectionately. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now also I say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. All right, what did he say to the Jews? Just as I said to the Jews. Let's go back to chapter seven, and let's look at verse 33 and 34, because we can't remember what he said to the Jews. We have to go back and read it. Verse 33, the Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33, Jesus then said, I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am, you cannot come. The Jews said to one another, where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, that is, those who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire? We see that in 1 Peter 1.1. Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, you will seek me and you will not find me, and where I am, you cannot come? Why didn't they understand? They're not his sheep. Let's look at chapter eight, verse 21. Chapter eight and verse 21. So he said to them again, I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jew said, will he kill himself? Since he says where I am going, you cannot come. He said to them, you are from below, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins unless you believe that I am he. Ego eimi, that I am that I am. You will die in your sins, okay? So, they're not his sheep, they have no idea what he's talking about, but Doesn't seem like the disciples much grab it either. They're pretty much operating on their old way of thinking, their idea of who the Messiah is and what he's going to do. I mean, look, they've been fighting for a couple of years now who's gonna sit in the right hand and on the left hand, so they're still arguing about that. They're still not getting that he's going to be crucified and die, right? That's not even on their horizon yet. But didn't God purposely keep them dumb? I mean, God saw them and he purposely kept them dumb, though. I guess, they fully haven't grasped the revelation and we're going to see in chapter 14 why. they don't have the understanding that is given to them through the Holy Spirit. So, it's like an in-between stage. They're saved, God has saved them through the power of the Gospel, they're with Jesus, they're learning, but they're hard-headed, they're spiritually blind to some, not in the hardness of their heart like the Pharisees who reject Him, they're believing Him because they've already called Him Lord and Teacher, okay, and He said, You do well, But they still don't grasp and understand what's really going on. And I think you're right. It's part of the fact that he hasn't fully disclosed it to them by his grace. Yeah, they might have fought. Peter was willing to fight at the last minute. Then he denied him later. So this is all under the sovereignty of God. All right. He says, Just as I said to the Jews, so now also I say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. Obviously, it has to be through the cross, right, and then to the Father. He's speaking now, I'm going to go to the cross, you can't come with me there, okay? Now, he says, where I am going, you cannot come, boom. Then verse 34, a new commandment I give to you. How many commandments are there? Well, that's a summary Yeah, I guess there's 11 because he's given us a new one 10 in the old one in the new We'll see, let's unfold that question. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. Let's go to Deuteronomy 6.5. Deuteronomy, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 6. We start in four. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. So we know that there is a command to love the Lord, right? Now let's go over to Leviticus 19.18. Let's go back. Leviticus 19.18. Verse 17, you shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Aye. and the Lord. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And then the rabbis came along and said, yeah, you gotta love your neighbor, you gotta love fellow Jews, but you can hate your enemies. And then Jesus is gonna correct, we're gonna get there, Jesus is gonna correct that. Okay, how about Mark 12, 28 through 33? Gospel according to Mark. Matthew, Mark. Chapter 12. And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is the most important of all? Jesus answered, the most important is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribes said to him, You are right, teacher, you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. So We have a commandment in the Old Testament that we are to love the Lord and that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. Well, let's go over to 1 John 2, verses 7 and 8. 1 John 2, verses 7 and 8. And then stay in John, because there's another A set of verses in chapter 4 I want to read. 1 John 2, 7 and 8. Sounds like a song. 1 John 2, 7 and 8, right? You know that one? Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment. Well, wait a minute. He gives a new commandment in John. Now he says, John says, Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Now let's go to chapter four and let's look at verses seven through 12. Chapter 4, 7 through 12. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. 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. 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. Okay. A few more. Let's go to 2 John. Verses five and six. Second John. verses five and six. Let's look at verse four. I rejoice greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. So, walking in the truth. Watch this. And now I ask you, dear lady, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love. that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward." Okay, and then he goes on. He gives us a superior commandment. We have the old commandment from the old covenant. Now we're going to have a new covenant in his blood. He's going to unfold for us. And as part of this new covenant, this new commandment, we receive a new heart. Let's go over to Jeremiah chapter 31. In this new covenant and this new commandment, in Jeremiah 31 we are told what this new covenant is going to look like. Chapter 31, verse 29. In those days they shall no longer say the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge, but everyone But everyone shall die for his own sin. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I... Watch the I wills. I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant that they broke. though I was their husband, declares the Lord, but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law written within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. All right, now flip over to Ezekiel 36. Just go to your right. Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 24. 31. Let's go to 24, because it's free. Let's go to 22. Thank you. that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God." and I will deliver you from all your uncleanness, and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations." Amen. Amen. There is the new covenant. So, a new commandment. I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. By this, people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another. And they'll know we are Christians by our love. They won't know if we're Christians by our understanding of the scriptures necessarily, though I'm sure that's good and helps. But most people aren't coming looking for answers in the Bible. right, that are lost. They're not. They're not looking for great worship services. Most people come looking for love. It's interesting, Thomas Aquinas said, when people, people say people are seeking after God, they're not really seeking after God Himself. When they're lost, they're seeking after the benefits that God gives. And there is a fine distinction. So they're not necessarily looking for God, because Paul tells us in Romans, there's none who seeks. Okay, Bob? So what's the Greek word for love in verse 34? Well, every time word is used in 34, love is used, love one another, just as I have loved you, love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples. If you have love, it's the word agape. But I want to caution you on that word. Many people define it as the God kind of love. It's one of the words that is used to describe a love that is an act of the will. I would define agape as a love as an act of the will and for the greater concern of another. I wouldn't call it the God kind of love, and the reason I would say that is because the Septuagint translates the love that David's son had for his sister, which was an incestuous relationship, as he agaped her. So I would be very careful in how I would use that word. Words have what's called a range, a semantic range on how they're used. And when we try to theologically load words with baggage they're not meant to carry, what we're going to do is we're going to get in trouble when we load that word to mean something in a context it's not supposed to carry. You follow that? So we can't make a word mean the same thing all the time. Sometimes context determines how we understand and use that word. So we have to be careful. So when I hear people tell me, well, that's the God kind of love, I'm thinking, no, you're missing it, okay? Yeah, it's the same thing when Jesus said, men love darkness rather than light, because that word for love is agape there too. Yes. And then he said, Demas agape the world, Paul said. Yeah, he agape'd the world. So I think we just have to be careful how we use that. I do want to talk about love. I'm going to talk about the love of God in a second, but I'm going to hit some other verses yet on this loving one, another aspect. Here I want you to understand, this love, this agape love that we use here in this context, it's a spiritual relationship between brothers and sisters. It's not a squishy, romantic love. It's not a Hollywood-influenced love. The world has hijacked the word love, and they make it more a noun, whereas in the New Testament, love is mostly used as a verb. It's an action verb. It's how we act. It's how we treat one another. Okay, let's look at one example in Romans chapter five, verse five. We gotta go to at least one verse in Romans, right? We can't have a Bible study without going to Romans once. Romans 5.5. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. We're going to see more about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian, the life of a believer, in chapters 14, 15, and 16. But here, Paul says that the love that God has, God's love, his love, has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. We, once we are born again by the Spirit of God, have a new commandment to love one another and we then have the ability to love one another because the love of God has been poured into our hearts and we now have the ability to love in a different way than the world loves. We have a love that God has given us by his spirit. Let's look at Galatians 5.22, 2 Corinthians, after 2 Corinthians 5.22, We're gonna look at the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit singular, but the fruit of the Spirit is what? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. So love, love, we see that is the fruit of the Spirit. One last verse, let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 4.9. 1 Thessalonians 4.9. Now concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. Okay, so Paul commends the church of Thessalonica that they have love, and look how they express their love. For you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." How are they expressing their love? by sending offerings to the other churches and helping out the ministry of Paul and his missionary endeavors. So, what is this matter of love? I just wanna step back a second. The world, as I said, has hijacked this world love. You say love and I think most people go to the romantic Hollywood idea of people falling in love. Falling in love isn't really a biblical concept. Okay? But I want to share with you three types of God's love. Okay? The three types of God's love, and I'll explain them, is the benevolence, God's love of benevolence, God's love of beneficence, and God's complacent love. Complacent. Beneficence, B-E-N-E-F-I-C-I-E-N-C-E. Beneficence, no, B-F-I-C-E-N-C-E. I'm sorry, I can't read my own writing. Benevolence, beneficence, and complacent. And we'll define those. Benevolence, bene, Latin, good, Volence, the Latin for will. God has goodwill, or God is willing to do good. This is what we call his will of disposition. God has a goodwill towards all of his creation. The opposite of benevolence is malevolence, but that is never attributed to God. To be malevolent is an act of Satan or of man, not an act of God. We quoted earlier that God's love for the world in John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. So God revealed His benevolent will towards His creation, towards mankind, in that He sent His Son into the world. But let's go back to Ezekiel 33. I'm going to look at one section here, Ezekiel 33. And verse 10, And you, son of man, son of man is the title that was given to the prophet Ezekiel, And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said, Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, And we rot away because of them. How then can we live? Verse 11, Say to them, As I live, declares the LORD God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Here we see that even though God must act in His justice and His holiness, right, to judge men because of their sin. He does not take pleasure in it. It's not that God sits there like, oh, I just love punishing man. I just love punishing and putting to death the wicked. That's not God's attitude at all. God is grieved. His heart is broken. But because he is just, He must do this, all right? So He takes no pleasure in it. It's not an act where God, when He must punish those men and women, it's not that He's getting kicks or jollies out of it. It is a sad time, okay, in the heart and mind of God. So we read that. And then one more, Genesis 18, 25. Chapter 18, let's look at verse 22. So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham stood before the Lord. So they're going up into Sodom to retrieve, into Sodom and Gomorrah, and to retrieve their goods and the people, right, that were taken captive. So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked. Far be it from you, listen, shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just. Okay, so he has a benevolent will towards his people, towards all people. Okay, that is his will of disposition. Now, beneficence, the love, God's love of beneficence. The difference between benevolence and beneficence is benevolence is what God is willing to do and beneficence is what he is doing. His activity towards men, his good actions are a result of his goodwill, but beneficence deals with God's good will towards them. It's what we call common grace. Let's go to Matthew 5 and look at verse 43. Matthew 5, 43. Does God love all men the same? No. We're going to see that. Okay? So we want to go to Matthew 5. This is the Sermon on the Mount. Verse 43. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. They took that Leviticus passage, and the Pharisees and the scribes twisted it. They said, yeah, you must love your neighbor as yourself. Well, wait a minute, but you can hate your enemy. Well, that's not what the Word said. "'But I say to you,' Jesus said, "'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, "'so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. "'For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, "'and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.'" That's what we would call common grace. All men receive this benefit from God. They receive rain, they receive sunshine, okay? For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. All right? Now, common grace. So God's will towards men is goodwill. His actions towards all men are good actions. Now, what is this matter of complacent love? Now, when I say, boy, you're rather complacent, what we mean is you're lackadaisical, you're just resting on your laurels, you don't care. But that's not the way the word is primarily used. In fact, if you go to the dictionary and look it up, it has to do with pleasure. Okay? So, God's complacent love is a love that is in His good pleasure of His Son. We receive the spillover of the complacent love of God for His Son, Jesus Christ. So then, when He said, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, He said it at His baptism, and He said it at the transfiguration. So then, Because God is pleased with his son and he has given us to his son We therefore are in a different relationship Though we receive the love of benevolence and though we receive the love of his beneficence We have a unique love and that we have the love of complacency his complacent love All right now It is God's love for the redeemed, for his elect. It is a different, unique love than all the other loves that we discussed. For Jacob I loved, and Esau I hated. The complacent love of God is for Jacob, not for Esau. Ron, how can you say that? Well, let's go to Romans 9. And let's look at verse 13, and then I'm gonna flip back, right after Romans 9, don't go anywhere, stay there, we're gonna go back to Romans 8. And we're gonna follow the golden chain of redemption. We're going to see how God manifests or reveals this love that he has. Romans 9, verse 13. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Now, flip back to Romans 8, 28. And we know, speaking to Christians, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. For those who are called, according to his purpose. So who are those who are called according to his purpose? Those are the elect. The word kaleo means to call. That's where we get the word elect, those who are chosen, those who are called. So God called us out with an effectual call. There are two kinds of calls that are used in scripture. One is an outward call, the proclamation of the gospel. The second, which is almost always used in the letters, the epistles, is the effectual call of God. When we read those who are called, it's those who are called, those who are the elect, who are called by the effectual call. What is the effectual call? It is the call of the Holy Spirit that comes to us, and it is an irresistible call. You can reject the outward call of the gospel, you can sit under the hearing of the gospel, the call to repentance and faith, and you can reject it, reject it, and reject it. And then one day the Lord says, today is the day of salvation, you're saved. It is an act of God, it's not an act or even a response of man, it is a sovereign monergistic, meaning a one work, of God. So then, when we read in 828, then we know that for those who love God, why would we even love God? Because He first loved us, chose us, saved us, all things work together. All things are not working together for the good of those who are not the elect. Though they have the beneficent and the benevolent love of God, all things are not working for their good. only for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, now let me qualify, this does not mean that God looked down the quarters of time and knew that Paul was going to repent of his sins and believe the gospel. Therefore, he chose him to be a Christian. First of all, That's a severe misunderstanding of God and His sovereignty and His omniscience. Is there ever a time when God has not known something? No, God has always known everything. There's never been a time when God has not known all things. So therefore, how could God look down the corridor of time to discover anything? It's irrational, doesn't make any sense. It's against logic and our understanding of who God is and his omniscient understanding of all things and his decrees. So, those whom he foreknew. To foreknow means to forelove. In the book of Amos, he said to Israel, above all peoples, I knew you. It's chose. It's translated some versions chose you. I chose you. To foreknow is to choose. To forelove is actually what it is. Abraham knew his wife and she bore a child. Did he know who she was? Oh, he knew who she was, and he also knew her. It's a euphemism for sexual intercourse, right? Adam knew his wife, and she bore him a son. So, to know throughout scriptures, the Hebrew word yida is also used of an intimate love, intimate relationship. God foreloved us, the elect of God. Watch, He also predestined, He prohorizod, He predetermined, like a horizon, He lined out, He determined us to be conformed to the image of His Son in order that in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, predetermined, he also called in time and space through the effectual call of the gospel. And those whom he effectually called through the proclamation of the gospel, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also glorified." OK? So God's complacent love is the love that spills over onto us because of our relationship with the Son. Now, let's quickly go back to John 13, where he says, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you. How has He loved us? I mean, everything we just read in Romans 8, right? that golden chain. We didn't find Jesus on our own through our own works and our own efforts. This has been a predetermined, preordained, right, a decreed will of God for those who are the elect of God. And he loves us with an everlasting love. When did God first love you? There's never been a time if you were His elect when He has not loved you. God never started loving you. God never began to love you. God has always loved you because of His complacent love that is a love that is between He and the Son. And we, because we are in the Son, we have His complacent love. Not something we earned. It's not something we deserved. It is solely because He loves the Son. He gave us to the Son. We are the sons. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Now, we are to love each other with that same kind of love. Let's end with this. Let's turn over to 1 Corinthians. No, wait. 1 John 3, 16 and 18, and then 1 Corinthians, and we'll stop. 1 John 3, 16 through 18. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children. It's interesting that John must have heard Jesus use that phrase, little children, enough that it became his word. As he matured and was older, he used that word, little children. Let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. Now, let's turn over to 1 Corinthians 13. We'll end with this, reading this. This is more than a chapter that is put on napkins in weddings. In fact, this is not even a wedding series of verses. This is a church series of verses. 1 Corinthians 13 is how we are to love one another in the body of Christ. This is what Jesus meant when he said, love one another, okay? You can write it and you can put it on your wedding napkins if you want to, but here's where it works in the nitty-gritty of church life. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noising gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childly ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know, in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide. These three, but the greatest of these is love. And as Foddy Bauckham says, if you can't say amen, say ouch, right? Herein is love, our Savior. What a way to love us beyond what we could ever imagine. His great love for us. Father, thank you for revealing to us your great love for us For Lord, we so often take this word love and we use it in such a ways. I love ice cream, I love peanut butter. Oh Lord, forgive us. For you have manifested love to us in the sending of your son and the greatest sacrifice wherein you came against sin, Satan, all that is opposed to you and your will and to your kingdom. And Lord, you are triumphant in your love for us. And O Lord, forgive us for taking it lightly. May we, O Lord, tonight reflect upon your goodness and grace that you have revealed to us in the person and work of your Son. May we give you glory. May we lift our voices in praise. May we enjoy you forever and glorify you through our lives. Use us for your honor and your glory, we pray in Christ's name, amen.