Let me encourage you to begin with turn if you would to 1st Corinthians chapter 13 familiar chapter 1st Corinthians chapter 13 And we'll read that is to kind of orient our minds 1st Corinthians chapter 13 and then beginning in verse 1 1st Corinthians 13 and verse 1 The Apostle Paul writes, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels that do not have love, I am become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love. Abide these three, but the greatest of these is love. And let us pray. Father, we come before thee this Lord's Day morning. We thank you so much that we can begin this day in worship. We can begin by occupying our minds with pure, precious, holy truth. And this morning I would pray as always for the help of your Holy Spirit just to convey your word in a way that is honoring to thyself and is helpful to our own souls and our own love for thee, our own walk with Christ. We commit our time to you and pray it would all redound to thy glory. Pray it would be for the good of our own souls, the help of our own thinking process and living for your glory. So we commit our time to thee and we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we just finished our studies on the Trinity in the London Baptist Confession of Faith, and probably not 100% sure a couple of options here. We'll continue in our studies in the confession, but not 100% sure of which chapter we'll go to next. So this morning, possibly another Sunday morning or so, I'm not 100% sure yet. This is kind of like an extended devotional this morning, and drawing much, as you can tell from your notes, from Jonathan Edwards, And especially that will be clear, everything that's underlined. And so that will make clear what is from him. And not exactly following the order of his lecture, but in pulling out certain subheadings that I found to be helpful. So this... The name of the book is called Charity and its Fruits. Charity is an older word for love. It was first preached by him in 1738 in Northampton, possibly designed for publication. And our focus, and some other thoughts, is confined to this first lecture. that's entitled, All True Grace in the Heart Summed Up in Charity or Love. All True Grace in the Heart Summed Up in Charity or Love. And if we're, at the beginning, seeking reasons for emphasizing this particular subject, you might turn to Matthew chapter 22. Matthew chapter 22 and verses 34 to 40. Just some reasons as to why it is such an important theme to consider Matthew chapter 22 and then verse 34 to 40. But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. And then another reason as to why it's an important subject to consider, and for the good of our souls, is at the top of the first page of your notes, these words were penned in 1851. This is 100 years after the work was publicized. And they constitute, I think, another reason as to why it is such an important theme. The subject of these lectures is eminently practical and important. Love is the first outgoing of the renewed soul to God. We love him because he first loved us. It's the sure evidence of the saving work of grace in the soul. The fruit of the spirit is love. It lies at the very foundation of Christian character. We are rooted and grounded in love. It is the path in which all the true children of God are found. They walk in love. The bond of their mutual union, their hearts are knit together in love. Their protection in the spiritual warfare, they are to put on the breastplate of love. The fullness and completeness of their Christian character, they are made perfect in love. The spirit through which they may fulfill all the divine requirements for love is the fulfilling of the law, that by which they may become like their Father in heaven and fitted for his presence. For God is love and heaven is a world of love. And a couple of more introductory thoughts, and you can think of these also as reasons why it's such an important subject to consider. First of all is its prominence. And as Edwards puts it, this charity we find is abundantly insisted on in the New Testament by Christ as apostles, more insisted on indeed than any other virtue. So he's saying this is found more than any other virtue in the totality of the New Testament. And let me just read to you Galatians chapter 5 and verse 6 Galatians chapter 5 and verse 6 if I can find it Galatians Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 6 says for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything but faith working through love and Leon Morris comments on this that's in your notes and This is the first of three occurrences of love in this letter that's in Galatians. A virtue that Paul mentions altogether 75 times the most of any other New Testament writer is 28 in the Johannine writings. Those would be the writings of the Apostle John. So, we see its prominence in the New Testament, but also its necessity. And here Edwards, he's just really, it's compelling because he's just reflecting the force of the language that the Apostle Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 13. He writes, what things are mentioned as being vain without it, that is love. The most excellent things that ever belonged to natural men. The most excellent privileges and the most excellent performances, then he breaks this down a bit. First, the most excellent privileges, such as preaching with tongues, the gift of prophecy, understanding all mysteries, faith to remove mountains. And then secondly, the most excellent performances, such as giving all one's goods to feed the poor and the body to be burned. Greater things than these no natural man ever had or did. And they are the kind of things in which men are exceedingly prone to trust. And yet the apostle declares that if we have them all and have not love, we are nothing. Well, the doctrine that he derives from this is that all virtue, all the virtue that is saving and that distinguishes true Christians from others is summed up in Christian love. And then I've included some Some of the logic he is employing to arrive at this particular doctrine. He says, and by the apostle mentioning so many and so high things, and then saying of them all that they profited nothing without charity, we may justly conclude that there is nothing at all that avails anything without it. Let a man have what he will and do what he will, it signifies nothing without charity, which surely implies that charity is the great thing, and that everything which has not charity in some way contained or implied in it is nothing, and that this charity is the life and soul of religion, without which all things that wear the name of virtues are empty and vain. Well, we'll look at a couple of headings here with respect to this that I pulled out of this chapter. The first is the nature of truly Christian love or the character of Christian love. What are we talking about? And he uses this term, excuse me, by way of signification and definition. The word properly signified love or that disposition or affection whereby one is dear to another. And then earlier in the lecture, he made some other points that I thought were helpful here. These are not in your notes. And he indicates that the disposition to love presupposes a change of nature and disposition to mean inclination or the propensity of the soul and the heart. So this disposition presupposes a profound work in the soul because in the Bible, we read things like Matthew chapter five, verses 43 and 44, which says this, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. And I'm presuming that the second you read that, you think that's not natural to the way I operate. I need some kind of other force working in my soul to even come close to actually applying that. And then another great example, turn if you would to Acts chapter seven, Acts chapter seven. And this is in the context of Stephen being martyred, Acts chapter 7, then verse 54. Acts 7, beginning at verse 54. Now, when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. Now, verse 55 is important. We'll just touch on this point later. But being full of the Holy Spirit, notice that, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. but they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Jesus received my spirit, and falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Having said this, he fell asleep." This is an example of this transformation in the work of the Spirit in the soul. Edwards, in this section, is helpful in at least a couple of ways. One is that all true Christian love is one and the same principle. All true Christian love is one and the same principle. He writes, it is one as to its principle, whatever the object which it is exercised, it is from the same spring or fountain in the heart, though it may flow out in different channels in diverse directions, and therefore it is fitly comprehended in the name of charity as in the text. So love does many different things. It flows in many different directions, as we see from 1 Corinthians 13. It is kind, it's patient, it's not jealous, it's not bragging, it's not being arrogant, it's not acting unbecomingly nor seeking its own, it's not easily provoked, it's not taking into account a wrong sufferance, it doesn't keep score, it's not rejoicing in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. So these are all tributaries, so to speak, that flow from the same fountain, which is love. And this is, of course, from the presence and activity of God in the soul. And we see this here in some texts from 1 John. It's applicable. 1 John 4, 7, Let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God. 1 John 4, 11, If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4, 12, if we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us. A second way in which it is helpful has to do with the objects of this love, the objects of this love. And Edwards writes, love to God is the foundation of gracious love to men. And men are loved either because they are in some respect like God in the possession of his nature and spiritual image, or because of the relation they stand into him as his children or creatures. And the idea here is that fallen men and women are created in the image of God, and we love them and can have an affection for them because that's reflective of the character of God, even though they're not converted, even though they're not saved. So there's still an affection and a love for them. Well, the next point we'd make is that love is especially facilitated by the work of the Holy Spirit. It is produced and facilitated by a work of the Holy Spirit. I've sought to point out many times that the great thing that distinguishes a saved person from a lost person is the presence of the activity The spirit and the soul and just a few texts that would bring this out and not in your notes John chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 as far as a starting point with respect to the spirit John 3 5 Jesus answered, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. So that's how the Christian life begins. There's an act of the spirit and the soul. And then kind of moving on from there, Romans chapter eight and verse nine. Romans chapter eight and verse nine describes the character of a Christian, of all Christians. Romans chapter eight and verse nine. However, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. So being a Christian is almost defined in terms of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. the great distinction between a saved person and a lost person. In 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, the same point is made. Do you not know that you are a temple of God, that the Spirit of God dwells in you? That's how we are to think of ourselves. We are temples of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Okay, but consequentially, it's especially then the work of the Holy Spirit that produces love. And here again to quote Edwards, he says, it is from the breathing of the same spirit that the true Christian love arises, both toward God and man. The spirit of God is a spirit of love, and when the former enters the soul, love also enters with it. God is love, and he that has God dwelling in him by his spirit will have love dwelling in him also. The nature of the Holy Spirit is love. It is by communicating himself in his own nature to the saints that their hearts are filled with divine charity or divine love. Now, I have some texts. It's interesting here that Edwards does not list Galatians 5.22 at all because that might be the very first verse that comes to your mind when you think about the Spirit and love. I have it in the notes. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. But then to some other texts, Romans 15 30 now I urge you brethren by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me Charles Hodge writes on this particular passage. He enforces this request of by the tenderest considerations, for Lord Jesus Christ's sake, out of regard to the Lord Jesus, and for the love of the Spirit, that is, for that love of which the Holy Spirit is the author, and by which he binds the hearts of Christians together." And another text that makes this point would be Colossians 1.8, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. And John Davenant, an older commentator, wrote, two reasons are assigned by interpreters why he states their love to be in the spirit. The first is a general one, which regards the very nature of love, because the Holy Spirit is the author of it, and also because love flows from a spiritual heart, from a heart regenerated and renewed. And in Romans chapter five and verse five, Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. So it's the Spirit's work to help us to experience the reality of God's love in a very deep way, in the deep recesses of the soul. And we experience the love of God abundantly because of the Spirit's activity in the soul. And Charles Hodge writes here, to shed abroad is to communicate abundantly and have to evince clearly. This manifestation of divine love is not any external revelation of it in the works of providence or even in redemption, but it is our hearts, diffused abroad within our hearts. The love of God, says Philippi, does not descend upon us as dew drops, but as a stream which spreads itself abroad through the whole soul, filling it with consciousness of his divine presence and favor. And this inner persuasion that we are the objects of love, the love of God, is not the mere result of the examination of evidence, nor is it a vain delusion, but it's produced by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. Okay, now you may have come to the conclusion that we're done ten minutes early But we're not And the reason is this We're talking about love here and we're saying it's especially facilitated and produced by the Holy Spirit so that we got that. But if we ask the question, is there anything else that you or I can do to sort of, I want to be careful how I present this, but maybe help the Holy Spirit to facilitate love in our souls or anything else that you and I directly can do in order to assist, so to speak, the Holy Spirit to produce this in our soul. And the answer I'm going to give here in just a few texts for your contemplation is that the way to enhance the Spirit's work in our heart is by an ongoing sustained consideration of the death of Christ on the cross. So I'm saying the means of producing, helping the spirit produce this work in our soul, it's a clear, ongoing, sustained contemplation of Christ dying on the cross because that is the supreme demonstration of God's love. the death of his son on the cross. That's the supreme high point. That's a demonstration of God's love. And for example, this is not one of the scriptures I want to share, but I'm going to share it before I share the scriptures I want to share. But in Galatians 6.14, the Apostle Paul indicates there that the one great thing that separates us from others is that we glory in the cross. Let me just get the text right here in Galatians 6.14. He puts it like this, may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. And I would just add this, I indicated the great distinction between a saved person and a lost person is the presence of the spirit. And I would argue another huge distinction between a saved person and a lost person, only believers glory in the cross. Only Christians rejoice in what Christ has accomplished for us when he died on the cross. And so our love for God, our love for one another is increased, I believe, especially as we consider verses that deal with the death of the person of Christ. And I have just three that I'm going to share with you this morning. The first one is John 15, 13. Chapter 15, and then verse 13, John 15, 13. Jesus says greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. Leon Morris writes, now comes the reference to the greatest love of all. There is no love greater than that of him who lays down his life for others. Anything else must be less. This is the supreme test of love. It says in the context this must refer primarily to the love of Jesus as shown on the cross where he lays down his life. And this fact is further brought out back in John chapter 10 and verse 11. John chapter 10 and verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. So the characteristic there of a good shepherd, he lays down his life for the sheep. And Morris comments on the fact Jesus is the good shepherd. It's interesting to bear in mind that while there are many things that a shepherd does for his flock, when Jesus speaks of himself in the capacity of a good shepherd, he immediately goes on to say the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. This must have been a fairly rare occurrence among Palestinian shepherds. But for Jesus, it's the characteristic thing. Moreover, when the Palestinian shepherd did, in defense of his sheep, did lay down his life or did die in defense of his sheep, that was an accident. He planned to live for them, not die for them. With Jesus, however, death for the sheep was the set purpose. The death of the Palestinian shepherd meant disaster for his sheep. The death of the good shepherd means life for his sheep. And the point is repeated in chapter 10, So John 15, 13 is one of these verses where there's a clear connection between love and the death of Christ. The greatest demonstration of love is the death of Christ. Then a second one I thought I would draw your attention to a verse that you're unfamiliar with here. John chapter 3 and verse 16. John chapter 3 and verse 16. It says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. D.A. Carson writes, the mission of the sun and its consequences is the theme of the paragraph. But John begins by insisting that the sun's mission was itself the consequence, the effect of God's love. The climax of the sun's mission, which is his death, is grounded in the love of God. And then the Lutheran commentator R.C.H. Lenski The word thus or so denotes manner and degree in this way, and to such an astonishing degree, did God so love the world, greater love cannot be conceived of since its pinnacle was the atoning death of Christ or for his people. And then one more text, Romans chapter five and verse eight, and this takes our thinking actually to another level. Romans chapter five and verse eight. says God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So this heightens our appreciation of God's love because it adds a factor that we haven't previously considered and it heightens our admiration for the concept of one dying for another. And that's because the condition of those for whom Christ died is identified clearly here while we were yet sinners. sinners. That's who he died for. And in the context here, sinners lines up with being helpless, with being ungodly, with being enemies, with being an object of his wrath. Charles Hodge wrote, what renders the love of God so peculiarly conspicuous is his sending his son to die, not for the good, not even for the righteous, but for sinners. For those who were deserving of wrath instead of love, the word sinners expresses the idea of moral turpitude. Now you might not have used the word turpitude yet today, so it is inherent baseness or vileness of principle, words or actions, wickedness or moral depravity. The word sinners expresses the idea of moral turpitude and the consequent exposure to the divine displeasure. So one's appreciation for the love of God is intensified when we consider the death of Christ, his death in our behalf, and that is even heightened when we consider the incongruity of the exchange, him who was infinitely holy dying in the place for those who were sinners. So it's the death of Christ in particular that increases our... I think it's fair to say that it's going to increase the Spirit's work in our heart to love God, to love Christ, and to love others. Well, let's pray shall we? Father, as we consider your blessed word, your holy word, we are aware of how dependent we are on the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, the Holy Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh, the Holy Spirit to pray. And I would pray now that you would help us to make the appropriate application to our own hearts and lives. And we pray that our fellowship with one another would be blessed and precious and sweet and encouraging to our hearts. We pray as well that it would prepare us for adoration and praise and worship this morning. So we ask that you would continue to work in our hearts and in our midst this day, and may it all redound to your glory. And we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.