We thank the Lord that He gives us a chance to gather before Him.
At our last service meeting, we fellowshipped before the Lord concerning the oneness of the saints. We saw that the unity—the oneness—of the saints comes from God. We also saw that this oneness is entirely according to the oneness in the Godhead.
Our Lord prayed in John 17 that we might be one, even as He and the Father are one. The oneness between the Father and the Son is an inward oneness; it is in the Spirit. That oneness is completely harmonious and completely one.
He has also asked us to be one in Him. This oneness is not something outward. It is inward; it is in the Spirit. It is in Christ. In Him, we are one.
Today, by the Holy Spirit, we want diligently to keep the oneness of the Spirit, until one day we arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Then our Lord will be satisfied.
This gathering follows on from our last gathering. Last time we spoke about the oneness of the saints; this time we want to share concerning brotherly love.
Brotherly love is not something that comes by chance. It is not something that man can produce. Brotherly love has its source in God. God is our source.
The Lord willing, during the four morning sessions we have, we will consider this matter. This morning we want to speak about God as love. Tomorrow, we will consider love as the first commandment. Finally, we will speak about love among brothers.
Let us turn to 1 John 4:7-21. For the sake of time, our brother will read only in Chinese. Those who read English, please follow along.
Let us bow down and have a word of prayer.
Lord, we really thank You and praise You, because Your word is so clear. Your word is with power.
Lord, what You have said, You shall accomplish Yourself. We look to You to take away every veil within us, so that Your word may become life and Spirit in us, and that Your purpose may be accomplished.
We worship You. All glory be to You. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
God is the greatest mystery in the universe. No one has ever seen God. God is far beyond our comprehension. Unless God reveals Himself, no one can truly know Him.
We thank God that, although He is the greatest mystery, He is pleased to reveal Himself to us. Sometimes God reveals His purpose, so that we may know His purpose. Sometimes God reveals His ways, so that we may know how He works.
We thank God that sometimes He reveals Himself, so that we may truly know Him. When God created man, He placed within man a concept of God. All men have some concept concerning God.
Romans 1:19-20 tells us that the things of God are clearly manifested in man, so that man can understand. Although no one has ever seen God, through creation we can see His power and His deity.
Men today understand something of the power of God. We also have some understanding of the uniqueness of God, which distinguishes Him from men.
But we are not really clear about what kind of God He is. We may say that we have heard of Him, but we have not seen Him. Therefore, in the concept of man, there are many errors concerning the understanding of God.
In the concept of ordinary man, God is thought to be fierce and punishing. Because we have sinned, men try very hard to appease Him.
Some people think that God does not care. They think that, after God created the universe, He simply let the universe go on by itself, as though He were indifferent and did not mind.
Here we see that man really does not understand God. But we thank God that, in His word, He continually seeks to reveal Himself. He desires for us to know Him because He loves us.
For example, when we open Genesis 1:1, it says, “In the beginning, God.” The word Elohim means that He is the supreme One.
Then, in Genesis 2:4, it says, “the Lord God.” This reveals Him as the ever-existing, supreme God.
In Genesis 17:1, God told Abraham, “I am God Almighty.” In the original language, this carries the meaning of the all-sufficient God.
In Exodus 3, God told Moses, “I AM.” Moses asked God, “When I go to Egypt and see Your people, and they ask me, ‘What is the name of this God?’ what shall I say?” God said, “I AM THAT I AM.” He is all.
In Exodus 34, Moses asked God to show him His glory. God said that no one could see Him and live; but when He passed by, Moses would see His back.
God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock, and God’s glory passed by. Then God declared Himself:
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.
We see that God constantly desires to reveal Himself so that man may know Him.
When we come to Leviticus, we see that God reveals Himself as the holy God: “Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.” He is uncommon; therefore, we cannot be common.
In the book of Numbers, we see that our God is a jealous God. In Deuteronomy, we see that our God is the God who keeps His covenant. In Joshua, we see that God is the Captain of the host of the Lord.
In the historical books, God shows His people that, because the Israelites did not honor the Lord as King, they perished.
In the prophets, we are shown again and again that God is the Father of Israel. He is the Husband of Israel, and He is their Savior and Redeemer.
Thus, throughout the Old Testament, God continually revealed Himself. He wanted His people to know Him.
When we come to the New Testament, we praise God because He sent His Son to the earth.
When the Son of God came to the earth, He not only declared the Father, but He also came to show us what kind of Father God is.
John 1 tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men, full of grace and truth. We know that God is light; when light shines out, it is truth. We know that God is love; when love is expressed, that is grace.
When our Lord was on earth, He revealed and expressed what is in God Himself.
In the revelation of God Himself, the greatest revelation is this: God is love. This morning we want to share concerning this matter: God is love.
The people of the world have no concept that God is love. They may believe that God is powerful. They may also believe that God is righteous and holy. But they cannot believe that God is love.
In the religions of the world, the concept of God is one of fear. God is there to punish men, and so they seek by various means to bribe their gods and appease their anger.
Even when we read the Old Testament, we may have this incorrect concept. We may think that the God of the Old Testament is severe and fierce, and then come to the New Testament and see that God is indeed a God of love.
Among the Israelites, there were many barriers when they came near to God. They had to bring offerings. They had to come to God through priests.
Only once a year could the high priest enter behind the veil, and he had to bring blood. Therefore, when men read the Old Testament, they may receive the impression that God is fearful.
But God is one in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Indeed, in the Old Testament we can see that God created because He loves. He loves His Son, and He created all things for His Son to inherit.
God created man because of love. He wanted to give man to His own Son as an eternal companion.
Even when man sinned, God, out of love, prepared salvation for man. God made a covenant with man. God gave the law to Israel. Why did God give the law to man? Because He wanted man to be like Him.
Even in the book of Malachi, the argument between God and man concerns love. God said, “I have loved you.” But Israel said, “Wherein hast Thou loved us?”
Therefore, we can see that our God in the Old Testament is a God of love.
Of course, when we come to the New Testament, this is absolutely clear. In 1 John 4:9 we are told:
Herein was the love of God manifested in us,
that God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world
that we might live through Him.
Brothers and sisters, this is one thing we must be clear about: the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are the one God. He is love.
In the New Testament, there are two different Greek words for love. I believe many brothers and sisters know this. One word is agape.
Agape love is absolute love. It is the perfect and everlasting love that God shows to those who are not worthy.
Those who are loved respond with reverence and godly love toward Him. This love is also expressed practically toward others who have received the same love, and toward those in the world, that they may come to know the God of love.
This agape love is the love of God. In the New Testament, there is another word, phileo. This word means tender affection. The Bible uses this word also.
But there is one very interesting thing. In the Bible, God has never told man to love God merely with phileo love—with tender affection.
God tells man to love Him with agape love. As He agape-loves us, He asks us to love Him in the same way. He never asks man merely to have a little tender affection toward Him, because His love toward us is absolute.
Therefore, He asks us to love Him with the same love that He has shown to us.
I think all the brothers and sisters know the story in John 21. After our Lord was resurrected, some disciples were fishing at the Sea of Tiberias, and the Lord appeared to them.
In the morning, when the disciples were having breakfast with the Lord, the Lord asked Peter, “Lovest thou Me more than these?”
The word the Lord used was agape. In other words, “Do you love Me in an absolute way, more than these things?”
What are these things? These are his companions, the fire that cooked the fish, the fish, and the bread. “Do you love Me more than these?”
Peter had learned his lesson. He did not dare to say that he absolutely loved the Lord. So he answered, “Lord, Thou knowest that I have affection toward Thee.”
The second time, the Lord asked, “Lovest thou Me?” The Lord still used agape. Peter knew himself deeply, and he could only say, “Lord, I do have affection toward Thee.”
Then the third time, the Lord used the word that Peter used: “Hast thou affection toward Me?” Peter was sorrowful. He said, “Lord, Thou knowest.” Yet he did not dare to say that he had this absolute love toward the Lord.
Although this was so, the Lord said, “Feed My sheep.”
Brothers and sisters, do we have this agape love? Do we have this absolute love?
I think Peter learned this lesson, but often we have not learned it. In fact, we do not have this life in ourselves.
When God created us, He made us according to His own image. In His image, the most important thing is love.
When He created us, He gave us insight, capacity, understanding, and an instinct to love. Within us, He gave us love. That love allows us to receive love from God.
But that love is not the love of God. It is the shadow of the love of God.
When God created man, He did not create this divine love in man, because God’s love is not created. God created many things; He can make things out of nothing. But within God Himself, this love cannot be created. It can only be begotten.
There are two different words we need to understand. One is attribute, which refers to a characteristic. Certain attributes belong only to God.
When we speak of the power of God, that is an attribute. His omniscience—His knowing everything—is also an attribute.
But there is another word: essence. Essence is the inner substance of Him; it is He Himself. Some things are attributes of God, but other things are the essence of God.
The most important essence in God is love. God is love. This is God Himself. You cannot separate this from God, and it cannot be created. It can only be begotten.
This is the central matter in the Godhead, in the deity. In eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in love.
This love is not something inactive, hidden, latent, or dormant. It is not something that has to be attracted from outside. It is something from within. It is His life; it is Himself.
The Father loves the Son absolutely. The Son loves the Father absolutely. This love never fails.
It is constantly in motion and constantly in fellowship. This proceeds in the Spirit.
We thank God that one day He sent His Son to the earth. Through His Son, He begets this love in us.
Therefore, the Bible tells us that love is from God. Those who have love are begotten of God, and they know God. Love is from God. God is the source of love.
Outside of God, there is no love of this kind. Those who have love are born of God.
Brothers and sisters, here we need to see this very clearly: this love is born of God. If you are not born again, then you do not have this love within you.
Indeed, there is love within you, but that love came through creation. Parents love their children, and children love their parents. We may say that we have some affection toward God.
But in our natural man, there is no such absolute love. Then one day, when we repent and believe in the Lord, the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God in our hearts, and that love enters into us.
Then we know Him. Brothers and sisters, the true knowledge of God is to know love.
We may have various concepts of God. We may have much knowledge, and we may even have some experience of His power. We may know some of His ways and understand some principles. Then we may say, “I know God.”
But strictly speaking, the true knowledge of God is to know love. To know God in love is the true knowing of God. Only such knowledge is true knowledge.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we truly feel that our knowledge of God is so shallow. Much of our knowledge of God is merely superficial.
After all, how much do we know of the absolute love of God? To know God in love is the true knowledge of God.
The Bible tells us that it is not that we loved God, but that He loved us. Why? Because within us there is no love with which we can love God.
Romans 5 tells us that, while we were yet enemies, while we were sinners, while we were dead in sins and transgressions, God loved us. He sent His Son to be our propitiation.
Therefore, we see that it is not that we loved God, but that God loves us. Because He loved us, we thank Him.
Now there is love within us, and that love is God Himself. Then we can begin to love God, and we can begin to love our brothers.
This morning I have this simple burden: that brothers and sisters may see that loving God and loving the brothers is not something that we have in ourselves.
If we love God out of ourselves, and if we love our brothers and sisters out of ourselves, this is not what God desires. On the contrary, because of this, many undesirable things happen.
First, we need to deal with ourselves before God, confessing that there is no such love in us. We have to refuse this natural life.
We must put our natural love under the cross, so that we may allow the love that God has begotten in us to be used to love God and to love the brothers and sisters.
This is a pure love. We thank and praise God that, now that He has loved us, He has caused this love to be born within us.
Now we have a responsibility. We have to abide in this life. We have to make love our home. We have to abide in this love.
To abide in love is to abide in God. How do we know whether our daily life is lived in God and whether we are abiding in God? If we abide in His life, if we take love as our home, then we are abiding in God.
As He was when He was on earth, so shall we be while we are on the earth. Then we do not fear judgment, because in love there is no fear.
We are completely one with our Lord because we become one in love. I hope the brothers and sisters will pay particular attention to this.
Let us bow down and have some prayer.
Our God, we worship You because You gave us Your only begotten Son.
You have not only begotten us, but You have also given the essence of Your character within us.
God, Lord, we really ask You that we may abide in love and that we may not leave this love.
In the days of our life, may we love You and love our brothers with this love, so that Your name may be glorified. In the name of the Lord Jesus, amen.