Topic: LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S LOVE  [Church of God Mission International] Above Only Daily Devotional 6 March  2022

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CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL

DATE: SUNDAY 6th MARCH,2022
(HYMN: S S & S 411 “I’ve message from the Lord”)
TOPIC: LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF GOD’S LOVE
TEXTS: JN 3:16-18; EPH 1:3-10; PHIL 2: 5-11; 1JN 3:16-19

CENTRAL THOUGHT
GOD IS LOVE AND HE EXPECTS US TO WALK IN THE LIGHT OF HIS LOVE.

INTRODUCTION
The scriptures tells the story of God’s eternal love for man. It starts in the book of the beginnings (Genesis) with the account of God creating man in His image and likeness and handing over the earth, endowed with more resources than he would ever need for him to tend. Then, we read the story of the fall of man and the steps God took to restore him. The unfolding drama moves on to the call of Abraham from the Ur of the Chaldeans, through whose descendants the son of God came in the nature of man to redeem mankind. The story ends with the celebration of God, and indeed man’s triumph, the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth founded on the principles of righteousness (Rev 21 & 22)
While we may speak of God’s love for man in a general sense, it is even more real on the personal level. In this study, we will look at the practical details and how best we should respond to God’s love as individuals.

ALSO READ: Open Heaven 6 March  2022  –Topic: BENEFITS OF INTERCESSION III 

LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the lesson are to

1. Know the nature of God’s love for us
2. Understand how God demonstrates His love for us
3. Discuss what our response to God’s love should be
4. Know the dangers of not knowing or walking in God’s love and
5. Appreciate the blessings of walking in God’s love

BIBLE TRUTH
QUESTION 1.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT THE NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE FOR US FROM THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURES ? (Eph 1:3-10, Ps 136:1; 1Corin 13:7)
The scriptures States in Eph 1:4 that “Even before He made the world, God loves us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes”. The origin of His love is in eternity past, before the world and indeed man was created. This is what has influenced all His actions towards man. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in heavenly realms because He loves us in Christ Jesus. In Psalm 136, the song writer explains that the reason weust be thankful and praise God always is because “His faithful love endures forever”. In twenty six verses, he demonstrates that the fact that “His faithful love endures forever” is the underlying basis for His actions raging from the creation of heavens and the earth, the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, leading His people through the wilderness, providing for His people, destroying their enemies and hearing their cries in time of troubles.
On the individual level, you may find it difficult to fully comprehend how He could already have loved you even before you were born but He did! He told a young man struggling to understand why God would choose him of all people to be a prophet despite his oratory shortcomings, naivety and being too young: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb, before you were born, I set you apart….”(Jer 1:4-5). He knew me before I was conceived and He loved me with an everlasting love. His love does not wane and is not affected by circumstances. Alleluia! Only we can remove ourselves from the reach of His love.

QUESTION 2
HOW DID GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS LOVE FOR US ? (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8; Phil 2:5-11)
We have seen from the scriptures that God’s love for man predated the creation of man and that this has governed all His actions towards man. Immediately man fell, He announced the solution to restore him to the path chosen for him Gen 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel”. With evil increasingly prevalent on the earth, the Lord had to wipe out the early occupants except Noah and his family. No sooner did the earth recovered from the flood that man went back to committing greater evil. God had to separates a race through whom “the seed of the woman” would come to bruise the head of the serpent. Ultimately, the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ was born.
The fact that the son of God stripped him of all the privileges and glory of the eternal son of God to come as mortal man and died the death of a common criminal shows how much God loves us (Phil 2:5-11). It was while we were undeserving, still lost in our sins and living daily as God’s enemies that Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

QUESTION 3.
WHAT RESPONSE SHOULD CHRIST’S SHOW OF LOVE EVOKE IN A BELIEVER ON A PERSONAL LEVEL ?
A. IT SHOULD DEFINE OUR IDENTITY AND WORTH: Man is the greatest creation God ever conceived. We get the impression from reading the scriptures that much of the creation, was handed over to man to exercise dominion over them.
We must see and measure ourselves from God’s perspectives and not by the world’s standard. Who can claim to know the true worth of anything more than the creator or inventor ? All the things God has done for man shows that man meansuch to Him and occupies a great place in God’s eternal scheme. This is purely on the basis of His grace and mercy. Weust therefore not let our experiences or others define our sense of worth.
B. WE MUST LIVE FOR CHRIST (2Cor 5:14-15) “… Christ’s love controls us. Since we believed that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who received His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them”. An inner revelation of the price the son of God paid to free us from the power of sin and what degree of love that displays is what makes us willing to turn our backs on our old way of life and it’s pleasures. As God increasingly reveals what happened on the cross, we align our lives to please Christ and find that the new life leads us to inner peace and joy. In His life, we truly find life!
C. WE CAN LOVE OTHERS WITH THE LOVE WE HAVE RECEIVED. (1Jn 3:16-19)
” We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1Jn 3:16 NLT). Only those that have received Christ’s love that was demonstrated with the ultimate sacrifice can give the same quality of love to others.
We are required to receive grace and reproduce the love of Christ in every relationship we are involved in e.g. marital, family, amongst brethren and neighbours. We can therefore show patience and kindness, not be arrogant or jealous, not demand our own way, not be easily irritated, keep faith with people and keep no records of wrong (1Cor 13). Whenever we have challenges in our relationships we must look up to Christ’s death on the cross and how He treats the church for inspiration.

QUESTION 4
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF NOT KNOWING OR WALKING IN GOD’S LOVE ? (1Jn 3:14-15) “If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers do not have eternal life within them”.
Demonstrating God’s love among men is the mark of believers. If we cannot show love both to believers and unbelievers then our salvation is questionable and we should not live in self-deceit. “By this shallen know that you are my disciples, if you show love for one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:35). “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in there distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27). When we refuse to show love to others, we deprive ourselves of the joy and satisfaction of being a blessing to others. Love is the primary fruit of the Holy Spirit, those who do not have it cannot please God and will ultimately face eternal damnation.

QUESTION 5
WHAT ARE THE BLESSINGS DERIVABLE FROM WALKING IN GOD’S LOVE ?
Loving one another is a way of revealing to the world that we are disciples of Christ. We also have the blessing of peace , joy, answered prayers, favour etc when we walk in love. The ultimate reward/blessing of walking in God’s love is spending eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ.

     DAILY LIVING APPLICATION

The death of Christ was an unpleasant choiceHe made because He loved us. We must receive His love and find solace and comfort in it as we live in an imperfect world with many damaged unloving human beings. Finding our stability and worth in Him, weust daily exercise the choice to love all those we relate with. This may be quite challenging and sometimes very difficult but that is exactly why the Father has granted us access to His throne of grace , through Christ Jesus, to obtain mercy and find help whenever we need it (Heb 4:14-16). Jesus Christ showed that it is possible to live a life full of love and please the Father. He has shown us the way, we can all do it, one day at a time.

MEMORY VERSE
1 John 3:16 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

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