Topic: LOVE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST [Church of God Mission International] SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 30 May 2021
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SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON*
DATE: SUNDAY 30TH MAY, 2021.
TOPIC: LOVE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.
TEXT: John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:10-18; 4:7-21
HYMM: S. S. & S. 659, “My Jesus, I love thee…”
CENTRAL THOUGHT Love for one another is one of the marks to identify the believers.
INTRODUCTION:
God, our Father is an embodiment of love. Indeed, God is love. He demonstrated this quality to man at creation, at man’s fall and His salvation plan. He has continued to shower this grace to the Christians ever since. Hence, love has remained the greatest of the Christian virtues. It lives at the very centre of God’s design for all human relationships, whether natural or Spiritual.
The individual must have a vital relationship with God before he can truly love either himself or others as he should. It is only believers and members of the Body of Christ that can truly express love.
This study is aimed at examining true love in the Body of Christ.
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
This lesson is intended to achieve the following:
- Explain the concept of love
- identify God’s kind of love;
- explain the characteristics of love;
- explain how the early church walked in love; and
- discuss how to demonstrate love in the Body of Christ.
BIBLE TRUTH:
Q1a. WHAT IS LOVE?
Love as a concept, is one of the most common themes in public discuss, songs, movies etc. yet it remains the most misunderstood. To some ‘love’ is synonymous with romance and sex. This is wrong for the purpose of this lesson; love means an intense feeling or fondness, deeper and stronger than liking. It is more than simple friendship. That deep affection one has that makes him/her desire the best for that person. God, who is the embodiment of love, showed intense affection for man and sent His only begotten Son to save man/him from perishing in hell (John.3: 16). In return, the perfect exercise of love includes our whole duty to God and our fellow man.
Q1b. WHAT IS GOD’S KIND OF LOVE? (John.3:16)
God’s kind of love known in Greek lexicon as ‘Agape’ means sacrificial or God in nature. It is the type of love that gives or sacrifices anything for the wellbeing of others. Agape love gives willingly, sincerely and naturally without any anticipated benefit. God constantly demonstrated this type of love to His children. The climax was when He sent His son, Jesus Christ to die shamefully on the cross in order to bring man back to Himself. This type of love should be the standard of love for all and the yardstick for determining true love amongst the brethren.
Q2. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LOVE? (1 Cor. 13:4-7)
Further characteristics of God’s kind of love are identified in the reference above. Among these are patience and forbearance, kindness and mercy, humility, never envious but rejoices with others in their good fortune, self-less, well-mannered. (The class should identify others). When we weigh our lifestyles in the context of this scripture, we honestly observe a wide gap between our lives and these features. God Almighty is the only one who is able to express agape love to the fullest. May God give us the grace to radiate this God nature in our lives.
Q3. HOW DID THE EARLY CHURCH WALK IN LOVE? (Acts. 2:42-47 4:32-37; 6:1-8)
The pattern of life exhibited by the brethren of the early church still remains a model worthy of emulation in many respects. The show of love amongst them is still unbeatable. Spiritually, they encouraged corporate growth by daily study of the word of God and fellowship. In addition, they engaged in intercessory prayers for one another as the needs arose; for instance, their all-night intercessory prayer for Apostle Peter saw to his miraculous release from prison. (Acts12:5). Secondly, the physical (material) need of the members were taken care of. In fact, there was no lack amongst the brethren. The ‘has’ took care of the ‘have not’s, thus engendering communal living. It was a case of self-less living among the brethren. In addition to these, the social and emotional needs of the brethren were taken care of. When the non-Jews, the Grecians murmured against discrimination, the early church leadership rose to the challenge by appointing deacons to ensure fairness in food distribution (Acts. 6:1-5), thus everybody was carried along. This is love. The church of today should take a cue from this pattern. Presently, there is a huge gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have not. Brethren are no longer bearing the infirmity of fellow brethren. There is segregation on the basis of denomination, tribe or status etc. Selfishness abounds in the church. It is now a case of “everybody to himself but God for us all” We should return to the standard of the early apostles.
Q4. HOW SHOULD THE BODY OF CHRIST LOVE TODAY? (Rom. 12:9-16; James. 2:1-6; Heb. 13:1-5; 1 Jn. 3:12-18)
From the scriptures above and many others not captured here it is clear that the key element or feature for which the church should be known is love. It should be expressed not by mere verbalization but by deeds or actions. Thus, in practical terms, the show of love in the body of Christ should be without discrimination on the basis of gender, age, tribe, or language or social standing.
We are all one in Christ. Love is practical when we show kindness to one another. Our bowel of mercy should never run dry. In the exercise of love, we should learn to give up some personal privileges for others (preferring one another). We should also identify with our fellow believers in their moments of tribulation by praying for them, visiting them and practically helping them come out of their troubles. The Church of today should learn to care and share with those who have not. Giving of palliatives helps in cushioning the plight of the needy. It is love that will also make us to bless even those who hate us both in the body and outside the Body of Christ. Brethren are encouraged to identify with one another both in their moments of celebration (rejoicing) as well as in their moments of pains (weeping).
It is also love in action when the well-placed in the Body of Christ identify with the lonely among them (class should mention others); by these shall all men know that we are followers of Jesus Christ.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
When we truly discern the Body of Christ, as we should, we would love every member of that Body with the God kind of love fervently from the heart (1 Pet. 1:22).
Sincere love requires concentration and effort; it demands our time, money and deep personal involvement in the lives of others. It is a command from the Lord who is a perfect model of love. By this we prove that we are truly born of God.
MEMORY VERSE. 1 John. 4:7
“Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God”