“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” 1Jn3:1
This word behold (eidō) means to perceive, to see, be sure, understand, notice, discern, discover, to inspect, examine, pay attention to something. It is talking about taking a long hard look. To be held by something we are looking at. To be captivated and to search out the meaning of something. To fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care.
This is not just a casual looking at something. It is an intense consideration and examination of something which in this case is God’s kind of love for us.
Furthermore, the word manner (potapos) means of what sort, of what quality, of a foreign nature, of what kind, a peculiar way, a distinct mode. It has to do with the particular kind, nature, quality of something. This scripture admonishes us to take a long hard look at God’s kind of love toward us. To examine, inspect, consider God’s unique, peculiar type of love that He has bestowed upon us. Why is this admonition given to us? It is because this is no ordinary love. The type of love that God has for us is not common, it is not natural to us, it is foreign.
God loves us in a way that is very different from our idea of love and in a way that no one else loves us. His love is strange, foreign and unique to the natural man. It is a different kind of love. Agape love, the God kind of love.
The third word we need to consider in this scripture is the word love (agapē). There are four different Greek words used for love throughout the New Testament but this agape love is the highest most perfect kind of love and is most commonly associated with God. It is an unconditional love that is based solely on God’s nature and character and not on us or what we do. God is love. He doesn’t have love. He is agape love.
It means to regard with deep affection, to have good will, to be fond of, to be well pleased, to be contented, to love dearly, to care deeply, to be dedicated, to derive delight from, to have a deep sense of value and esteem for, to have approval for and to have admiration for someone or something. God loves us with agape love.
He has deep affection for us, He is fond of us, He is well pleased with us, He cares for us deeply, He is dedicated to us, He values and esteems us and He admires us greatly. God is always looking for the opportunity to do good to us, to bless us, to help us, to give us an advantage, to love on us. Always. Agape love is not simply something God does when He is in a good mood nor something He experiences when we have done enough to appease Him. No, agape-love is who He is, and there is nothing we can do to change His character. His love is unconditional.
God’s Love for us, although it must be experienced, is not just a feeling. It is a quality of care, a commitment to us, an experience of love that creates an atmosphere of absolute assuredness, peace and joy in our hearts and in our lives. God’s love is not just a good feeling that we have. It becomes an atmosphere, a realm of righteousness in which we dwell and stay on a continuous daily basis that just insulates and keeps us from the world.
This is the realm in which Jesus always operated. It is what Isaiah26:3 calls perfect peace.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
So the apostle John admonishes us to seek to understand, to examine carefully and to be held by God’s kind of love for us. It is an admonition to meditate, to ponder, to consider with all our mind and heart how God loves us.
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1Jn4:7
Agape love is of God. It is not of us. It doesn’t come from us. It comes from God. It comes from His nature and character. It is who He is at all times.
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1Jn4:8
The word know (ginosko) means to experience. To know by experience and not just by information in the head. When we are not walking in love towards God and other people it means that we are not experiencing God. God is agape love. When we are not experiencing Him we are not experiencing agape love. The solution to not walking in love towards God and towards other people is simply to start experiencing God in a close intimate relationship. As we experience God, we experience agape love. And as we experience agape love we are able to give it.
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” 1Jn4:9
God’s kind of love for us is manifested and revealed to us by the Cross. The Cross was the place where God demonstrated unto us how much He loved us and what kind and manner of love He has for us. By considering, meditating and pondering on the Cross we can discover, see, understand and experience God’s love for us. The Cross reveals God’s manner of love for us.
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