Title: Ephesians 05:1-2 Walk in love
Contents
Ephesians 5:1-2 Walk in love
"Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved you. He gave himself up for us, offering himself as a fragrant sacrifice and livestock to God." Ephesians 5:1-2)
Good morning? How was Chuseok?
Today, we are going to study the words of Ephesians 5:1-2.
Let God walk in love, as those who have loved us! You said.
What kind of love have we put on by these words? And what must we do to walk in love? I'd like to take a look at it.
God said this because, although we should act in love, we do not do it, but rather remain in complacency. Because of this, God is not glorified, and we cannot enjoy the joy of Christ.
Because love produces abundant fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), God is glorified, and we too are filled with the joy of the Lord (John 15:8-12). And we reveal to all that we are Christ's disciples. (John 13:35) It is a blessing to walk in love like this.
First, what kind of love do we put on? Let's think about
Just as we cannot accurately describe the size of the universe, we cannot fully express God's love for us. This is because God's love is so great that it cannot be expressed in words, and because we are imperfect and insensitive to God's love. So, first, let's rethink how much God loves us.
How much does God love us?
First, God only loved people.
Among the creatures God made, there are many things that are more beautiful, more talented, and more obedient than humans. But God only loves people.
How happy would I be if a nice guy with a lot of money, high status, good health, a good personality, and a lot of humor could only love me? Sisters... ?!
But God, who is incomparable with humans, who is abundant in grace and mercy, is perfect, and has great power, loves only me.
God gave us all things and gave us control over them. He made him the king of creation (Genesis 1:26-28).
Second, God loved us as enemies (Colossians 1:21).
We should love only the God who made us and loved us. But rather, he loved Satan. We oppose God, we grumble, and we profane His holy name. Nevertheless, God loved us.
"…In those days you walked in the midst of this world, following the rules of this world, and following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. By nature we were children of wrath, because of the great love that God, who is rich in mercy, loved us…” (Ephesians 2:2-4)
“God demonstrates his love for us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…, that, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son…” (Romans 5:8;10)
Third, God showed sacrificial love by sacrificing his own body.
“…He gave himself up for us, as a fragrant offering and a livestock to God” (Ephesians 5:2).
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…” (1 Peter 2:24).
Fourth, God loves us wherever we are and even if we forget Him.
As the saying goes that time is medicine, people forget as time passes.
I will never forget it,
Let's live the world like that,
There will be days when Sano will be forgotten. -Sowol-
But God never forgets us, and He continues to love us wherever we are, even when we are hiding from Him.
“But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me. I have carved you on the palm of my hand, and your walls are always before me” (Isaiah 49:14-16).
“Where shall I flee from Your Spirit? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Hades, you are there. Even if I spread my wings at dawn and dwell at the ends of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me up. Even if I say, Darkness the spirits overshadow me, and the light that surrounds me will become night, but darkness cannot hide it from you; the night shines like the day, for with you darkness and light are common” (Psalm 139:7- 12)
That's right. God remembers us wherever we are, and He does not slumber or sleep, He protects us (Psalm 12:4-8).
Fifth, God's love is eternal (John 13:1).
God loves us forever. His love never changes. Even though we oppose God, He loves us unchangingly.
People only love those who love themselves. But God loves those who have forsaken Him and left Him. You can see that through Israel.
"The LORD said to me, "The children of Israel worship other gods, and they delight in raisin bread, yet the LORD loves them..." (Hosea 3:1)
“When Israel was a child, I loved and called my son out of Egypt, but the more the prophets called them, the more they distanced themselves from them, and they sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense before carved idols. But I taught Ephraim to walk, and put him in my arms. But they did not know that I was healing them. I drew them with human cords, even with cords of love, and became to them as those who remove the yoke from their necks, and I put food before them” (Hosea 11:1). -4)
The Israelites were saved from Egypt by God's grace and inherited the land of Canaan. However, like Hosea's wife Gomer, they forsook God, their husband, and served other gods. But God did not forsake them and loved them. In the same way, sometimes we also forsake God and turn away from God and follow the world because of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the lust for pride of life. But just as God did not change his love for Israel who had rejected him, he loves us unchangingly.
As we have seen so far, we have received tremendous love from God.
If you have received such amazing and great love, of course, you should act in love.
So how should we love? The apostle Peter said:
“You have purified your souls by obedience to the truth, so that you have come to love your brother without deceit. Love one another with all your heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
The commandment to love each other without lies is because people love falsely.
What is false love?
False love is pretending to love without loving.
It also refers to love for self-interest. A person's love depends on his interests. If it's profitable, I love it, otherwise I don't love it. However, this is not the kind of love that God requires. He demands love without lies.
So, how do you make love without lies?
First, it is love for the sake of edification.
It is said that love builds up. (1 Corinthians 8:1) Educating means building a house. It means doing things for the good of the church.
In order to be edified, we must seek the benefit of others, not our own.
“All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial; all things are lawful, but not all things are edifying. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)
To seek the good of others, you must help. Those with strong faith must bear the weaknesses of those with weak faith (Romans 15:1-2). And in order to help others, we must know that we are members of one another (Romans 12:5).
Second, we must not slander each other.
The cause of slander is pride. Thinking that you are better offends others. And if you do not follow your own opinion or follow your own opinion, you will be slandered.
However, this is very wrong. Rather, you should lead those who are inferior to you and correct their weaknesses.
“He who covers a transgression seeks love, and he who repeats it separates close friends” (Proverbs 17:9).
"Brothers, if a man is found guilty of any sin, you who are spiritual, in a meek spirit, correct such a person, and examine yourselves, lest you also be tempted. Bear your burdens one another, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. do” (Galatians 6:1-2)
Third, you must forgive those who have wronged you.
“Therefore, as God’s chosen, holy and beloved ones, clothe yourself with mercy, mercy, humility, gentleness, and longsuffering; and if anyone accuses anyone, bear with one another and forgive one another, just as the Lord has forgiven you…” (Col 3:12-13)
We must forgive those who have harmed us. And we must do it as the Lord forgave us. The Lord has forgiven us unconditionally. The Lord forgives us before we ask for forgiveness for our sins. In the same way, we are to forgive without conditions, even when we admit our wrongdoings, even if we do not pray.
Fourth, you must make sacrifices.
The Lord said that it is great love to lay down one's life for a friend.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends..." (John 15:13)
The Lord gave His life for us, who are enemies, not friends.
If we have received this kind of love, of course we must make sacrifices for other brothers. We must live a life of giving up our own interests for the benefit of other brothers. This is what we do in love.
Finally, in order to walk in love, we must meet each other.
The general nature of love is to meet the person you love. Therefore, meeting is the basis of love. You cannot love without meeting. Therefore, in order to love, you must come to the meeting. You cannot say that you love your brother or that you love God without coming to the meeting. And it cannot be said that we act in love. Therefore, in any case, we should do our best to come to the meeting.
Dear brothers and sisters!
We are those who have received the wonderful love of God. And God has commanded us to walk in love.
In order to obey this command, we must live a life of helping each other, not slandering, forgiving one another, and sacrificing for other brothers.
And we must live a life that strives to always be together.
“Lord, help us to walk in love as loved ones.”