Love (Part One: The Divine Gift)
by Theodore Turner

Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Introduction
I hope you excuse my use of the word Love instead of the word charity in the reading of this text. I am thankful for the King James’ translators for their attention to detail here. They recognised that the Apostle was talking about something more than mere human love. It was not something cheap and shallow. And it is hardly anything like the love that we so often proclaim to have. I hope, as well, that you forgive me for the title of my sermon. You may have heard many sermons on Love before but, as much as they proclaimed to be talking about Love, they always fell short. This sermon will be no different. Love cannot be proclaimed in words but can only be manifested by the Word.

The Gift of God
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And that is where Love begins. There can be no question about it. Jesus Christ came to this world to proclaim Love. Here the Bible uses the word glory but we know that glory denotes character. What is the Character of God?

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love

It is evident that God’s Character is quite different than man’s. It doesn’t take much to realise this. We all know it. We all have seen it demonstrated in our lives, and the lives of other’s, every day. This Love then is God’s Glory. It is what distinguishes Him from man. It is innate in him. It is what He is made of. His very substance is Love.

A Problem
The problem that we are facing is simple; If God is Love by very nature, what are we? We are not God. We are totally opposed to God in every way. I want to establish this obvious point by a few texts.

Romans 8:6,7 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

There is no new thought here. I repeat, this is all quite evident. Yet, this is the very problem we are faced with each day as Christians. And this is the problem that we ignore just as often. We are not able to see this, though it is right in front of our noses.

James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass [mirror]: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

John 3:19,20 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

What again is the problem? God is Love by very nature and we are sinners by very nature. We are as incompatible as light and darkness. And this is the problem that religion has tried to solve to no avail. Not only religion but every philosophy from atheism to Zen Buddhism, has tried to provide an answer or escape from this problem.

Man’s Attempts to Solve the Problem
I will not go into too much detail here. Man’s attempts to deal with the sin problem are notorious -- from Adam’s fig leaves to Humanism’s denial that a problem even exists. These are all failed attempts because they do not deal with the real problem: man cannot save himself. Salvation is the act of God alone. Man’s attempts to solve this problem, though they may seem noble, are really the natural result of his nature and therefore can never result in any sort of solution.

Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

God’s Solution
Since man’s attempts to solve the sin problem are the result of his nature, it is not surprising that God’s solution is consistent with and comes forth from His very nature. God could not possibly offer a solution contrary to His nature than can we. We act according to our nature and so does God. This is not surprising but it is not often considered. Since God is Love, His solution must be Love. This is not man’s solution. For even when man calls his solution love, it is always a cheap imitation. Again I repeat: since man is not Love his solution cannot be Love, even if he calls it that and since God is Love his solution is Love even if we think it is something else. Because of our nature, we try to call our solution Love and we reject God’s solution because it doesn’t fit in with our idea of love. God’s solution is not our solution and is opposed to it.

Part of His solution must then involve making us accept His solution. Since this is contrary to our very nature, it is not easy. God is Love and we are not. His solution then must provide a bridge, involve an exchange and do something that can only be classed as miraculous or supernatural, if it is going to be a solution at all.

Jesus is God’s Solution
It is easy to say that Love is the answer but it is much more difficult to demonstrate. God didn’t just say it but did it. ‘The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.’ Much lip service is offered to this concept within Christianity but it is not demonstrated. The thought is big here, so pay attention. Christians pay lip service to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross but do not demonstrate it. We read the words in the scriptures but they have little effect upon our lives. We wash the outside of the cup but never cleanse the heart from sin. We demonstrate by our lives that we are not Christians at all but mere mock-ups. This is because we worship a different Jesus than the one revealed in God’s Word. We have substituted man’s concept of love for God’s and think that it will suffice. All that is wrong with Christianity, with Adventism and with us individually is this; we are not Love, do not know Love and have never seen Love because we are not God, have not known God and have not seen God.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ
We need to turn to the first letter of John. Open it up and read it. [You cannot proceed without an open Bible. It would be best if you read the whole letter before you go any further. I will have to assume that you have read it.] Notice that he begins this letter with a ‘Revelation of Jesus Christ’. No, he doesn’t use those words exactly (as he does with the Book of Revelation) but John starts where he always does by presenting us with the truth about Jesus: God has come in human flesh. He then goes on to describe clearly (as he did in his gospel) the truth about man, or if you prefer, the true nature of the flesh. We are sinners by nature.

I used this phrase earlier and some may object to its use but I will describe what I mean by it and explain why I use it. I was contrasting God with man. God is love; man is not. Man’s nature, his flesh, is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be. As I stated earlier, in order for man to accept God’s solution there must be a miracle; it won’t happen naturally. There has to be a supernatural event before man can possibly have even a slight hope in producing anything that is even close to obedience to God’s law of Love. This is where many go astray. They look for a change of nature, a holy flesh, to be given them so that they cannot sin. But that is man’s solution not God’s.

Man wants the easy way out. For those who still believe that God requires obedience (and there are fewer and fewer of those around these days) many want to bypass the cross. ‘I can obey only if my nature is changed’ they say, but they are referring only to one side of their nature, the flesh. The other part, the mind, they do not really think needs converting. They somehow believe that if God changes their flesh from sinful to sinless that they would suddenly be able to easily obey all of God’s commandments.

When this change will occur is a point of contention among Christians. Some place it at conversion, Some at the close of probation, some at the time of Jacob’s trouble and some at the second coming. These all have started with a false premise -- since man has a sinful nature (sinful flesh) and sin is natural, he cannot possibly cease from sin while in this nature. I will deal with this point (the nature of sin) more detail in the second part. It is true man has a fallen nature but it is not true that obedience is impossible while he still has that nature. We can be obedient if we have help.

Our Advocate
This explanation was needed if we are to continue looking at John’s letter, for he says, ‘I write this to you that ye sin not’. John is outlining God’s solution to the sin problem. That solution comes not in a removal of our sinful flesh but in the form of an Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous. This word ‘Advocate’ is the same word that is translated as ‘Comforter’ in John’s gospel in reference to the Holy Spirit. Even though Jesus was going away he was not going to leave us ‘comfortless’, that is helpless, but would provide us help in the form of His Holy Spirit. Clearly, if Jesus had taken away our sinful nature there would have been no need of the help that He promised to send.

John then makes some of the most direct statements in God’s Word regarding the standard of obedience required before we can call ourselves ‘Christians’. I present 1 John 3: 4-11 as an example.

‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ’

These are strong words. Man has cavilled them till they have all but lost their meaning but they stand clear if we let them speak to us. We have sinned; and not only that, until we are in perfect agreement with God’s Character as demonstrated by our actions (as revealed in a perfect obedience to all of God’s commandments), any profession of a knowledge of God is a mere sham, a lie, that we use to try to deceive our selves, others and even God. That is why we need an Advocate.

The Spirit of Antichrist
John then gives us a warning, ‘Believe not every spirit’. In chapter four he exposes and outlines Satan’s counter-gospel. This false gospel seeks to obscure and distort God’s Love. I may sound like a stuck record but it needs to be said again. God’s plan is the result of his nature and character; man’s solutions (which are really Satan’s, since he is the originator of sin in the first place) are the result of his nature.

1 John 4:2,3 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Again we are presented with the concept that Jesus came in the flesh. What kind of flesh did he come in? There is only one kind, human flesh. And what is human flesh? sinful flesh. Some try to make Jesus come in a flesh that is not human, that is, a flesh that has not existed since man sinned. They try to get Jesus to come in the nature of Adam before Adam fell. But that is not human flesh. No human has ever be born with that flesh. It is true Adam was created without sinful flesh but no one has been born without sinful flesh. Jesus was born. He was subject to the law of heredity as is every child of Adam. And the Bible is clear about what kind of flesh he was born with.

Hebrews 2:16-18 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour [help] them that are tempted.

Romans 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.

What kind of flesh was it? The seed of Abraham, the seed of David; these men, though great men of God, were ‘subject to like passions as we are’. David declares of himself in the Psalms 51:5, ’Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ I also declare that this is true of Jesus in that he was born, shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.

That Holy Thing
Some may object to the last statement based upon this scripture:
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

How could that holy thing, which was conceived of the Holy Ghost, be conceived in sin? First, we need to understand what David means by his statement. Second, we need to understand why Jesus is called that holy thing.

Psalm 51 was written by king David after his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband was exposed by Nathan the prophet. That he was shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin is not presented as an excuse for sin. Indeed, the parallel to Paul’s declaration in Romans 7 that, ‘I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing’, is obvious. Again, neither David or Paul use our fallen nature as an excuse for sin. They are describing their nature not as an excuse for sin but, rather, to reveal their need of Divine aid in the overcoming of sin. They need a Saviour that can deliver them from their sin and demonstrate power over human nature.
This leads then to the second point regarding that holy thing. Why was Jesus called that holy thing? He was born of the virgin Mary. In spite of the Catholic Church’s assertion that Mary was Immaculately conceived (and so was her Mother), so that Jesus could be born without original sin, does not mean that we have to accept this explanation of the meaning of that holy thing. If we compare Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of the Jesus birth, we find that a great emphasis is placed upon the naming of this Child. Three names are given, Jesus (Jehoshua; Jevohah is the Saviour), Emmanuel (God with us) and the Son of God (Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man). Jesus cannot be our Saviour unless He is God with Us. He is the God-Man. Again I belabour the point to make it clear -- Jesus could not be our Saviour unless He is both fully God and fully man. That is why He is called that holy thing even though he assumed human nature, a nature that was subject to sin. Jesus, in coming to save fallen man, had to come to man where man was but He could not let go of His Divinity. He had to unite Divinity and humanity in Himself.

Let’s make this clear. Jesus never sinned, not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. This is due solely to his miraculous birth. Jesus did not sin because he was conceived by the Holy Ghost -- but He still came in sinful flesh. If Jesus had come in sinless flesh it would be nothing for Him to be obedient to God -- but then he could not be our Saviour. In order for Jesus to save us we need a miracle. God coming in sinless flesh is no miracle. Jesus living a perfect life of obedience in sinless flesh is not a miracle, neither can it save us. Nor can the death of such a being save me. Again, in order to be saved from sin I need a Saviour that can demonstrate power over sin.

I Am Crucified With Christ Because He Took My Nature
Romans 6:3-7 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

The Apostle is clear. I was crucified with Christ. How could I be crucified with him if He did not come in my nature? How could the body of this sin be destroyed by the death of Christ if He had not taken upon Himself our sinful nature?

Some may say I belabour the point, that it is obvious. Indeed it is, but the point still needs to be made so that it can be seen clearly. Also, we need to see clearly that our only hope is to have the same Love that Jesus had if we are to leave this world and become citizens of God’s Kingdom. In fact, John in his letter warns us that there will be a counter-christ, an antichrist who would teach that Jesus did not come in the flesh. Some have assumed that this false teaching only refers to a non-physical Christ, a spirit. No Christians today believe that Jesus was a spirit. That there were some who taught so in John’s day (Gnostics) does not mean that that is the only error that he was trying to counter. He knew, as well as we do, that the antichrist had to be revealed before Jesus would come back. [see 2 Thessalonians 2:ff]

Born of God
1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

Here is the miracle that I talked about earlier. Not only has Jesus Christ been begotten of the Holy Spirit and lived a life of perfect obedience in human flesh, but we also are begotten of the Holy Spirit and live a life of perfect obedience without a change of flesh. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘Ye must be born again’, He says the same to us. The result is miraculous as well; Love --not a sentimental and shallow love; not a feeling; not a human love, a selfish love; but the same kind of Love wherewith He has Loved us -- a Love that is manifest in obedience to all of God’s commandments.

What It Means to Have a New Nature
What then has changed in the new birth? Certainly not our flesh. Paul in his treatise on the new birth (the Book of Romans), states, ‘For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal [fleshly], sold under sin,’ and ‘I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.’ (Romans 7:14, 18) whether or not Paul is talking about his experience before or after conversion in this text, is moot. He still is making it clear that his nature is fleshly or carnal. Paul tells us plainly,

Romans 7:24- 8:4 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There are a lot of thoughts presented in this passage so let us break it down. Paul has just been explaining to us in chapter 7 what the flesh is, sinful. In the flesh, he sees no escape from the deeds of the flesh (he keeps doing the things he doesn’t want to do) so he calls upon God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord he sees escape. That escape does not include a removal of the flesh, the doing away with the law or any of the other innumerable things that man dreams up as a solution to the sin problem. No, Paul sees an answer to the sin problem in Christ’s example. Christ came in human flesh but did not walk after the flesh. How? By a new birth. Jesus has replaced the old enmity to God with a new enmity to sin.

Romans 8:7-11 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life [alive] because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Read chapter 6-8 in their entirety.


A Conclusion
So then, John and Paul are in agreement. Jesus Christ came in human flesh, sinful flesh, that He might destroy sin. Jesus wants to live in our sinful flesh, live individually in us, so that he can destroy sin in our lives as well. This is the new birth. John knew Jesus personally. He walked with Him upon this earth. He knew His character. John knew His attitude towards sinners and his attitude towards sin. Jesus Loved sinners but hated sin. And he hated sin because of what it does to sinners. Jesus came to destroy sin so that sinners may not be destroyed.

An Incomplete Sermon
You may be saying at this point, ‘I thought this sermon was on Love’. But I told you that it couldn’t possibly reveal everything about Love with words. God has a solution to all your problems. It is not your solution. God’s Love has opened a way for sinners. He has consecrated a way for us. Jesus has shown us the Way. Everything that I have expressed in this sermon today is meaningless, if I do not do it. It will have no meaning for you either, if you do not do it.

An Admonition
There is more that I would like to say at this point but we cannot go on now. The wall is too high, the path is too steep and our nature shrinks back at the sight of the Cross. What God is asking of us is not humanly possible but ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me’. Philippians 4:13

We need some time to think but now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. We have to proceed. This is where the Cross becomes real and meaningful -- when we take it up and follow Him. My next sermon in this series will express what will happen when we do it. I hope that there is no need for that sermon, that we will all know by personal experience what it means to take up our cross.