1. THE BEAUTY OF HIS LOVE

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, ..."

The nature of Jesus is implanted when we are born again of the Spirit. The beauty of Christ is in us - only awaiting fuller growth and manifestation. The fruit can be hidden by leaves of our human nature. It is possible to exhibit much of self and little of Christ. In this study we are thinking of part of the fruit of the Spirit, namely LOVE. We are to be as our Lord in divine love. It will reveal itself in a threefold way. For the FATHER - the FAMILY - the FALLEN.

1.1. LOVE FOR THE FATHER

Jesus wanted the world to know that He loved the Father.

John 14:31 "But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do ..."

Jesus loved the Father and showed it in His obedience. He loved the Father, therefore loved His every command - there was no reluctance in His obedience because it was the obedience of love.

John 6:38 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."

His loving obedience did not falter at death (Philippians 2:8 ). He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death. At the cross we see just how much Jesus loved the Father. When we are filled with the Spirit of Christ we love God even as Christ Himself loved the Father.

Shown in the prayer of Jesus:

John 17:26 "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

The love of the Father for Christ will be in us - the love of Christ for the Father will be in us - in answer to our Lord's prayer. So the Old Testament command "You shall love..." (Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV) is expected of us and is the inevitable result of Christ's nature, by the new birth.

1 John 4:19 "We love him, because he first loved us."

His first love is explained in:

1 John 4:10 "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Without His first action of love there would be no "we love." In love He "sent" and dealt with our lovelessness towards Him, making it effortless for us to love Him.

The love of the Father dwells in us:

1 John 4:15,16 "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 ... God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

The source of the fruit of the Spirit "love" is the Father's love indwelling us - to love Him is effortless because we love Him back with His own wonderful love, agape, unselfish love, loving what He desires, fully embracing His interests. The source of such love is His own love within us, from that reservoir we respond to His ever giving love.

By delighting in the source of our love - that divine love springs up, moving us to action and words of love. Contemplating His first love releases the spring, so that we cannot withhold from Him who loved and loves us. It is only by His love released in us that we can love Him with joyful abandonment.

It is love's nature to love. Love to the Father is the effortless outgoing of our new nature. Just as a rose is fragrant because it is its nature to be fragrant, and the more mature the rose the fuller its fragrance; so development of the fruit of the Spirit love, spontaneously responds to the warm heart of God.

	What happens to you when you focus on God's love for you?
	Can love be ever satisfied with anything less than love?
	Is the development of the fruit of the Spirit love, essential to your relationship with God the Father?
	Do you effortlessly love God the Father?

It is the love of the Spirit that inspires the bursting forth of unrestrained songs of praise to God the Father. Paul demonstrates love's ecstatic utterances, briefly consider a few of the examples:-

Recognising that his salvation and life in Christ was a powerful demonstration of divine longsuffering and grace, his love overflowed in ecstatic praise to the Father.

1 Timothy 1:17 "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Acclaiming that God has His appointed time for the visible return of Christ, Paul's discussion is injected with the language of love's praise.

1 Timothy 6:15,16 "which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen."

Sharing what he was inspired to pray culminated in superlatives of God's abundant, unlimited giving and His power that works in us to accomplish the honour due to Jesus in the church, love's praise recognises the church as his vehicle of glory.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"

Giving that points to spiritual growth in the grace of giving, which was to Paul a fragrant offering - not self-seeking giving - rather self-sacrificial giving. Such shall not lack "His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19 ). From knowledge of such inexhaustible sufficiency springs love's praise.

Philippians 4:20 "Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

	Is the fruit of the love of Jesus for the Father in you, growing, expanding, erupting in ecstatic utterances of praise?
	Would you say that loving God with all your heart, soul, strength is really giving back to Him His own love poured into your heart? (Deuteronomy 6:5; Romans 5:5 ).
	Does His love so pervade your love that you must passionately, with the help of the Holy Spirit , speak out "spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord"? (Ephesians 5:19 KJV).

By these questions and others, you can discern the development of His beauty in His people.

1.2. LOVE FOR THE FAMILY

John 13:34,35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

"As" - "by". This love is the spontaneous outgoing of the nature of Christ in us, His divine love in us.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is very patient, very kind, love knows no jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no airs, is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, never resentful, love is never glad when others go wrong; love is gladdened by goodness, always slow to expose, always eager to believe the best, always hopeful, always patient." Moffat

This is divine love, the very nature of Jesus. When the love of human nature is lifted to the level of our new nature, the beauty of Jesus is seen in us.

	Is there any hint in scripture of lack of unity or affection in the Godhead?
	How can we be sure to maintain unity and affection in our relationships?

Jesus loved His own. His love in general includes all mankind. His love in particular is His special love for the Church, the body of which He is the Head - bride to which He is the Bridegroom.

John 13:1 "... having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."

John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, ..."

HIS OWN - those who have repented and received Him. The Church, made up of His own, are called out ones. "The whole family in heaven and earth." (Ephesians 3:15 KJV), are the centre of His special love. He demonstrated His love for His own in John 13:1-5. What a sight! The Lord of glory washing the dirty feet of those mutually jealous disciples. What Jesus did in love needs IMITATION more than it needs comment.

John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."

What special implication does washing the feet of another have for you?

Jesus demonstrated His love in giving Himself up FOR US.

Galatians 2:20 "... the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

His was a self-sacrificing love, it was a love that sacrificed self. His self-sacrificial love is the same love we are to have for the brethren.

1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

Jesus demonstrated His love for His own in restoration of the erring one.

Mark 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."

"And Peter." Be sure to tell poor, discouraged, back-slidden, broken-hearted Peter. Jesus restored him (John 21:15-17 ). We are to deal lovingly and patiently with the weak and erring.

Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, ..."

What Christ has demonstrated, He has imparted to us by the Spirit, that we the servants be as our Lord - His love for the brethren is to be displayed in us. Jesus longed for and prayed for the perfection of His own "that they may be made perfect in one" (John 17:23 KJV). If Christians want to know how to convince the world that their message is from God then oneness in love is the secret of the world's recognition. They should be quick to say, "Behold, how they love each other." The Lord Jesus was ready for sacrifice at Calvary that the imperfect might become perfect. Where the blood might be applied there the Spirit indwells and manifests the fruit of Christ's love, and so makes possible the continued manifestation of His love for the brethren, in us.

1.3. LOVE FOR THE FALLEN

Christ loved us, even when we did not love Him.

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:6 "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

He hated sin but loved the sinner. Seeking and saving the lost was the one great object of the earthly mission of the Son of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9 "..., though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Philippians 2:6-8 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

His love for souls, in us, should make us willing to give up the highest place of earth's honour and willingly take the lowest place to win souls. His love in us for souls will make us willing to be misunderstood, rejected, even willing to endure shame, spitting, suffering and death that we might find and lead the fallen souls of men to Christ.

Have you stifled the love of Christ for souls because some have rejected you and the message? Jesus, in the face of rejection did not get angry - He wept. There was nothing in His heart but love and grace towards the sin-broken and sin-cheated humanity. It is this love that we need and are given. May it spring up in fulness - sweep aside all the narrowness of our human love and reach out to the fallen, for Christ.