The Manner of Love

Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of  God: therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him (1 John 3:1)

Behold

1. Attention must be paid
2. Focus must not be divided
3. Both heart and mind must be widely open to perceive

What manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us

1. The source of love is none other than the Father
   1. The Father of the Lord Jesus
   2. The Father of us all who are in Christ
2. The receipts of this love of God the Father
   1. The Lord Jesus
   2. All believers
3. How does this come about?
   1. The Father has given this love to us
   2. The Father has bestowed this love upon us through Jesus His beloved Son
4. The manner of love
   1. On the Father’s side:
      1. By giving us His only begotten Son (John 3:16)
      2. By allowing His beloved Son (the Lamb of God) to die on behalf of us (Cf. Romans 5:8)
   2. On the beloved Son’s side:
      1. By giving up Himself for us (Mark 10:45)
      2. By dying the death of the curse (Galatians 3:13)

That we should be called the sons of God

1. The whole underlying purpose is that we become children of God
2. God the Father has given us the right to become His children in Christ (John 1;12)
3. God the Father has adopted us as His children in and through the Holy Spirit (Rom .8:15-17)

Therefore the world does not know us…

1. There is a world of distinction between the sons of God and others
2. The world representing the not-sons of God will not recognise us nor will they reconcile themselves to us
3. The obvious reason is that they do not know the Lord Jesus as they should