Good Morning, Greetings… Series of lessons on “The Blessings Of Christianity.” Last week we looked at “The blessing of peace.” (SLIDE) Today we are going to look at “The blessing of love.” Love is an interesting topic when we consider it as a “spiritual blessing.” The reason for this is that it really is the foundation to all spiritual blessings. Paul declared loves vital importance when he pointed out the necessity of love in 1 Corinthians 13:3…(SLIDE)

1 Corinthians 13:3 “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” This necessity led Paul to end this section on “love” in verse 13 by saying…(SLIDE)

1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Thus when we consider the love and the blessing it is to us we must consider…(SLIDE)

When we think of God’s love Romans 5:8 surely comes to mind. It is there we read that God blesses all with love by delivering His grace i.e. Jesus. However that love is a love that spans to everyone (Titus 2:11). Now keep in mind that the “love” we are talking about is a love only found “in Christ Jesus.” Remember “spiritual blessings” are only given to those that are “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). So what then is the spiritual blessing of love?

The Foundation Love is not just a spiritual blessing it is “the” blessing of spiritual blessings. All other spiritual blessings given to those in Christ are based on this blessing of love!!! How do we know this? (SLIDE)

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8 We can clearly see that if we are being loving, as children of God, it is based on love given us by God. READ AGAIN Now remember what a blessing is…”A praise worthy benefit bestowed upon us by God.” When we became redeemed, adopted into God’s family, and translated into the kingdom of Christ we were given the spiritual blessing of love by Him who is love. Now here is something we must keep in mind…love is an action not an emotion. Love, as seen here in this verse, is “agape” meaning actions seeking what’s best for the soul. This is how “love” is the foundation because everything that is good for the soul is based in it. Therefore when we consider the spiritual blessing of love we must consider it for what it is, it is the foundation by which all other spiritual blessings spring forth. That truth is significant because if we don’t understand that, we won’t understand that love is also…(SLIDE)

The Climax Love is the crescendo of Christianity. This is perfectly demonstrated by Peter in his second letter. (SLIDE)

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7 With God’s spiritual blessing of love as our foundation we are to take that love and replicate it in our lives. This is how love goes from being a foundation to a climax in our lives. In other words this is how we go from being loved to loving others!!! This is why John would later write in 1 John 4…(SLIDE)

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another…21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:11, 21

Brethren, the spiritual blessing of love that God gives each of His children is the foundation for our walk with Him. We are expected to take this blessing and reciprocate it to others. What a praise worthy benefit we each have been given. Let us all rejoice and praise our God on high for this blessing!!!