#2 God is Love

Q. What is the most important thing about God we need to know?

1John 4:16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

A. The most important thing we should know about God is that He IS love.

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Q. Is God’s love conditional?

Jeremiah 31:3. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

A. God’s love is unconditional and everlasting.

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Q. Can anything separate us from God’s love?

Romans 8:35,37-39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A. No, nothing is able to separate us from God’s love. He will never stop loving us.

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Q. How much does God love us?

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.

A. God loves us SO much that He was willing to send His Son, Jesus, to die in our place so that we can have the opportunity to live with Him forever.

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Q. How great is God’s love for us?

John 15:13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

A. God’s love for us is the greatest love possible.

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Q. Can we fully understand God’s love?

Ephesians 3:19. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

A. No, God’s love is above what we can comprehend and understand.

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Q. What other benefits do we get from God’s love?

1John 3:1. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God....

A. God loves us SO much that He adopts us as His children. We can become children of the God of the universe.

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Q. Does God only love us when we follow Him?

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

A. God loved us even when we had no desire for Him. His love is unconditional.

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Q. So does it not matter how we live?

Mark 2:17. When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

A. God loves us no matter how we live, BUT even though His LOVE is unconditional, He is also JUST and calls us to repent and live for Him so that we can have eternal life.

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Q. What should our response be to God’s great love for us?

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

A. We should automatically love God in return.

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Q. But if God is a God of love, why do bad things happen to us and to innocent people?

Revelation 3:19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

A. There can be many reasons why bad things happen, not only as consequences for wrong as the text indicates. (We will take a deeper look into this question in our next post: GOD IS GOOD). For now, let us just remember that bad things DO happen to those God loves. He still loves us - the real question is “Do we still love and trust Him?”

# 1: Knowing God

Q. How important is knowing God?

John 17:3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

A. Knowing God is the key to eternal life.

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Q. Does God take us knowing Him seriously?

Hosea 4:1. Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

A. One of the charges God brings against His people is that they do not know Him.

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Q. How much does God want us to get to know Him?

Hosea 6:6. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

A. God desires for us to know Him more than He wants offerings.

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Q. What will happen to those who Do not know God?

Matthew 7:23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 

A. Those who do not know the Lord will not inherit eternal life.

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Q. What is the one thing about us we are allowed to be joyful about?

Jeremiah 9:23,24. Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

A. We can be joyful about the fact that we know God.

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Q. How do we get to know God?

Hosea 2:19,20. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

A. God likens our relationship with Him to a marriage. It is in a personal and intimate relationship with God that we truly get to know Him.

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Q. How do we form a relationship with God?

Jeremiah 29:12,13. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

A. The first step in forming a relationship with God is to search for Him with all our hearts. We can search for Him through prayer and reading the Bible.

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Q. When should we seek the Lord?

Isaiah 55:6. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

A. We need to seek the Lord right away before it is too late.

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Q. What is God’s promise for those who seek Him right away?

Proverbs 8:17. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

A. Those who seek God right away will find Him.

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Q. How do we seek God?

Psalm 46:10. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

A. We seek God by being still and listening for Him to speak to us. He can speak to us in many ways - His Word, impressions, nature, audible voice etc.

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Q. What is the next step to truly getting to know God?

Psalm 34:8. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

A. As well as reading God’s Word and praying, we need to taste God and see that He is good. We need to experience God. We do this by opening our eyes and counting all the blessings He bestows on us. When we see His hand in every aspect of our lives, we will trust Him for we have seen Him and know Him.