Loving Like God Loves – Living Made New
Love Like God Loves
Together Church | Pastor Jerry Wells
June 1, 2026 | Series: Living Made New
Introduction
1 John 4:8
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
NKJV
Body
One of the great mysteries about God that is revealed in the Holy Scriptures is that God is love! (1 John 4:8).
- It is because God is love that there has always been and there will always be a perfect union between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
- It is because God is love that He created mankind in His image to be the objects of His love.
- It is because God is love that He created the heavens and the earth and placed mankind in a perfect environment to dwell and multiply.
- It is because God is love that He preserved mankind and covered the nakedness of mankind after the fall of mankind into sin.
- It is because God is love that He chose a nation to redeem mankind from sin.
- It is because God is love that He gave His only begotten Son to save the world from sin.
When Jesus said for God so loved the world in John 3:16 He revealed this great mystery about God that has been always been true about God for all of eternity.
The truth that God is love only became a great mystery because of the deception of Satan and the fall of mankind into sin.
Some of you can understand how this became a mystery to mankind through your experience as a parent or a grandparent. Perhaps you have a child or a grandchild that you love more than you love anyone or anything in this world including your own life. But because that child has fallen into sin, he or she does not know how much you love them. Their perception of you has been distorted by their fall into sin and your love for them is a mystery to them. They are blinded to your love for them by their sin. They do not understand that you would be willing to suffer the consequences of their sin for them if it were possible. You are David and they are your Absalom.
The mystery that God is love was first hidden from mankind at the fall. This mystery was compounded by all the suffering that mankind has endured since the fall. It is common to hear an unbeliever say….
“If God is love how come there is so much suffering in the world?”
The unbeliever says this without considering that all this suffering is the result of the fall of mankind into sin and they are contributing to this suffering everyday by their rebellion against God.
The truth is it is only because God is love that the world has continued to exist since the fall.
The only reason that anyone of us took our first breath as sinners is, God is love!
The mystery that God is love would have remained a mystery to mankind and even the angels forever if it were not for Jesus.
Colossians 1:15
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
NKJV
It is only because of Jesus that we can have any understanding of what God is love really means. If it were not for Jesus we would all still be walking in darkness in our understanding of God and His love.
It is because of Jesus that we understand that God’s love is transcendent.
Transcendent means God’s love is beyond the range of normal human experience.
In our human experience we use the word love for something that satisfies one of our many fleshly appetites or needs. This human experience only adds to our misunderstanding if we hear that God is love. Other than for some parents, our human experience falls short of explaining the love of God.
God’s love is transcendent because it is…
- Unconditional-Jesus loved His friends even when they did not love Him. He loved all His disciples when they fell short of how He taught them to live. He even loved Peter when Peter denied Him. His love was unconditional. But He did not just love His friends. A good man will even die for His friends. Jesus loved His enemies. He demonstrated His love for His enemies when He died for His enemies. His love is unconditional because it is not based on the performance of those to whom it is given. God’s love is transcendent because His love is unconditional.
- Self-less-Jesus’s love was without any self-interest or desire for personal gain or recognition. He did not charge anyone or expect anything in return for His services. He did not love others because of what others could do for Him. God’s love is transcendent because His love is self-less.
- Sacrificial-The love of Jesus love led Him to always put the interests of others above His own interests. He was willing to empty Himself by becoming the Son of Man to serve the wellbeing of everyone in the world. His entire life was characterized by sacrificing Himself to serve the interests of others. God’s love is transcendent because His love is sacrificial.
- Immeasurable-The love of Jesus is infinite. It is vast, endless, and boundless. There was never a time when Jesus felt that He could not possibly love one more person. God’s love is transcendent because His love is immeasurable.
- Perfect-The love of Jesus never failed. He batted 1000. He never missed a shot. He never made a turnover. He never dropped the ball. He never did anything wrong that injured others. The love of God is transcendent because it is perfect.
The love of God is unconditional, self-less, sacrificial, immeasurable, and perfect.
Perhaps the closest example to the transcendent love of God in this world is maternal love. We see it in some mothers as they carry their unborn child. We see it in nature hens and eagles and bears protecting and preserving their young.
We can see in Jesus that this transcendent love is the expression of God’s essence. This means, it is not just what He does, it is who He is! His love is not based on our actions or His feelings. This transcendent love is God’s nature!
I would love to stop here and just bask in this truth about God for a while. No one loves like God loves and no one loves you like God loves you. Meditating on the love that God has for us is a good thing. Listen to what Paul said in this prayer for the church.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
NKJV
Knowing the transcendent love of God is imperative to being filled with all the fulness of God.
In other words, knowing the transcendent love of God is imperative to being who God wants us to be.
To Live Brand New Is To Love Like God Loves.
Jesus said this to His disciples…
John 13:34-35
34 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.” NKJV
In other words, His commandment is that we love one another with His kind of transcendent love, a kind of love that is beyond the range of normal or human experience. And it is this transcendent love for one another that will distinguish us as His disciples.
If this is overwhelming to you, get in line. But please do not let that which is overwhelming to you cause you to conclude it is not possible for you to be His representative of His love.
Ephesians 4:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
NKJV
Yes, we are somewhat limited by our flesh and my limitations seem to be increasing more and more during this season of my life.
But we must always remember that whatever God calls us to do, He equips us to do.
Our success is not dependent upon our strength but upon His strength. We must always remember that God has provided what we need to be the vessels of His transcendent love.
His provision began in us when we received Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and became a follower of Jesus. It was then that He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. And when the Holy Spirit came to dwell is us, it was then that we experienced a new birth. And in that new birth, God provided everything we need to obey this commandment. This is why the apostle John said…
1 John 4:7
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
NKJV
And this is why the Apostle Paul said…
Romans 5:5
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
NKJV
Do you understand what this means?
This means that for every disciple of Jesus the essence of who God is has become the essence of who you are.
It means that the transcendent love of God has become the spiritual substance or DNA of your spiritual nature.
It means that we have been given the ability to love like God loves despite our feelings, our fleshly desires, and the actions of others. It means we can love unconditionally, selflessly, sacrificially, immeasurably, and perfectly.
This is why Peter wrote these words…
2 Peter 1:2-4
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
NKJV
Conclusion
It is because that we are partakers of God’s divine nature and this transcendent love of God has become the DNA of our spiritual nature, that we cannot continue in sin. Paul said this…
Romans 13:10
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
NKJV
(ex: Forgiving my father).
Invitation
- There are some of you who are disciples of Jesus who need to believe that you have been born again of the Spirit of God and that you are a partaker of God’s divine nature.
You need to believe that the transcendent love of God has become the spiritual substance or DNA of your spiritual nature.
- There are some among us in this service or listening online who are not disciples of Jesus but your soul has been awakened by this message about the love of God.
Perhaps you have been one of those people who have thought or said, “if God is love, how come there is so much suffering in this world?”
Perhaps you have never considered that your sin has contributed to the problem and that the only reason you exist is because of the love of God.
Perhaps you have seen God through this message in a way that you have never seen Him before and you are experiencing this longing to be like Him; to love like God loves. It is like a veil has been removed from your eyes that was blinding you to what God is really like. If this is true of you it means that the Holy Spirit calling you to be God’s child.
God loves you so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die and pay for your sin. Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. He then ascended to heaven and was given all authority to rule over the heavens and the earth. He is Lord and He wants to be your Savior if you will let Him. He wants to fill your heart with His transcendent love so that you will love like He loves.
If you want to love like He loves then the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. I want to invite you to bow your head in prayer right now. And with your head bowed in prayer, I want you to simply say, “Jesus save me. I believe in you and I surrender my life to you.”
(Ask for response team to come up)
What Jesus wants you to do next is publicly profess your faith in Him as your Savior and Lord. He gave instructions to His disciples that anyone who wants to follow Him should openly profess their faith by being baptized in water in His name. If you are willing to do that right now, I want to invite you to step out of your seat and make your way forward as Seth is leading us in song.
To Live Brand New Is To Love Like God Loves