Divine Love

Divine Love By: Evelyn C. Pointer E V LO

“And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.�

2 John: 6

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Divine love is the first great commandment. It is the first part of the royal law. All of the law and all of the prophets are founded upon the love of God. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Christ said....... “If ye love me keep my commandments.�

St. John 14:15

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He also said..... “He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.�

St. John 14: 21

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We must love God with all of our heart, mind and soul. In this way we are sure to obey the law. The law of God was from the beginning. At first it was an oral law. It was taught directly from God to the ancient fathers. It was said that they called upon the Lord, they knew God, feared God or walked with God.

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It was at that time, and was always supposed to be taught and demonstrated from father to son (parent to child). After the flood and the division of the people (tower of Babel), God chose one man to establish his covenant and blessing with. The law and righteousness continued from Abraham and his seed to the children of Israel.

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The law was first written after Israel became a nation.

When the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt they came to Mt Sinai and were given the Ten Commandments by God. They heard God’s voice speak directly to them from heaven, and it was the hand of God, and not of man that wrote the law on two tables of stone. What God has established man cannot change.

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God also gave them many other laws, ordinances, precepts, statutes and judgments. Moses wrote these other laws, dictated directly from the mouth of God. Moses taught all of these things to the children of Israel and left them to all generations in a document that we call the five books of Moses and that Christ referred to them simply as the law.

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The law of God begins with divine love and brotherly love. Hanging upon these two greatest commandments are all of the details, broken down to the very least commandments.

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After Christ’s first coming all of the ordinances pertaining to the law of sacrifice was fulfilled. The temple was destroyed and the sacrifices were forcibly ended.

The law of sacrifice continued until the first coming of Christ who fulfilled all at his death and resurrection. But the law of life, the law that teaches us how to love God and how to love our neighbor continues forever, even through eternity. It remains in full effect today.

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The punishment for breaking the law is death, but grace, through the blood of Christ brought forth the opportunity to repent for our sins and be forgiven. Christ’s grace gave us all the opportunity to obey and be saved.

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Satan has a way of deceiving people. He gives them all kinds of excuses to disobey the first four commandments.

The first four are very specific to the worship and love of God. Satan uses brotherly love to usurp divine love.

Whatever people do in the name of brotherly love is never an excuse for disobeying the law of God, for not worshipping God on the day that he established, and not reverencing his church.

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Relationships with our brethren are very important, but they are not more important than our relationship with God. When your mother, father, sister, brother, children and spouse cannot help you, who do you call for help? When these same people are sick or in trouble or danger who do you call for help?

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When you are all alone in pain or suffering, when you are afraid for your life, your job, your marriage, when all hope seems lost, who is your help and your hope? Who created you? Who died for you? Who gave you your family, your job, your home, and who could take it all away in one stroke? Whose breath goes in and out of your body?

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Keep in mind that any “good” thing that you want to do that in any wise interferes or diminishes the most holy thing, the obedience and worship of God which is our most solemn duty and our first commandment, is not of God but of the devil. The devil does not want you to worship or obey God. The “good” must not usurp the holy.

The love of God requires sacrifice. There is temptation all around and we must resist it.

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A true Christian is like Christ. There was no greater sacrifice than the sacrifice of Christ for his children. We must be willing to sacrifice the very temporary pleasures in this world in order to obey the Lord. People who love the world cannot love God. (I John 2:15-17 & Matthew 19:27-29)

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Special Thanks This presentation was developed from the class entitled “Divine Love�

By: Evelyn C. Pointer, Elder

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Questions?

For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via email at info@householdofisrael.org or by phone at 219.949.9308.

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