Christian Love | Part 1: You are Loved by Jesus!

For this six-part series on the love that comes from God our Father. We will be looking at the following verses. These form the Christian foundation of divine love upon which the Christian life stands.

You Are!

Loved by Jesus: As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. John 15:9
Loved by the Father: 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. John 3:16
Loved through the Spirit: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5
No Greater Love: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
God is Love: 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. 1 John 4:16
No Separation from love: 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. Romans 8:39

You are Loved by Jesus:

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. John 15:9

Commentary by Albert Barnes as found in the free Bible Software E-SWORD

As the Father hath loved me – The love of the Father toward his only-begotten Son is the highest affection of which we can conceive. Compare Mt 3:17, and Mt 17:5. It is the love of God toward his coequal Son. who is like him in all things, who always pleased him, and who was willing to endure the greatest sacrifices and toils to accomplish his purpose of mercy. Yet this love is adduced to illustrate the tender affection which the Lord Jesus has for all his friends.

So have I loved you – Not to the same degree, for this was impossible, but with the same kind of love – deep, tender. unchanging; love prompting to self-denials, toils, and sacrifices to secure their welfare.

Continue ye – The reason which he gives for their doing this is the strength of the love which he had shown for them. His love was so great for them that he was about to lay down his life. This constitutes a strong reason why we should continue in his love:

Because the love which he shows for us is unchanging.
It is the love of our best friend – love whose strength was expressed by toils, and groans, and blood.
As he is unchanging in the character and strength of his affection, so should we be. Thus only can we properly express our gratitude; thus only show that we are his true friends.
Our happiness here and forever depends altogether on our continuing in the love of Christ. We have no source of permanent joy but in that love.

In my love – In love to me. Thus it is expressed in the Greek in the next verse. The connection also demands that we understand it of our love to him, and not of his love to us. The latter cannot be the subject of a command; the former may. See also Luke 11:42, 1 John 2:5; Jude 1:21.

the Father: John 15:13, John 17:23, John 17:26; Eph 3:18; Rev 1:5
continue: Jn 15:11; 1Jn 2:28; Jude 1:20