Sermon Starters

Loving Is Obeying Key Verse: John 15:10 I. Love is a magnet. A. The Greek word translated “love” in John 15:9 is agápē, “unselfish love which seeks to meet a need in another.” 1. Christ wants us to love (agapáō) our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). He does not want us to stay away from them, even as He did not stay aloof from those who hated Him. 2. He wants us to recognize their need and meet it, even as He met our own need in our sinful condition. 3. If you are estranged from people, try loving them by meeting a need in their lives. Thus you will build a bridge between you and them. B. From agápē there springs philía, “friendship,” which is commonly translated love. 1. This type of love is based on a relationship of common interests. Two people are friends when they are concerned about the same things. There is more a bond of equality among friends. 2. The Lord never used the verb philéō, “befriend,” to tell us to love our enemies. He does not want us to compromise ourselves by associating with those of opposite lifestyles. He does not want us to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14). C. In contrast to agápē is the word érōs which is “selfish, sexual lust, a desire for someone or something.” 1. This word never occurs in the New Testament. 2. érōs takes, and when what is to be enjoyed no longer satisfies, it is dropped. Erotic marriages end in divorce because they are based not on giving to one another but in receiving. D. As the magnet attracts that which is opposite to it, so a Holy God draws the sinner to Himself. II. The same kind of love is extended to us by Jesus as the Father extended to Him. A. “As the Father hath loved me” (John 15:9). 1. The adverb “as” in Greek is kathṓs from katá, “according,” and hōs, “according as,” or in the same manner as. 2. The quality of the love which the Father showed to His only begotten, the unique Son, is the quality of love which the Son demonstrated to us, as branches of His vine. B. What kind of love was it? 1. It was a love that would not spare Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus had just told His disciples He was going to go away. 2. It was a love that accomplished the Father’s purpose, Jesus giving eternal life through His death. 3. The love of the Father did not mean escape from duty, but faithfulness. There was identity of purpose between the Father and the Son. C. “So have I loved you” (v. 9). 1. The Greek word kagṓ could have been translated “I myself,” or “even I myself have loved you.” 2. There is no greater love than that between the Father and the Son. Love was not given because the Son needed it, but because of their complete unity of essence, character, and purpose. This is another application of agapáō, “living in complete harmony.” It is far higher than philía, “friendship.” D. The verb “have loved,” ēgápēsa, in Greek is in the aorist in both phrases. 1. “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.” The aorist active means an active voluntary expression of unity of character and purpose between the Father and the Son. 2. It is a historical love. It is sealed and no one can change it. No circumstances in the life of Jesus or the disciples can classify the necessity of suffering by Christ or the disciples as an abandonment. Love does not rescue from suffering but redeems through it. III. Obedience is the correct response to love. A. He who is loved should obey the One who loves him. B. “Continue ye in my love.” 1. “Continue” in Greek is meínate, the aorist imperative (John 15:9). It denotes action anchored in love. 2. Each act of obedience to God’s commandments makes the relationship firmer. C. When it comes to Jesus’ keeping the Father’s commandments, there is no condition—not, “if I keep them,” but “I have kept them.” Jesus speaks of a completed fact. Tetḗrēka is in the perfect tense. D. Obedience is the secret of abiding in God’s love. Spiros Zodhiates, Sermon Starters : Volumes 1-4 (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1998).