#DailyDevotion To Know God’s Love Is To Know His Sacrifice
John 4:16-18 16And we have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is Love, and if you live in love, you live in God, and God lives in you. 17His love has accomplished what He wants when we can look ahead confidently to the day of judgment because we are what He is in this world. 18Such love isn’t terrified, but the finest love throws out terror. We are terrified by punishment, and if we’re terrified, our love isn’t at its best.
We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. What is this love God has for us that we know and believe. Jesus tells us in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” But what does it mean that God gave his only-begotten Son? He tells in verse 10 of this chapter, [He] “gave His Son to be the payment for our sins.” This payment for our sins is the atonement sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the LORD set up sacrifices, doves, goats, lambs, and bulls would be killed. Their blood would be poured out on the altar, the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies and be sprinkled on the people. The animals would be burnt whole upon the altar. So also God’s only-begotten Son Jesus Christ was and is our atoning sacrifice for sin. The Father through the hands of the Jews and the Romans offered Christ up upon the altar of the cross. He laid our sins upon Jesus. Jesus suffered for us what was due our sins, death and eternal torment. Jesus as the High Priest then took his blood into the Holy of Holies in heaven and poured out his blood upon the mercy seat of God. He sprinkles that blood upon us in baptism and cleanses us from our sin. This is the love God has for us.
God is love. Love is not approving or tolerating sin. It is dying to it and sacrificing oneself for it. To live in God’s love, is to live in God and God to live in you. To live in God’s love is to forgive sin. To love as God loves is to forgive those who sinned against you. It is to not hold a person’s sins against them before God. It is to die to the right for retribution. This is how God loves you. To live in God’s love is to believe and know the Father sacrificed his son for you. It is to know the wrath that you deserve for your sin, the Father took out on Jesus instead on the cross. To know God’s love for you is to know he did this to Jesus and Jesus accepted it because their great love for you. In God’s love you live in God’s grace, mercy and peace in Christ.
So God’s love is wrapped in his forgiveness and atonement for you. His love has accomplished what he wants when you are no longer terrified of the Day of Judgment. We look confidently to the Day of Judgment because we have already been judged for our sins in baptism where we were made one with Jesus in his suffering, death and resurrection. (Rom. 6:3ff) The judgment we face is salvation not condemnation. His finest love for us cast off terror of condemnation. We no longer fear God’s punishment when we know and believe the love he has for us in Christ Jesus. When the devil fool’s you and you become terrified by judgment and condemnation, find two intersecting lines and know of the cross of Jesus Christ your punishment has been taken away. Look at a tree and know in the crucifixion of Jesus your sins have been atoned for, their punishment has been paid by him.
Merciful God and Father, always give us your Holy Spirit that we may know your great love for us in Christ Jesus and in that knowledge cast off all fear and terror of the punishment we deserve and rejoice in your mercy and grace, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our LORD who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit. Amen.