“The Three Articles of Love”

John 8:54b–55 ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.

            Yahweh had a purpose in mind when He decided to create the heavens and the earth. It was going to be good, and as Yahweh created each part He said it was good, and it was good.  We look at God as our Father in heaven and He is our Father in heaven. 

Our Father in heaven, the first article of love and the Apostles Creed provides everything we need.  A good father will provide home, food, clothing and the knowledge one needs to have to survive in all elements of this world He created for our temporary home.  We look up to our Father in heaven for wisdom, and we should also look down at the pages of His word, for His wisdom He also wrote down for our benefit.

            Our God has given us all we need to make shelters to live in, to grow food to eat, to make clothing to protect us from the elements of nature, and even His wisdom to help us survive this world we live in.  However sad but true, you might not be able to make the horse you lead to the water drink, but you can surely entice one to eat of the forbidden fruit. 

What God our Father in heaven made good and said was good, should it not stay good?  We are the unlawful, disobedient and defiant children of God the Father Almighty undaunted by His greatness always thinking we can do better than the great and almighty.  Yet… we run to our Father in heaven when we realize what we thought was best for us proved otherwise and we feel the consequences of our actions to be too much to handle. 

Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31           

¹Does not wisdom call?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

²On the heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

³beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

⁴“To you, O men, I call,

and my cry is to the children of man.

            Our Father in Heaven is the wisdom that calls. Understanding is the love that a mother shows and our Father in heaven who looks to his fallen creation seeing their cry for help shows.  Mary the mother of our Lord gives us understanding through the life and experiences of our Lord Jesus Christ

            God the Father sends into the world God the Son to answer the cries of His fallen, now not so good creation.  A good Father who loves His creation does not abandon it because it fell from His love; rather He increases His love through grace and mercy.  Christ the perfect Son of God comes into the world not to condemn the fallen race of mankind, but to raise it back up through His works of grace.  Mercy is not giving us what we deserve. We all deserve the full punishment for all sin and that is eternal death but out of great love grace abounds.

            The law needs to be upheld, for if the law is not upheld then the law has no worth.  Jesus Christ the second article of love came to uphold the laws demands and fulfill the requirements of the law.  Jesus Christ fulfilled the law so that we would still see its worth and still have respect for God’s law.  Jesus suffered that fulfillment of the law for us and then became the first to receive the grace that is now poured out on all of us. 

            Grace is receiving what you do not deserve.  Christ descending into hell already knew He would defeat eternal death and rise from it victorious into eternal life.  With the law’s requirements fulfilled and forgiveness given to all, God could again make His creation good, and say it is good and it is good. 

To help keep His good creation on track God gave us His Word through Christ Jesus His Holy Scriptures written for our understanding.  And so that we could breathe the words of our Lord and understand them He sends His Holy Spirit, the third article of love, to counsel us through and with them.

                Titus 3:3-7 ³ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

            We are renewed through the Grace of God through the works of the Holy Spirit, good works through the word of God and then through us.  We are not just renewed to do good works but to set us again as God’s creation.  A creation He has made good again as in the beginning.

Acts 2:25–28       

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

            The Grace and Mercy of God is poured out on us through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to disperse the love of God to all of God’s creation. The three articles of Yahweh’s Love are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen

Written by: Pastor Curtis A. May

Let us go forth in the Peace of our Lord and Serve the Lord who loved us first.