Love – New Birth

Lesson #50

In our last lesson we considered God’s greater love in his choice of Israel as a people he would reveal Himself to. In this lesson we will consider the movement of the Spirit, like the wind as it blows from place to place, as he moves among people choosing one here and another there as he pleases. We as spiritually dead people have no control over where the Spirit goes or who he touches. With his regenerating power he touches those of his choosing.

This choosing is an expression of his great love for us. Consider Ephesians 2:4 – 5: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (NASB). In 1 Peter 1:3, this “great love” is expressed as “great mercy”. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (NASB).

In John 3:16, God’s love provides salvation to those who believe, but his great love is what conquers our deadness and gives new life. It also brings us to faith and unites us to Christ and does it all in one sovereign instant. It is God’s quickening love that makes us alive. That is why we are able to believe. This causes me to ask the question, “Do we believe and become sheep or does God make us sheep so we can believe?” Consider John 10:16, “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd” (NASB). I am convinced from my study of Scripture that God chooses those who are to be his sheep. They are scattered throughout the world. It is our job as sheep who believe to preach the Gospel in our search of those “lost” sheep. As the Gospel is proclaimed the sheep will hear the Shepherds voice and will become part of the one flock with our one shepherd. Jesus said to the Pharisees, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep” (John 10:25 – 25 ESV). “You do not believe because you are not among my sheep” makes it very clear that you have to be a sheep in order to believe  and those who are chosen as sheep are the ones that are greatly loved by our Father. We will consider this further in the next lesson.

Prayer

Father, like a lonely, hopeless child tucked away in some orphanage you saw me and felt a great love for me and chose me to be your child. You gave me to your Son, who died in my place, and he gave me eternal life. I have been forgiven and cleansed of my sin and clothed in the garment of salvation, the righteousness of Christ. How can I thank you but to give my life completely to you.