With the goal of seeing us mature I prayerfully present this Bible study, and any others as the Lord prompts me. Please, please, if you choose to read this section, do not just simply believe what I say. Receive the Word with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures yourself to see if these things be so (Acts 17:11). Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that need not be ashamed, one who can correctly divide the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15)

If there is anything in particular you'd like me to discuss or if you have any questions about what I do present, please feel free to write me a note. I'd really like to know what would encourage you.

God Loves Us

This study is the first in a series I plan to do where I work with homeless women. It is an elementary study that can be used to disciple new believers or encourage yourself in the basics of our faith. I include clues to the answers where it may not be clear as to what answer I am looking for. Please feel free to use it, but please do not change it. If you do use it, I would love to be encouraged by hearing how it is helping others. Also, if you duplicate it, please find somewhere to include the address for my web page so that people may view my other things if they like this. Thank you and God bless you as you seek to grow in Him and minister to others. - Barb 03-16-00

I. God Loves Us
A. God loved us even before He created us
B. God loved us even after we rejected Him
C. God loves us enough to plan for our lives after we are restored to Him
II. God Wants Us to Respond to His Love By Believing in His Son

I. God Loves Us.
Jn 3:16 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.

Some things I can learn from this verse:
1- God is a Father who has an only Son.
2- God loved the world.
3- Because God loved, He planned and acted: He gave His only-begotten Son.
4- Because God loved, He didn't want people to suffer forever for their sin and rebellion. - Jn3:17-21

Word Study
loved - agapao; used of persons: to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly

(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)

A. God loved us even before He created us.
Eph 1:4-5 (NLT) Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. 5His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure.

Some things I can learn about God in these verses:
1- God acted.
- God made the world.
- God loved us and chose us in Christ.
2- God has emotions: His plan to adopt us into His family gave Him great pleasure.

B. God loved us even after we rebelled against Him and rejected Him.
Rom 5:8 (NLT) But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Some things I can learn about God here:
God shows His love by dealing with our rebellion. He didn't just ignore it, letting us go happily on our way to our destruction. He loved us enough to come up with a solution for it.

Rom 3:25a (NLT) For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us.
Rom 3:25 (KJV) Whom (verse 24 says ‘whom' means Christ Jesus) God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood...

Word Study
propitiation - hilasterion; relating to an appeasing or expiating, a propitiation - used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim); an expiatory victim

(from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.)

Some things I can learn about God here:
1- It cost God to make a way for us to be right with Him.
2- God was willing to pay that cost because He loves us.
3- God was angry with us when we rebelled against Him.
4- God dealt in a right(eous) way with His anger; He didn't destroy us with it.

C. God in love plans for our lives after we are restored to Him. - Eph 1:4-5 again.
More things I can learn about God from these verses:
1- God chose us in Christ to be holy and without blame in His eyes.
2- He has an unchanging plan to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.

Word Study
chose - eklegomai; to pick out, to choose, to pick or to choose out for oneself;
a) choosing one out of many, that is, Jesus selecting his disciples
d) used of God the Father choosing Christians, as those whom he set apart from the irreligious multitude as dear unto himself, and whom he has rendered, through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic kingdom: (James 2:5), so that the ground of the choice lies in Christ and his merits only.

holy - hagios; a most holy thing, a saint - Webster's def: without blame - amomos;
1) without blemish: as a sacrifice without spot or blemish
2) morally: without blemish, faultless, unblameable

The above from The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.

adopt - huiothesia (hwee-oth-es-ee'-ah); the placing as a son, i.e. adoption (figuratively, Christian sonship in respect to God.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

*Having seen the definitions for the words chose, holy, without blame, and adopt, and thinking about what we've discovered in these verses, see if you can rewrite Eph 1:4-5 in your own words using part of those definitions. Or, if you'd rather, tell what you've learned or what these verses mean for your life in your own words.

II. God Wants Us to Respond to His Love By Believing in His Son. - Jn 3:16 again.

More things I can learn about God from this verse:
1- When God gave His Son He was looking for a response.
2- God wants us to respond by believing in His Son.

Some things I can learn about people from this verse:
1- People will perish if they don't believe in God's Son.
2- People will receive everlasting life if they do believe in God's Son.
3- Any person can be a ‘whosoever' and believe: you can; I can. It is our choice.

Word Study
believe - pisteuo (pist-yoo'-o); to have faith; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ): KJV-believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.

perish - apollumi (ap-ol'-loo-mee); to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: KJV-destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.

The above definitions are from Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.

to have - echo; to have, that is, to hold; to own, to possess; also, to hold oneself to a thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to, to be closely joined to a person or a thing

From The Online Bible Thayer's Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Copyright (c)1993, Woodside Bible Fellowship, Ontario, Canada. Licensed from the Institute for Creation Research.

everlasting - aionios (ahee-o'-nee-os); perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as well): KJV-eternal, for ever, everlasting,

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

*Having seen the definitions for the words loved, believed, perish, have, and everlasting, see if you can rewrite John 3:16 in your own words using part of those definitions. Or, if you'd rather, tell what you've learned or what these verses mean for your life in your own words. Write any questions below about what we studied. Now, write or say a prayer to the Lord about your questions, or how you feel about what you've discovered, as well as any decisions you have made because of what the Lord showed you in this study. Remember, the Lord shows us about Himself because He desires for us to communicate with Him. He will always (in His way and time) answer questions coming from an honest heart. Then begin to listen for His answers. He only seems silent because we don't know how or don't take the time to listen.

Barb Irwin © 03-13-00

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