The virtues of love

Matthew 22:35-40

Love is the only commandment that sets us free from the power of the law. The Ten
Commandments does not apply to you, when you walk in love. Love does not hurt (1
Corinthians 13:4-7).

Christianity is built upon the foundation of love (James 1:27). The cross of crucifixion is
the connectivity of love for God and for mankind.

What is love?

The following are extracts from the dictionary:

1. To have a kind feeling towards someone

2. To worship
3. To be very fond of someone
4. To find pleasure in someone
5. To passionately offer something to someone
6. To have compassion on someone

Love dimensions:

1. Love for God (Matthew 22:36-38)

2. Love for mankind (Matthew 22:39; John 13:34; 15:12, 17)

The love for man truly begins with the love for God. If you can’t show love to your
neighbor, then you don’t truly love God.

Proofs of love:

Love is an active word. A true love is never self-centered. It seeks the good of others.

1. 1 Kings 3:3
2. Kingdom addiction (Matthew 6:33)
3. Isaiah 58:6, 7
4. 1 John 3:17
5. Luke 10:33-35

The tenets of love

1 John 3:11, 14-18, 23; 4:7, 8, 11, 12, 16, 20, 21

The benefits of loving

1. You enjoy an open heaven experience all your life (Isaiah 58:9; 1 Kings 3:3, 4, 9-13)
2. Breakthrough experiences (Isaiah 58:8, 10)
3. Divine satisfaction and an excellence life (Isaiah 58:11; Luke 12:29-32)
4. Divine lifting (Isaiah 58:14)
5. Increase in life (Proverbs 11:25)

The virtues of love

1. It attracts the presence of God (John 14:23)

2. Love keeps us from internal spiritual dysfunction. A free mind produces a free life.

Things that can destroy your spiritual life:

a. Bitterness against someone (Hebrews 12:15; Proverbs 15:15). Bitterness can lead to
wickedness; and as a result, you will be disconnected from the life of God. This leads to
spiritual death and makes obeying and serving God difficult (1 John 3:14, 15)
b. Envy (Proverbs 14:30)
c. Grudges (Proverbs 18:14)
d. Unforgiving heart. This can hinder your prayers from being answered (Mark 11:25, 26)

Unforgiving can severe your relationship with God; and this can lead to spiritual death
(Disconnection from eternal life that Christ gave you at new birth). When you are in this
situation, you cannot function well as a Christian- you cannot pray effectively nor serve
God happily anymore.

3. It increases the manifest presence of God to the fullest (Ephesians 3:17-19)

4. It delivers you from spiritual obscurity (1 John 2:9-11; II Peter 1:5-11)
.