Chapter 1

The Love of God

Love surely is gentleness
Love creates a forgiving heart
Love is wonderfully generous
God’s love, a love so great

Teach us to gently love others, we pray

Teach us to always be ready to forgive
Teach us your love, Oh God, night and day
The great unlimited love only You can give

F
rom the command room of MV Setiabudi, one of
the ships of the Djakarta Lloyd Shipping Lines that
sailed the European seas, a tone singing the stanzas
of the song of God’s love was faintly heard
prevailing over the boisterous sound of the waves tossed by the ship
in the notorious Bay of Biscay. The sky up there was bright with the
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flickering stars lighting the darkness of the night urging all those
who heard the song of God’s Love could not withstand the desire of
their hearts from praising the dignity of God’s Love and His mighty
power.
Captain Sonny Paago, an experienced ship Captain of the
Djakarta Lloyd Shipping Lines known for its Ocean Liners sailing
between Indonesia and Europe and around the world, had
determined in his heart to reflect the love of God in order that he
could offer an utmost service to those on board his ship. This was
made possible by the fact that the Lord had first set an example for
him as expressed in every stanza of this song:

Let’s love our friends, let’s love our friends with all our hearts
Let’s love our friends, let’s love our friends with all our hearts
The Lord has first loved us He has loved me and loved you too
Let’s love our friends, let’s love our friends with all our hearts

Let’s serve our friends, let’s serve our friends with all our hearts
Let’s serve our friends, let’s serve our friends with all our hearts
The Lord has first served us He has served me and served you too
Let’s serve our friends, let’s serve our friends with all our hearts

Let us forgive, let us forgive with all our hearts

Let us forgive, let us forgive with all our hearts
The Lord has long ago forgiven me and you my friends
Let us forgive, let us forgive with all our hearts.

This book is written for those who desire to understand more

of God’s love for mankind who have sinned against Him, God’s love
that is too deep and wide to be expressed in words or portrayed even
in the most attractive paintings, yet we can study and experience it
ourselves, we can share it to others and not only listening to those
who have studied and experienced this profound love sharing it to us

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Sailing through the five oceans with Djakarta Lloyd’s ships

was only a fond memory but the love of God is getting more powerful
in the heart of the author of this book to serve Him. If it were not
because of God’s love, the author would not be able to write this
book. Indeed, it is the love of God alone that has enabled the author
to share his understanding and experience of God’s love through the
pages of this book.

1. The Love of God

John the Apostle wrote in his Gospel a Biblical text containing
the good news for all sinful men, a text that expose the deep and
wide of God’s love to the descendants of Adam and Eve, His creation
who have sinned against Him by violating His commands. This text
has become the favorite text of the followers of Jesus Christ. “For
God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting
life.” 1
Adam and Eve. God has loved man Hehas created with an
everlasting love. He continued to love Adam and Eve and their
descendants with the saving love. He does not love only a certain
group of people. He loves all men. He loves all those who are living
at present, as well as those who lived in the past and those who will
live in the future, till the end of time. Prophet Jeremiah wrote: “The
Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I
drawn thee.” 2
The tragedy of the Fall in the Garden of Eden ended the
harmonious kind of life that God meant for humankind. The
descendants of Adam and Eve have to bear the results of the tragedy
of sin because their ancestors failed to obey God’s commands. They

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chose to believe Satan’s deceptions and lies, as described in the

Scriptures:
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field
which the Lord God hath made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden: But the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and
evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree to be desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave
also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees
of the garden.
And the Lord God called Adam, and said unto him, Where
art thou? And he said I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he sad, Who told
thee that thou wast naked? Has thou eaten of the tree, whereof I
commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

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And the man said, the woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord said unto
the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said,
the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of
the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the
the days of thy life; I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”3
Because of His love towards the sinners, God has sent Jesus
Christ, to be the Savior of man.
Jesus fully obeyed His Father’s will that he was willing to die
on the cross to save the sinners. Jesus’ death on the cross provided a
way for God to pardon the sins of Adam and Eve and their
descendants. His death on the cross also crushed the ‘head’ of the
serpent as mentioned in the scriptures quoted above.
The death of Jesus on the cross at Golgotha was a
demonstration of the victory of God’s love over Satan’s wickedness
and deceptions.
The tragedy in the Garden of Eden should have been avoided,
had Adam and Eve obeyed God and the death of Jesus on the cross
would not have been necessary either. But sadly, Adam and Eve
rebelled against their Creator God. Sin then came to this world. But
one thing remains, the unchanging love of God despite man’s
continual rebellions. God did not recreate a new Adam and Eve but
instead He sent Jesus Christ to redeem the sinners. This
demonstration of God’s great love should prompt us to reflect on the
utmost importance of obeying God’s commands because it is the

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disobedience to God’s commands that leads us to the “Center of

Problems.”
Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator, but in contrast,
Jesus Christ fully obeyed the commands of His Father. Apostle Paul,
in his epistle to the Philippians wrote: “Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of servant, and was made
in the likeness of men. And being found in a fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death
on the cross. Wherefore God also had highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 4
Obeying what God has commanded is an expression of man’s
love to God and to others as well.
Hosea & Gomer. The love of God to sinners is clearly
illustrated in the writings of the Prophet Hosea about the life of
Gomer, his wife, who plunged into sinful life of unfaithfulness to
him. Hosea married Gomer in accordance to God’s leading. Then his
wife left him for prostitution. God commanded Hosea to go and
claim her back as his wife. 5
The prostitution of Gomer, portrayed the life of sinners in
general, as well as the life of the Israelites, who were chosen to be
God’s witnesses during the time before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Israel’s unfaithfulness in leaving the true God behind to
worship idols and other gods was a spiritual prostitution against
God, and yet the true and living God did not forsake them entirely.
Yes, God will always love the sinners, no matter how deep they have

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fallen into the pit of sin as Hosea’s wife, Gomer did. He desires the
sinners to look up from the pit of sin and come out again to extend
their love to Him, although He does not force them to love Him.
We want to share our love with others – an honorable thing
to do, of course. Unfortunately, our love is not as perfect as God’s
love We seem to be too “clean”, or too “holy” to love those who, in
our perception, live like Gomer. Our love is shaped by those who are
seemingly clean and holy to the extent that we might tend to admire
them. We might be tempted to imitate the actions of the Jewish
religious teachers and leaders who dragged the woman caught in sin
red handed.7
“And early in the morning he came again into the temple,
and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught
them.
And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a
woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in
adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us,
that such should be stoned: but what saying thou? This they said,
tempting him, that they might have accuse him. But Jesus stooped
down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard
them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself, and
said unto them, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he
stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own
conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto
the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the
midst.
When Jesus has lifted up himself, and saw none but the
woman, he said unto her, Woman where are those thine accusers?
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Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, Neither do I condem thee, go, and sin no more.” 6
We show a genuine love of the Lord, if we love the way Jesus
loved and not imitating the way those religious teachers and
Pharisees judged. Jesus showed love without condemnation because
He loves sinners. Nevertheless, Jesus did not condone sin as we note
in His command to the woman, “Go and sin no more” 7
Think of a text written by apostle Peter concerning Jesus’
patience and desire for sinners to repent and be saved:
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 8
Jesus offers forgiveness not condemnation. He wants sinners
to acknowledge sin, repent and love Him who has first loved us.
Jesus never hates sinners. He always loves sinners. He had even
come to die for sinners.
We are wrong to say we love Jesus, when we hate sinners. Let
us then love, serve and forgive others, taking Jesus as our example.
The Lost Son. The genuine love of God is also illustrated in
the Bible story of the love of the father towards his son, who left the
house carrying with him a great amount of money. In a far away
land, he spent the money for pleasures with his friends. When all his
money was gone, his friends deserted him. He came to himself and
went home. Of course, the father had not forgotten him. The father
welcomed him back home and showered him with love, although his
brother was not pleased.
This is the story of the prodigal son according to the Gospel
of Luke.

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“And he said, a certain man had two sons: And the younger
of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that
falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
And not too many days after the younger son gathered all
together, and took his journey, into a far country, and there wasted
his substance with riotous living. And he had spent all, there arose
a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of the country;
and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have
filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man
gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many
hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I
perish with hunger!
I will rise and go to my father, and will say unto him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And I am no
more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired
servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was
yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and no more
worthy to be called thy son.
But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe,
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be
merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost,
and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and
drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called
one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he

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said unto him, thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the
fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his
father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father,
Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any
time thy commandment: and yet thou never gave me a kid, that I
might make merry with my friends. Because as soon as this thy son
was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou has
killed for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all
that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be
glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was
lost, and was found.” 9
The youngest son represents those who are living in sin, then
one day, they return to the Heavenly father. Of course, the Heavenly
Father has never forgotten the returning sinners.
There are sons and daughters of God who are allured by the
lights of the city. Some are led into prostitution or drug abuse.
Some end up homeless. Yet the Father in heaven loves them and
ever waiting for the return of His stray children.
The love of Jesus Christ is expressed in the following song:

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,

Calling for you and for me;
At the heart’s portal He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,

Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling O sinner come home.
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Think of the wonderful love He has promised,

Promised for you and for me;
Though we have sinned He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
But it is too bad, we often show our pride as demonstrated by
the eldest son who was displeased with the way his father welcomed
his lost brother. We ought to come to our senses and repent from our
pride and arrogance that we do not model the eldest son.
In reality, the youngest son was not lost, but it was the eldest
son who was lost because of his egoistic attitude. The father was not
partial in loving his children. He loved both children equally. And
our Father in heaven loves all of us equally the same too.
Our heavenly Father wishes his children to love others just as
He loves us. He also wants us to serve others, just as he serves us.
And above all, He wants us to forgive others as He forgives us.

2. Man’s Love
Man was created in the image of God. The Bible says: “So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them.” 10Man was created in His
image in order that man can reflect God’s love, His moral attribute.
God is Great. God the Creator is great. This greatness
belongs to no one else in the whole universe, but it is the attribute of
God alone, characterized as follows:
1. Omnipotent
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” 11

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“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it
was done; he commanded , and it stood fast.”12
“Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I
will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son.” 13
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this
is impossible; but with God all are possible.” 14
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.” 15
2. Omnipresent
“Wither shall I go from my spirit? Or whither shall I flee
from thy presence? If I ascend up in heaven, thou art there:
if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take a
wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost part of the
sea: Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold me.” 16
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil
and the good.”17
“Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take
them, though they climb up to heaven, thence shall I bring
them down.” 18
3. Omniscient
“For the eyes of the Lord run thro and fro throughout the
whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou has done
foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” 19

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“for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the
whole heaven.” 20
“Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night
shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike
to thee.” 21
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created all
these things?that bringeth out their host by number: he
called them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for
that he is strong in power, not one faileth.” 22
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit
of his.” 23
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his
sight: but all things are naked and opened unto his eyes of
him with whom we have to do.” 24
“And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches
shall know that I am he which searcheth the rein and
hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to
your works.” 25
4. Eternal
“And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called
there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.” 26
“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath were the
everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from
before thee; and shall say, destroy them.” 27
“Trust ye the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is
everlasting strength.”28

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“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,
to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of
the contrite ones.” 29
“But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an
everlasting king: at his wrath the earth will tremble, and
the nations shall not be able to abide indignation.” 30
“I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the
high God hath wrath toward me. How great are thy his
signs! And how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and his domain is from generation to
generation.” 31
“But now is manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets,
according to the commandment of the everlasting God,
made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” 32
“Now unto the King eternal, the only wise God, be honor
and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 33
5. Immutable
“For I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed.”34
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the
heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed
it by an oath.” 35
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for
ever.” 36
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow or turning.” 37
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God is Good. God who created man is good. He made

men in His own image so that man can reflect all His goodness and
love. God desires His creation to reflect His love in the following
ways:
• Love
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 38
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to
us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him.”39
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;
that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me, and I have
loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they
also, whom thou has given me, be with me where I am; that
they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for
thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” 40
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.” 41
“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.” 42
• Long Suffering
“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth.”43

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“If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land,
and give it to us; a land which floweth with milk and
honey.” 44
“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and
gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and
truth.” 45
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
plenteous in mercy.” 46
“The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to
anger, and of great mercy.” 47
“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and
the patient spirit is better than the proud spirit.” 48
“And they refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy
wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their
necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return
to their bondage; but thou art a God ready to pardon,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness,
and forsookest them not.” 49
“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to
anger appeaseth strife.” 50
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he
that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”51
“And rend your heart and not your garments, and turn to
your Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” 52
“And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O
LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my
country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew

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that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger,

and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” 53
“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not
at all acquit the wicked: the Lord has his way in the
whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of
his feet.” 54
“O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and
revenge me of my persecutors: take me not away in thy
longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered
rebuke.” 55
• Forgiving/Merciful
“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth.”56
“If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us in to the land,
and give it to us: a land which floweth with milk and
honey.” 57
“Who was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious:
but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
And the grace of our Lord is exceeding abundant with faith
and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit for
this cause I obtained mercy, that in me Jesus Christ might
shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which
should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” 58
• Righteous
“Tell ye, and bring them near, yea let them take counsel
together: who had declare this from ancient time? Who had
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told it from that time? Had not I the Lord? And there is no
God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none
beside me.” 59
“Gather my saints together unto me: those who had made a
covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heaven shall declare
his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.” 60
“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is
merciful.” 61
“the LORD is gracious, and full of compassion: slow to
anger, and of great mercy.” 62
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 63
• Merciful
“And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my
people which are in Egypt, and have heard the cry by
reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.” 64
“And he asked, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee,
in heaven above, or earth beneath, who keepest covenant
and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all
their hear.” 65
“For we are bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in
our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of
the king of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house
of our God, and to repair the desolation thereof, and to give
us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.”66
“And said, I beseech thee, O Lord of heaven, the great and
terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that
love him and observe his commandments.” 67

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“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger,

and of great mercy.” 68
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth
the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God? 69
“And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to
generation. He had holpen his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy. And her neighbours and her
cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon
her, and they rejoiced with her.” 70
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love for
wherewith he loved us.” 71
“Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” 72
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your father also is merciful.” 73

• Faithful
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the
faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them
that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand
generations.” 74
“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth,
the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as a rain,
my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the
tender herb, and as a showers upon the grass. Because I
shall publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness
unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his
ways are judgment; a God of truth and without iniquity,
just as right is he.” 75

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“But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him; and

in my name shall his horn be exalted.” 76
“For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth
endureth to all generations.” 77
• There are many more of his moral characters written
or implied in the pages of the Bible.
God wants us reflect His own characters in our lives,
therefore He created us in his own image.Above all else, God desires
us to love others because God has first loved us. So the phrase
“created in His image” mentioned in the book of Genesis. 78means
created to reflect the moral attributes of the Creator. God is love so
man who was created in His image ought to reflect this character or
nature of God his Creator.
How deep and how wide is the kind of love that God wants us
to reflect in our lives? The Apostle Paul in his epistle to the
Corinthians described such love as follows: 79
Charity suffereth long,
and is kind:
Charity envieth not;
Charity vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up,
Do not behave itself unseemly,
Seeking not her own,
Is not easily provoked,
thinketh not evil;
Rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

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Beareth all things,

believeth all things,
Endureth all things.
To the believers in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote: “that love
be without dissimulation” 80The Apostle Peter admonished us to love
sincerely and wholeheartedly, as he wrote, “Seeing you have purified
your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned
love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with pure heart
fervently.” 81
Answering the lawyer’s question on the greatest
commandment, Jesus plainly said to him: 82

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God

with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the
second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.”
Love is definitely the character of God. God is not merely
loving. God is love! Love is the very character that God wants his
children to have in their lives as John further wrote: “. . . He that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 83

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John’s understanding of love led him to write, “God is

love.” 84
The Apostle Paul had the similar understanding of love when
he wrote that LOVE is greater than FAITH and HOPE. “And now
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is
charity.” 85
Love is greater than faith and hope because LOVE is the
character of God, whereas FAITH and HOPE are the spiritual gifts
granted to those who believe, in order for them to reflect God’s
character.

LOVE

FAITH HOPE

Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians

To reflect God’s love brings us to the Center of Love.

Because we love God, meaning we observe His commandments, we
become the channel where the Love of God may pass through to
others. That’s the reason Jesus Christ emphasized that the essence of
the Law of God is LOVE. Love to God and love to our fellowmen.
That is also the reason the Lawthat Jesus taught is the Law of Love
and all who have been saved by Him and become His followers will
obey this law of love. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my
commandments.” 86

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The law of God should stand as the “Center of Love” because

LOVE is its essence., and not to be the “Center of Problems.” All our
transgressions against the Law of God lead to problems and
difficulties in our lives. When we obey all the Laws of God, we will be
saved from all sorts of problems.
The next chapter will specifically discuss the love of God
portrayed in the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses at
Mount Sinai. This is discussed before the discussion of the Love of
God as taught by Jesus Christ in His sermon on the Mount which is
recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, and the Love of God reflected by
every believer whose hearts and mind have been illuminated by the
Holy Spirit. 87 The following is a complete copy of the Sermon of
Jesus quoted from the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5 through 7:
5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.
5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.:
5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted.
5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
5:6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.

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5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for

righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and shall
say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
5:12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you.
5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for
nothing, but be cast out, and to be trodden under the feet of men.”
5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid.
5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a
bushel, but on the candlestick: and it giveth light unto all that are in
the house.
5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall
in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou

shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment.
5:22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and
whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the
council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of
hell fire.
5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first to be reconciled to thy brother, and thence come and offer thy
gift.
5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in
the way with him; lest at anytime the adversary deliver thee to the
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into
prison.
5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shall by no means come
out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
5:27 Ye had heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou s shall not commit adultery.
5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a
woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart.
5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it
from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell

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5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it
from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of they members
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put his wife, let him
give her a writing of divorcement:
5.32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his
wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced
committed adultery.
5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the
Lord thine oaths:
5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by
heaven; for it is God’s throne:
5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by
Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
5:36 Neither shall thou swear by the head, because thy
canst not make one hair white or black.
5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay:
for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
5:38 Ye had heard that it had been said, an eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth.
5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
also.
5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, an take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

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5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with

him twain.
5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away.
5:43 Ye have heard that it had been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray or them which
despitefully use you;
5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
5:46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have
ye? do not even the publicans the same?
5:47 And if you salute your brethren only, what do ye more
than others? do not even the publicans so?
5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect.
6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be
seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is
in heaven.
6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know
what the right hand doeth:

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6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and my Father which

seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shall not be as the
hypocrites are: for they like to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when you have shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
6:7 But ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
6:8 Be ye not therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need, before ye ask him.
6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is
in heaven.
6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
6:12 And forgive us of our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
6:14 For if ye forgive men of their trespasses, our heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
6:15 But if ye forgive not men of their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses.

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6:16 Moreover when you fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a

sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear into men to fast. Verily I say unto you. They have their
reward.
6:17 But, thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and
wash thy face.
6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy
Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret,
shall reward thee openly.
6:19 Lay not up for yourself treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal.
6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal:
6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.
6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye
be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how
great is that darkness!
6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he hill hold to the one and
despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your
life, what shall ye eat, or what shall ye drink; no yet for your body,
what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body
than raiment?
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6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they saw not, neither
do they reap, no gather into barns; yet your heaveny Father
feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto
his stature?
6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these.
6:30 Wherefore, if God cloth the grass of the field, which
today is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O, ye of little faith?
6:31 Therefore, take no thought, saying What shall we eat?
Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for
your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof.
7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
7:2 For which judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
7:3 And why beholdest the mote that is in your bothers’ eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

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7:4 Or how wilt thou say to your brother, Let me pull out
the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own
eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy
brother’s eye.
7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet,
and turn again and rend you.
7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
7:8 For evry one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread,
will he give him a stone?
7:10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him?
7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the
prophets.
7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat:
7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
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7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather

grapes of thorns, or fig of thistles?
7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but
a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
7:19 Every tree that bringeth not good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire.
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? And
in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these saying of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon the rock:
7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon the rock.
7;26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish men, which built his
house upon the sand.

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7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell: and great was the
fall of it.
7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not
as the scribes.

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"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets."
Jesus Christ

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