Welcome to the Lecture Hall

Jonathan Edwards composed 16 "lectures" on Christian love, teaching through the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. Here's a look at those lectures in shorter bites for us busy people.


Devotions in the Lectures

• Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
• Lecture 2: Charity More Excellent than the Gifts of the Spirit
• Notes

Get the Full Lecture Texts Online
courtesy of Bible Bulletin Board

• Love, The Sum of All Virtue

• Charity More Excelllent than the Gifts of the Spirit

• The Greatest Performances or Sufferings in Vain without Love

• Charity Meek in Bearing Evil and Injuries

• Love Disposes Us to do Good

• Love Inconsistent With An Envious Spirit

• The Spirit of Love is a Humble Spirit

• The Spirit of Love is the Opposite of a Selfish Spirit

• The Spirit of Love the Opposite of An Angry or Wrathful Spirit

• The Spirit of Love the Opposite of a Censorious Spirit

• All True Grace in the Heart Tends to Holy Practice in the Life

• Love, or a Christian Spirit, Willing to Undergo all Sufferings in the Way of Duty

• All the Graces of Christianity Connected

• Love, or True Grace, Not to be Overthrown by Opposition

• The Holy Spirit Forever to be Communicated to the Saints, in the Grace of Love, or Divine Love

• Heaven, a World of Love

You can take part in Cat's Q & A by clicking on "Post a Comment" and leaving your thoughts. The comments (agreement OR disagreement) greatly enrich the study!

INTRO TO THE LECTURE HALL

Links

• Home
• Archives
• Email Me
• My Blog's RSS

Other Places to Find the Cat

• Cat's Homestead
• Cat's Homeschool
• Cat's Homepage
• Cat's Write

Entry 10 of 15
Last Page | Next Page
Jonathan's Lecture Hall
Oct. 17, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 5

Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue

That this Christian love is one, whatever the objects toward which it may flow forth, appears by the following things:--

First, It is all from the same Spirit influencing the heart. It is from the breathing of the same Spirit that true Christian love arises, both toward God and man. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of love, and when the former enters the soul, love also enters with it. God is love, and he that has God dwelling in him by his Spirit, will have love dwelling in him also. The nature of the Holy Spirit is love; and it is by communicating himself, in his own nature, to the saints, that their hearts are filled with divine charity. Hence we find that the saints are partakers of the divine nature, and Christian love is called the "love of the Spirit," Romans xv. 30,[1] and "love in the Spirit," Col. i.8,[2] and the very bowels of love and mercy seem to signify the same thing with the fellowship of the Spirit, Phil. ii.1.[3]

It is that Spirit, too, that infuses love to God, Rom. v.5; [4] and it is by the indwelling of that Spirit, that the soul abides in love to God and man, 1 John iv.12, 13;[5] and iii.23, 24.[6]
Cat's Q & A:

1. "The nature of the Holy Spirit is love; and it is by communicating himself, in his own nature, to the saints, that their hearts are filled with divine charity."
How much do you feel you know about who God is as a person? Do you think you know enough to determine how He's going to act or what His thoughts are in any given situation?

This is one area where chess has benefitted me. When I'm faced with a dilemma about how to act in love, I'm forced to stop and think several steps ahead through the actions I'm considering. The question isn't my good intentions, but whether the results would be pleasing to God. I can only fall back on what His Word says about the meaning of holiness to answer those questions.
FOOTNOTES

[1] Romans 15:30 (NASB) 
    Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me...

[2] Col. 1:8 (NASB) 
    And he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

[3] Philip. 2:1 (NASB) 
    If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion...

[4] Romans 5:5 (NASB)
    And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

[5] 1 John 4:12-13 (NASB)
    No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
    [13] By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

[6] 1 John 3:23-24 (NASB) 
    And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
    [24] And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

• Post A Comment! • Send to a Friend!

Comments

Oct. 17, 2006 - Oct. 17th lecture 1 Johnathon Edwards

Posted by Chris P.


I definitely agree with Edwards. Everything all goes back to love. My struggle is that sometimes even if I know what God would do in a given situation, and even if I do it, I feel like I'm just operating from my 'head'. It doesn't feel like something flowing from my heart. God is calling me to learn to operate more from yielding to His Spirit within me, His life and His love within me. I find this very hard to grasp. But only the fruit of the Spirit is love, etc, not the fruit of my works. That doesn't mean I have to feel something, or never make a decision using my head. I don't know if I'm making any sense - but I know what I mean!! I also know that God is not pleased by my good behavior, He is interested in my heart. That beast that doesn't want to be tamed!! So often I do the 'right thing' but my heart is resentful, grudging and insincere (I confess). The true meaning of 'holiness' is not good behavior, but 'wholeness', and I believe God wants to completely transform my heart, that my actions will be not just empty actions (not that I devalue sheer obedience) but that His love, by His Spirit will flow authentically from my heart. Not there yet!!


• Permanent Link


Oct. 18, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy


[Do you think you know enough to determine how He's going to act or what His thoughts are in any given situation?] I have decided that if I could know God enough to really and truly put my mind around him, He is too small for me to worship. I won't know God that way until heaven.

I view the working of the Holy Spirit in my life to be one of increasing revelation. He is communicating to me and filling me with "divine charity," but I wasn't (aren't) ready for the entirity of what that means. My focus is too narrow and my heart is too fallen. I learn a little about love at different stages in my life. I first learned what agape love meant in relationship to my family of origin. Then Marissa came along and I learned all over again what agape love was. Then, I got married and learned about agape yet again. Each time the Spirit taught me something new about love, but there has never been any contradiction in the message. Love is more than just unconditional, it is sacrificial.

Recently, I read a book by John Piper and I have frequently thought through the concept of love and find that my understanding and practice of true Christian love is not where it needs to be. There is a quote in the book attributed to Emperor Julian. Julian, a direct descendent of Constantine, had had Christianity forced on him as a child. He revolted as an adult and coverted to pantheism. Apparently in the wake of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and company, Rome suffered the ancient equivalent of the "God is dead" movement. Julian hoped to capitalize on this time in history and restore traditional pantheistic mysticism. (Sounds kind of like the USA today!) Anyway, he wrote in frustration about the 'atheists,' referring to those that didn't believe in the Roman gods:

"Atheism [i.e., Christian faith] has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them." (Don't Waste Your Life, page 87, emphasis mine)

Christian love... I usually demonstrate it at home, at church, even in a virtual blog community, but I fear that I have not shown it to the world in a way that would draw people to Christ. Hmm... not a single beggar? No one hungry? No one forced to convert to Christianity in order to have love demonstrated in real, tangible ways? Could you imagine the revival if the Body of Christ operated like this today?


• Permanent Link


Oct. 18, 2006 - Lecture 1, Sound Bite 5

Posted by


1. "The nature of the Holy Spirit is love; and it is by communicating himself, in his own nature, to the saints, that their hearts are filled with divine charity."
How much do you feel you know about who God is as a person? Do you think you know enough to determine how He's going to act or what His thoughts are in any given situation?

No, I don't know enough about God to know what His thoughts would be in a given situation though I know that there are a few times where I've known that the thoughts I'm thinking at a particular moment are not my own and are clearly His because they are "good" thoughts. They don't come naturally to me, and I'm not sure they ever will but I think I need more time reading and meditating on His Word so as to get to know Him better. :( I want to want what He wants and I want it to come naturally without a lot of thinking about what He'd want me to do. Maybe that's a little simplistic and is definitely idealistic but I think it will come more naturally the more I spend time with Him. I'm grateful for those times when I recognize the Holy Spirit's leading and I'm glad I serve a God who knew what it would take for my heart to follow Him.

Dee..

Edited by happyhearts on Oct. 18, 2006 at 2:00 PM


• Permanent Link