Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of 1 John chapter 4. That is not an excuse. There is not love. There ought to be love, but if you do not receive love, you make sure that you give this love because the message is to you. The message is to me. It does not say, "Let us expect love from one another." You do not find it here. But beloved, let us love one another. If there is no love towards you, that does not give you an excuse. It does not give me an excuse not to love the brethren.

Now, the brothers and sisters are not always lovable. You know that. We are not always kind or gracious. We are not always lovable. But then again, beloved brothers and sisters, when God loved you and loved me, were we lovable? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Whom did He love? Romans chapter 5 says, while we were yet sinners, without strength, while we were yet enemies, the Messiah came to give His life for us because God loved us.

So He says, the evidence that you are born again, born from above, is your love towards the brothers and sisters. Beloved, let us love one another. Why? Because love is of God. This is the nature of God, and we have to watch it if hate is boiling here in our own hearts because hatred is not from God. Hatred comes from the enemy, from Satan, from the flesh, from the world. But love comes from God because love is of God. Everyone that loveth is born of God and he knoweth God.

The word for knoweth God is not only knowing about God, but knowing God intimately. To Israel, our people, God said many years ago, "Only you have I known." He said it through the prophet Amos to the nation of Israel. Does that mean God did not know all the other nations? Of course He knew the other nations, but only you, Israel, have a special relationship. Only you have I known. I know about everybody else. I created the universe, but only you I know in a special relationship.

In chapter 4 of Genesis, we read about Adam, and Adam knew his wife. He knew her intimately. He did not know about her. Of course he did. But he knew her intimately. So the evidence of a relationship with God, a relationship with our Abba, our Father, is when we have this kind of love in some small measure, because we are not always where we should be. Many times, we fail the Lord and we do not practice what we should.

But Yochanan is saying, "Beloved, listen, being born of God and knowing God will bring about, will produce in your life love towards one another." Sometimes when our brethren are not treating us well or we do not treat our brethren well, that does not change the encouragement that Yochanan is saying. Even if we at times fail each other and hurt each other, the love towards our brothers and sisters still needs to continue on in a way that it is pleasing to the Lord.

Notice it says in verse 8, "He that loveth not, he knoweth not God, because God is love." Elohim hu ahavah. God is love. When we do not practice this, it is evidence that we do not have any fellowship with the Lord because it does say here in verse 8, "He that loveth not does not know God." We might know about Him, but we do not know Him intimately and have fellowship with Him. The more we spend time with our blessed Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, the more you will see that it will change us and produce in our hearts a love even towards those that we do not necessarily agree with and we do not necessarily appreciate. Yet, because they are part of the family of God, we are called to love the brothers and sisters in Yeshua the Messiah.

Yochanan is presenting here God and he is saying, "What God is? He is love." His love and His light is consistent with who God is because in light, He proved that He is holy and His holiness demanded judgment for sin. But His love is not inconsistent with His light, with His holiness, because His love sent the Messiah to this world to be judged on behalf of mankind. So His love and light is consistent with each other.

That is how beautiful it is for us to appreciate God is love and we are to walk in love. I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 5 and verses 1 and 2. Saul Paul is writing. He says, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children." And then he says in verse 2, "And walk in love as the Messiah also loved us and has given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor." Paul, John, and all the apostles will encourage the believers to follow through with who they are because we are children of the Father. We belong to God. We have been born from above, and therefore there ought to be this desire to be followers of God. God is love, and therefore we ought to walk in love as the Messiah also has loved us.

First John chapter 4, verses 7 and 8, what God is. God is love. In Hebrew, Elohim hu ahavah. God is love. John continues after he said this in verses 9, 10, and 11. Yochanan, that is John, pointing out to what God did. Not only what He is in His essence, God is love, but what He did. Listen to this. In verse 9, God proved that He is love when He gave His Son, the Mashiach, the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of this world. It says in this verse, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him."

It is not enough to say, "I love you," and yet to refrain from reaching out to the one that he claimed that he loved. So God did something about it. It is not enough to say God is love. How would that help the sinners, the weak ones, the enemies? How would it help them? God did something about that, and that is why John says the proof that God is love is in the fact that He was willing to give the darling of His bosom, the Son, the Messiah to this world.

Look at this verse. In this was manifested, that expression to manifest mean to show out, to come out. God manifested His love towards us. How did He do it? Because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. Can you imagine what it meant for God to give His Son? To give the only begotten Son? This expression, the only begotten Son, is a beautiful expression. That word for begotten is like the one and only Son.

It reminds us of Avraham Avinu, Abraham our father, who was called by God to give his only begotten son, Yitzchak, Isaac. Even though he had two sons, one of them was the son of promise from Sarah, and the other one was from the servant, from Hagar, Ishmael. But when God said to Abraham, "Abraham, you take now thy son, thine only son whom thou lovest and offer him for Me on Mount Moriah as a sacrifice," Abraham was willing to give his son.

It is unimaginable what it meant for the heart of Abraham our father to get up in the morning, to take his very own son, to walk all the way with him to Mount Moriah, to bring him all the way to the top of the mountain, to lay down the altar, to prepare the altar, to take his son Yitzchak, to bind him on the altar, to take up the knife and ready to slay his son. Can you just imagine this? The story of Abraham and Isaac became only a miniature message of the love of God towards mankind. Except that Abraham’s son was spared, but God’s Son was not spared.

He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, we read in the book of Romans. That is the proof of the love of God. What more do we need? God is saying to the whole world, "What more can I give you? I have nothing more to give." That is why it is so precious. In this was manifested, the proof, the evidence that God is love is in the fact that He sent His only begotten Son. He only had one Son, and this very one Son have been given here for this world.

Notice it says that we might live through Him. We were dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians tell us this. When we enter into this world, even though we have physical life, but spiritually we are dead in trespasses and sins. In order to receive spiritual life, eternal life, the Son had to be punished so our sins will be dealt with. If you see the picture of Abraham and Isaac, God took the knife, you might say, and He slew His very own Son on the cross, on the tree.

You remember what we read in the book of John, the Gospel? "Therefore does my Father love me because I lay down my life. No one taketh away my life from me. I lay it down of myself that I may take it again. This commandment I have received of my Father." Remember Yeshua in Matthew chapter 27. He says, "My God, my God, Eli Eli, lamma sabachthani? Why hast thou forsaken me?" The darling of His bosom, He was willing to give in order that we who were dead in trespasses and sins might have life.

We cannot fathom that, beloved brothers and sisters. That is why we have to at a time when we think about it and we talk about it, it is so overwhelming of the love of God towards us. John speaking, he says the proof, the evidence of the love of God is that He had given everything He had. He had given the only begotten Son of God that we, and he is including himself Yochanan here, we who were dead in trespasses and sins might live through Him.

Look at this. This expression "manifested" is mentioned there twice. In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 5, it says, "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins." Look at verse 8. It says, "For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil." Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, appeared here, manifested, came to this world in order to deal with the question of sins and to put away the works of Satan, of the devil. That made it possible for you and I, as 1 John 4:9 said, to have life through Him.

He that has the Son has life. He that has not the Son of God has not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. That is what John is saying here. God proved that He is love in that He gave His only begotten Son. That love has been expressed in various ways. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3, in relationship to Israel, God said to our people Israel, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." The love of God for our people of all the people of Israel is an eternal love.

In relationship to the Church, to the Assembly, is in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25, where we read, "Husbands, love your wives as the Messiah loved the Assembly and gave Himself for it." Imagine, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah loved the Church, the Assembly, the called-out one, and He was willing to lay down His life for the Church, for the Assembly, for the congregation. We have it in John chapter 3 and verse 16, in relationship to the whole world. The famous verse that we often read, "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."

And the love of God in relationship to everyone individually, the apostle Paul said in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20, he says, "The life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Now brothers and sisters, Yeshua gave Himself for you, for me individually. If you were the only one in this world, God’s love was manifested towards you, towards me, in that He gave His Son, the Messiah, to die for us on the tree. That was the proof that God is love.

The world does not know that. The world reject God today. They do not realize that God loved the world so much that He have done something about it. He gave His only begotten Son. That is why man is looking to find love in so many places and they do not find it because it cannot be found except in the person of the Messiah, God the Son, who was willing to give His life a ransom for many.

Notice this, brothers and sisters, what John is saying here in those verses. Especially again in verse 9, He gave His only begotten Son. God have only one Son. I want to just elaborate here just a little bit more. We do not believe in three gods. We believe in one God who exists and consists in three persons. This is the Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of creation. He always have been existing and consistent in three persons. Elohim in Hebrew is a plurality. The Hebrew word Echad, Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. The word Echad is a compound unity, three persons in one single God of Israel, God of the universe.

That is why God have given His Son to come to this world to pay for the penalty of sin. God in the person of His Son would enter humanity and pay for the price of this world. That is why I am emphasizing. People say, "Well, what you have more than one God?" We say, "No." The Bible says, "No." We have one single God who exist and consist in three person. It is the Son who is the eternal Son who enter humanity, took union humanity with a divine nature, and as man, He paid a price for our sins on the tree. That is the story of the Gospel. He died on the cross. He was buried and He rose on the third day for our justification.

So he continues here in verse 10 and he says, "Listen, we really didn't love God, but God loved us. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Listen, we did not love God. We did not want God in our lives. None of us can say that we have really on our own wanted God. In fact, man by nature do not want God. The psalmist of Israel said this many years ago in the Psalm 14. The evil man said in his heart, "Nabal amar belibbo." That evil man said in his heart, "There is no God. I do not want God in my life." No God.

But God loved us. What did He do? He loved us so much He sent His Son. Notice this expression at the end of verse 10, "To be propitiation for our sins." Again, this is one of these English words that are difficult, but it simply mean that He made God satisfied with respect to our sins. When Yeshua died on the tree, when He shed His blood, this innocent man, now God is propitiated, satisfied with respect to the sins of this world.

So when God look at you and I today, He says, "I don't need to punish you anymore because someone else have been punished instead of you." He satisfied the righteous requirement of a holy God. God is satisfied. He does not need to judge sin twice. It was judged already. When we stand on the place when the Messiah was judged, now we have been receiving justification. We have been now accepted in the beloved. We are accepted by God because we confessed our sins, repented of it, accepted Yeshua our Messiah as the Messiah, the Savior, the Redeemer, the sacrifice. God now saying your sins are forgiven and therefore in verse 10, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The sins of the past, the sins of the present, the sins of the future. When Yeshua died, it was 2,000 years ago. Where were you and I? Where were our sins then? We were just born. Some of us 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20 years ago. We were born, we were born in sins, we were dead in trespasses and sins. But the very work of the Messiah that He have done 2,000 years ago was sufficient enough to meet our sins today. When we are going to leave this meeting and we are going to fall into sin, if we will, those sins have been washed away by the very same blood of the Lamb for those who know Him.

We need to be of course walking with the Lord and not looking to sin. But what I am saying, when we sin, when we fail, every sin that we have committed have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. So that expression "propitiation," He satisfied God, He appeased. His work have satisfied the holiness of God. Look at what it says in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 2. "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yeshua the Messiah, the righteous."

And now notice verse 2. "And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." In other words, the value of the work of Yeshua the Messiah is sufficient to meet every sin in this world. But only those that have accepted Him will enjoy and benefit from the value of the work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah on the cross, on the tree.

So He is the propitiation for our sins. He satisfied a holy and a righteous God. Well, now notice what John, what Yochanan is saying to the mishpachah, to the family, to the sons and daughters of the Father. In verse 11 of 1 John chapter 4, now John is saying, "If God loved us so much, don't you think that we ought to love one another in some small measure?" He says in verse 11, "Beloved, if God so loved us..." Notice that word "so". He is saying, "If God so, it's like he doesn't have an end. He says if God's love is so, so unique towards us, don't you think that we should love one another? Don't you think so? Should we hate our brethren? Should we speak against them? Should we run them down? Should we cut them? Should we wish them evil?"

No, he says, that is not right. That is not of God. When you and I do so and think so, immediately the Spirit of God say, "Uh-uh, wait a minute. You are not in the ways of the Lord at all. That is Satan's way. This is the world's way. This is the flesh's way. That is not the ways of God." And that is why he is saying, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we are to love one another." Now again, I would like to emphasize, we do not necessarily agree with each other. That does not mean loving one another is not a matter of just hugging and kissing here. No. Loving one another is a matter of saying, "Listen, I am not going to hate this brother, I am not going to hate this sister. I wish them well and wish them the Lord's blessing, the Lord's guidance. I will seek to be a blessing to them. I will seek to be an encouragement to them. I will seek to pray for them, to minister to them, to forgive them, to be a help for them."

Guest (Male): You have been listening to Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.