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deth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us" (Romans 5:8). God's love is will–
ing to sacri fice itself in order that
hate in others may be turned to
love.
Human love "gives" in order to
"get." John referred to this love in
the world when he stated: "Love not
the world [its sinful ways]. neither
the things that are in the world.
If
any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him" (1 John
2: 15). A man can "love" as John
said, yet not have God's love in him.
The "love of the world" is motivated
by and in behalf of self, the way of
"getting."
Recei ving the l ove of God
But how does man receive the love of
God? The apostle Paul said, " ... the
!ove of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit which is
given unto us" (Romans 5:5).
Either a person has been given the
Spirit of God or he has not. ff a
person has reallove, he has the Spirit
ofGod in his mind. Paul said: " .. . ye
are not in the Hesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his"
(Romans 8:9).
When God gives ma n sorne of
Himself, His very spi ritual essence,
someth ing new is created within
man. The Bible says he becomes a
" new creature" ( 11 Corinthi a ns
5: 17), or a " new man" (Ephesians
4:24). This "new man," composed of
the spirit in man and the Spirit of
God (Romans 8: 16), is truly some–
thing special.
lt
is this "new man"
that can show forth the true love of
God in his life and actions.
But what does man receive when
he is given the Spirit of God? He
receives a small portion (seed) of the
very essence of God, which contains
all His basic spiritual characteristics.
· Love is the best single definition of
that Spirit; however, other "frui ts"
are revealed in the Bi ble. Sorne of
these are "joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meek–
ness, tempera nce ..." (Gala tians
5:22-23).
Paul describes the characteristics
of God's love working in man this
January
1980
way: "Charity [love] suffereth long,
and is kind; charity envieth not; char–
ity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed
up, doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily pro–
voked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not
in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
beareth all things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things" (l Corinthians 13:4-7).
How wonderful a world we would
have if human beings had this kind of
!ove in their hearts and minds! Hu–
manity has been vainly searching for
the fruits of love for thousands of
years. However, they cannot be
found on earth, for true love, joy,
peace and all the other characteris–
tics of God are spiritual in nature,
and can only come from having the
Spirit of God.
It
is only the Spirit of
God that will give man access to the
deep, satisfying, happy life that
man's restless soul seeks.
God Will Give You His love
Soon God
'is
going to bring to all
mankind their hearts'
desire~true
love, His Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is
coming back to this earth soon to set
up the Kingdom of God which will
rule all nations and peoples with
God's law of love. Christ will put a
stop to the total destruction of the
world which Satan's way is bringing.
And He will offer God's love to re–
place the mere human love that is
now in people's hearts.
You do not need to wait until the
return of Christ before you receive
what God made you to need so des–
perately. You can find access to the
complete joy, peace, and happiness
that your soul longs for right now!
God will give you His love, a bi t of
His very spiritual essence, now if you
sincerely want it. For more on this
exciting subject , write for the free
literature advertised in the box be–
low.
o
ADDITIONAL READING
" How You Can Be lmbued W1lh
the Power of God"
" You Need God's Holy Sp1nl "
Al/ About Water Bap/lsm
Jusi What Do You Mean-Converston?
(The above arhcles and booklets are free
for the asking. Jusi write our office nearest
you-see the inside front cover for
addresses)
lOOYEARS
FROM NOW
Where will
you
be?
Chances are that no one
reading this is going to be a
living, breathing human being
100 years from now. lt's a bit
unsettling, isn't it? Of course ,
we all know that human be–
ings don't live forever. But
thoughts of our own death,
no matter how distan! that
event may seem. lead to
thoughts about the " after–
life." Millions of people feel
that for !hose who live a wor–
thy life-for those who are
" saved " -the afterlife is in
heaven. Such beliefs are sup–
posedly based on the Bible,
but are, in fact , nonbiblical.
The Bible does have a great
deal to say about an afterlife,
but it ·s surprisingly different
from traditional beliefs. lf
you'd like toread more about
the true biblical teaching on
this subject, write for the free
booklet
What Wi/1 You Be Oo–
ing in fhe Next Lite?
Use the
Literature Request card in this
issue or write to
The Plain
Truth
at the address nearest
you.
21