The love of God expressed in Christ on the cross was “foolishness to
the Gentiles” and “a stumbling block to the Jews”. God’s love is
scandalous to us all in different ways.
Focus Scripture – 1 John 4:8HIDESHOW
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Extended SummaryHIDESHOW
Greg argued that Jesus is the fullest revelation of God we have. What we learn about God from Jesus (the incarnation of God) is that God is love. “Scandalous” love. Jesus was scandalous to the Greeks because they expected God to be supremely rational, transcendent, powerful, distant and free from emotions. Jesus clearly was not what they expected. Jesus was scandalous to the Jews because he didn’t fulfill their expectations that their messiah would free them from oppression by the Romans and establish them as their own nation.
Greg had four main points for this message:
1. Jesus is the “Word of God” (John 1:1), the “image of God” (Col. 1:15), the
“form of God” (Phil. 2:6), as well as “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).
2. “In Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” (Col. 2:9)
3. Jesus is the visible face of God. (John 14:9; 1 John 2:23; 2 Cor. 4:6)
4. Jesus trumps all previous revelations. (John 5:36; Hebrews 1:1-3; Mt. 11:27;
John 1:17-18; Mt. 5:38-39, 44-45; Luke 9:54-55.)
Today’s message contained a lot of Scripture passages. Take time as a group to look each of these.
Greg had four main points for this message:
1. Jesus is the “Word of God” (John 1:1), the “image of God” (Col. 1:15), the
“form of God” (Phil. 2:6), as well as “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).
2. “In Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” (Col. 2:9)
3. Jesus is the visible face of God. (John 14:9; 1 John 2:23; 2 Cor. 4:6)
4. Jesus trumps all previous revelations. (John 5:36; Hebrews 1:1-3; Mt. 11:27;
John 1:17-18; Mt. 5:38-39, 44-45; Luke 9:54-55.)
Today’s message contained a lot of Scripture passages. Take time as a group to look each of these.
Practical Applications (homework)HIDESHOW
Most of us have trouble accepting the fact that God is love. For the Greeks it seemed foolish, and to the Jews of the first century love seemed too weak compared to the mighty Yahweh of the Old Testament. Some of the same reservations carry over to us today when we picture the character of God. Choose one of these for your homework this week:
- Do you have trouble with the concept that Jesus is the true, perfect revelation of God’s character? Are there parts of the story of the Old Testament that prevent you from fully accepting that Jesus’ self-sacrificial love is the “visible face of God?” Spend some time thinking and praying about these reservations and make a list of the things that come to mind. Talk about your list with someone you’re close to (spouse, friend or small group), or consider going on The Bridge (http://bridge.whchurch.org) and sharing your list with others.
- We all have a picture of God in our minds, even if we’re not conscious of it. Take some time to reflect and pray, and try to get an image in your mind of what God might look like. Are there any aspects of this picture that give you a clue about his character or attitude toward you? Pay attention to these things and note how they line up with or differ from self-sacrificial, agape love. Then, think about why you have this picture. What life experiences have contributed to your mental image of God? Again, talk about these observations with someone you’re close to, or share the on The Bridge.
Reflection QuestionsHIDESHOW
- What stood out to you most from this message and the supporting texts?
- As you read each of the passages, discuss with one another what we learn about Jesus from this text.
- What do we learn about the meaning of Love from these texts?
- How is the love of God shown to us in Christ “scandalous”?