Seeing God as He really is #2 (Love as God intended it)
$1.00
Discover the two levels of divine love — and how loving God back unlocks His miraculous power, provision, and presence in your daily life.
Description
Seeing God Love Overview
In this powerful message from NTC Ministries, the pastor continues the series on seeing God as He really is, focusing specifically on love as God intended it. Rather than accepting the culturally distorted definition of love, the pastor digs into the original Aramaic words behind Scripture to reveal that there are two distinct levels of divine love: a general love God extends to the entire world, and a reciprocal, completed love shared between God and those who actively return that love to Him. Drawing from John 3:16, John 13:1, John 14:21-24, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 3:14-18, Colossians 1:21-23, Zephaniah 3:17, and 1 Corinthians 13, the pastor demonstrates that God’s power flows like an electrical circuit — it requires both a positive and a returning line. When believers love God back through obedience and faithfulness, signs, wonders, healing, and abundance follow. The message closes with a moving personal testimony about giving away a home to a family in desperate need, illustrating that genuine love is expressed not in words alone but in courageous, sacrificial action.
Seeing God Love Outline
- 00:00 – Why Words and Their Definitions Matter: The pastor opens by stressing that words carry life or death, and that cultural distortion of language — especially the word love — has led to dangerous theological errors like all-inclusionism.
- 06:30 – How God Revealed Himself Through Names and Christ: An overview of how God progressively revealed His character in the Old Covenant through His names and in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, and why a heart relationship with God is essential.
- 13:00 – Two Levels of Love: Cav and Raham: The pastor explains the Aramaic distinction between the word used in John 3:16 (God loving the world) and the word used to describe Jesus loving the disciple John — revealing two distinct dimensions of divine love.
- 22:00 – Reciprocal Love and the Electrical Circuit Illustration: Using the analogy of an electrical circuit requiring both a positive and a returning wire, the pastor explains how God’s power and blessing flow fully only when believers actively love Him in return.
- 30:00 – Believers vs. Disciples: The Difference That Changes Everything: Drawing from John 14:21-24, Ephesians 1, and 1 John 2:1-6, the pastor contrasts those who simply believe in Jesus with those who become faithful disciples, showing how obedience perfects the love of God in a person’s life.
- 38:00 – Love in Action: Laying Down Your Life: From 1 John 3:14-18 and the example of Jesus in Gethsemane, the pastor calls believers to express love not merely in words but through practical sacrifice — including a personal account of giving a home away to a paralyzed woman and her husband.
- 45:00 – Reading 1 Corinthians 13 Through a New Lens: The congregation reads the Passion Translation of 1 Corinthians 13 together, with the pastor reframing the love chapter as a description of mature, reciprocal, God-initiated love rather than sentimental emotion.
- 51:00 – Closing Exhortation and Prayer of Surrender: The pastor leads the congregation in a personal declaration of love to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, commissioning them as faithful disciples who do what God asks even when it is difficult.
Scripture References
John 3:16-17, John 14:21-24, John 13:1, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 3:14-18, Colossians 1:21-23, Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 13, John 1:12, Proverbs 3:5-6
Key Takeaways
- God loves the entire world unconditionally, but His power and blessing flow in full measure only when that love is returned through obedient faith.
- There are two distinct levels of divine love revealed in the Aramaic words of Scripture: a general love toward all humanity and a completed, reciprocal love between God and His committed followers.
- The difference between a believer and a disciple is not salvation but faithful love expressed through obedience to God’s commandments.
- Love that is genuine is never limited to words or feelings — it is demonstrated through sacrificial action even when it is inconvenient or costly.
- Keeping God’s commandments is not religious legalism; for the righteous heart, it is the natural expression of love flowing back to God.
- Reciprocal love between a believer and God activates the miraculous — signs, wonders, healing, provision, and abundance become evident in that person’s life.
- Anyone who holds hatred toward a fellow believer remains spiritually in death, because love for the brothers is the evidence that we have passed from death to life.
Seeing God Love Notes
Two Aramaic Words Redefine Everything
One of the most illuminating moments in this message is the pastor’s distinction between two Aramaic words both translated as love in most English Bibles. The word used in John 3:16 for God loving the world carries the sense of love flowing outward from one person toward another. But the word used to describe Jesus loving the disciple John is raham, which conveys a completed, mutual, reciprocal love — a two-way exchange. This distinction demolishes the popular idea that God loves everyone identically regardless of response, and replaces it with a richer, more relational truth: God’s love is constant, but its full expression in a believer’s life depends on whether that love is returned.
The Electrical Circuit That Powers a Life
To explain how reciprocal love releases God’s power, the pastor uses the illustration of an electrical circuit. A single positive wire running to a light bulb will never make it glow — you need a returning line to complete the circuit. In the same way, God’s love and power flow toward every person who believes, but those who love Him back in obedience — completing the circuit — are the ones who visibly experience healing, provision, miracles, and transformation. This is why some believers seem to walk in constant blessing while others remain unchanged: not because God loves one more than another, but because the circuit is complete in one and not the other.
Gethsemane as the Highest Expression of Love
The pastor draws a striking portrait of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane sweating drops of blood and asking the Father whether any other path was possible. This was not weakness — it was love at its most mature. John 13:1 says Jesus loved His disciples to the very end, meaning He did what the Father asked even when everything in His humanity resisted it. This becomes a model for every believer: the deepest expression of love for God is not the easy act of worship on a good day but the costly act of obedience on the hardest day, trusting that resurrection and reward lie on the other side.
A House Given Away Twice
Among the most memorable illustrations in this message is the pastor’s account of giving a renovated home — set for a profitable sale — to a couple in crisis. The husband’s wife had been paralyzed in an accident, they had lost their home, and they had nowhere to go. Rather than protect their financial investment, the pastor and his wife gave them the property, carrying two mortgages and two tax payments for years. Rather than experiencing loss, God provided supernaturally throughout that season. The story is offered not as a rule but as a living demonstration that obedient love makes a connection between humanity and God that releases His miraculous provision.
Saints and Disciples Are Not the Same
A critical doctrinal thread running through this message is the distinction between saints and faithful disciples. The pastor points to Ephesians 1 where Paul writes to two groups within the same congregation — the saints (all who believe) and the faithful (those walking in active commitment). Everyone who receives Christ becomes a saint, but not everyone matures into a faithful disciple. John 1:12 says God gives believers the power to become sons of God — but that power is activated and grown through the returning flow of love expressed in obedience. The implication is sobering: salvation is received by faith, but the full experience of God’s life requires discipleship.
Love Is the Motivation, Not the Feeling
Closing with 1 Corinthians 13 from the Passion Translation, the pastor reframes the famous love chapter not as a romantic ideal but as a description of mature, God-sourced motivation. Eloquent speech, prophetic gifts, supernatural faith, radical generosity — none of these have eternal value if the pure motive of love is absent. Love in this context is not a sentiment but a direction of the will: patient, kind, without jealousy, refusing to seek its own honor, never giving up. The pastor challenges every listener to move from singing the baby symphony of self-focus to the deeper melody of loving God and others with consistent, sacrificial action.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that God loves the world in John 3:16?
John 3:16 declares that God loves every person on earth and sent His Son so that none would need to perish. This love is unconditional and universal in its offer. However, Scripture also reveals that experiencing the fullness of God’s blessing and power requires a reciprocal love — actively trusting, obeying, and returning love to God.
What is the difference between a believer and a disciple?
Every person who places faith in Jesus Christ becomes a believer and receives salvation. A disciple, however, goes further — keeping Christ’s commandments, loving God in return, and allowing that love to shape every decision. John 14:21 says that the one who keeps His commandments is the one who loves Him, and to that person God manifests Himself more fully.
Why does God seem to bless some people more than others?
The difference is not that God loves some people more than others — His love is equal toward all. The difference lies in how much love is flowing back to God from that person’s life. When a believer actively loves God through obedience and faithfulness, the circuit of divine power is completed, and signs, provision, healing, and blessing become visible in their life.
What does propitiation mean in 1 John 2:2?
Propitiation means that everything requiring satisfaction between a holy God and sinful humanity has been fully settled by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. Because of His sacrifice, believers can enjoy complete peace with God, harmony in their relationship with Him, and access to all the promises of the new covenant.
Is hell real according to the Bible?
Yes, the Bible consistently affirms the reality of hell as a place of eternal separation from God. Scripture even states that in the last days hell must enlarge itself because of the number of those going there. The existence of divine wrath and judgment is inseparable from a complete understanding of who God truly is.
What is the difference between the two Greek or Aramaic words for love in the New Testament?
While Greek translations often use agape broadly, the underlying Aramaic reveals two distinct words. One describes love flowing outward from one person to another, as in God’s love for the world. The other, raham, describes a completed reciprocal love — a mutual exchange between two parties, such as the love between Jesus and the disciple John. These two levels of love explain why intimacy with God produces greater evidence of His power.
How do God’s commandments relate to love?
Jesus declared in John 14:21 that keeping His commandments is the evidence of loving Him. This is not religious obligation but the natural expression of a heart that loves God and wants to please Him. First John 2:5 confirms that when a person keeps God’s word, the love of God is perfected — made complete and fully experienced — in that person.
What does 1 Corinthians 13 teach about love as motivation?
First Corinthians 13 teaches that spiritual gifts, generous deeds, and even martyrdom have no eternal value if the pure motive of love is absent. Love is described as patient, kind, not jealous, not self-seeking, and never giving up. It is not primarily an emotion but the foundational motivation from which all genuine Christian living flows.
