God Proves His Love for Us

Introduction

Brothers and sisters, let me begin with a simple question:

How do you know someone truly loves you?

People can say the words.

People can make promises.

People can speak beautifully.

But sooner or later, love is proven in action.

When life gets hard, when weakness shows up, when relationships are tested — that’s when love is revealed for what it really is.

Paul says something extraordinary here.

God has not merely said he loves us.

God has proven it.

And he has proven it in Jesus Christ.

Expository Walkthrough

1. We Already Have Peace With God

Paul begins with these words:

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice the phrase: we have.

Paul is not saying this is something Christians must one day attain.

He is saying this is already true because of Jesus.

That matters because many of us still live as if God’s acceptance is uncertain.

We know our sins.
We know our failures.
We know our inconsistencies.

And because we know ourselves so well, we can start to imagine God standing at a distance — disappointed, watching, waiting.

But Paul says no.

Because of Jesus Christ, we have already been justified.

That means made right with God.

Not because we finally became worthy.

Not because we cleaned ourselves up.

Not because our faith became strong enough.

But because Jesus has done what we could not do.

He lived in perfect fellowship with the Father.

He trusted the Father perfectly.

He loved perfectly.

And through the Spirit, that righteousness is shared with us.

That is grace.

Faith is not us achieving something.

Faith is receiving what Christ has already accomplished.

That’s an important distinction.

Faith is open hands, not climbing hands.

Faith receives.

And because of that, we have peace with God.

That peace means more than no hostility.

Biblically, peace means wholeness.

Restored relationship.

Communion.

The Father is not merely tolerating you.

He has embraced you in his Son.

Now that does not mean he ignores our sin.

A loving Father corrects what harms his children.

But he corrects because they belong.

Not so they can belong.

That changes how we live.

When you wake tomorrow morning, you are not trying to earn God’s favor.

You are waking into the favor already given in Christ.

That is peace.

And that peace says something:

God proves his love for us.

2. We Stand in Grace, Even Through Suffering

Paul continues:

“Through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand.”

That is beautiful language.

We stand in grace.

Grace is not an occasional rescue.

It is not a temporary arrangement.

It is where we live.

It is the atmosphere of our life in Christ.

Sometimes people think grace means God overlooks things.

But grace is far more active than that.

Grace is God’s determined action to bring us into the life he intends for us.

Grace forgives.

Grace restores.

Grace transforms.

Grace keeps moving us toward glory.

That’s why Paul says:

“We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”

Hope here is not uncertain wishing.

It is certainty based on who God is.

If God has already given us Christ, he will not abandon what he has begun.

And then Paul says something surprising.

He says:

“We also boast in our afflictions.”

That sounds strange.

Who celebrates suffering?

Paul is not saying suffering is good.

He is not saying God sends evil.

He is saying God is so faithful that even suffering cannot stop his purpose.

That’s different.

Even suffering becomes a place where grace is at work.

Because Jesus entered suffering.

He did not remain distant from our pain.

He entered it.

At the cross, he entered grief, rejection, injustice, abandonment, and death.

He took our suffering into his own life.

So now, when we suffer, we do not suffer alone.

Christ is with us.

And Paul says suffering can produce something.

Endurance.

Character.

Hope.

Have you seen this in your own life?

Some of the deepest trust in God is born not in comfort, but in hardship.

Sometimes we learn God’s faithfulness only when all other supports fail.

And then we discover:

He was holding us all along.

Your suffering may not make sense today.

But in Christ, it is not meaningless.

God is still at work.

He is not absent.

He is not late.

He is not indifferent.

God proves his love for us even in the valley.

3. The Cross Is the Final Proof

Paul reaches the center:

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Paul uses hard words.

Weak.

Ungodly.

Sinners.

That is humanity apart from grace.

That is us.

We are not merely people who occasionally make mistakes.

Sin is deeper.

It is that bent condition that turns us inward.

Away from God.

Away from life.

Toward destruction.

And here is what is astonishing:

God moved toward us there.

Not after we improved.

Not after repentance.

Not after enough prayer.

Not after our life was back together.

While we were still sinners.

That is radical.

That means God’s love begins with God, not with us.

The cross is not Jesus convincing the Father to love us.

The cross is the Father revealing his love through the Son.

That matters.

Because many people imagine the Father as distant and stern, and Jesus as the one persuading him.

But Paul says no.

The Father sent the Son.

The Son gave himself.

The Spirit pours that love into our hearts.

The whole life of God moves toward us in love.

That is the Trinity’s grace.

And that means something deeply personal.

God does not wait for your worthiness before loving you.

He comes while you are weak.

While you are afraid.

While you are ashamed.

While you still struggle.

That is proven love.

That is why Paul says:

God proves his love for us.

Not theory.

Proof.

The cross.

Conclusion

So church, what do we do with this?

We receive what is already ours.

We stop living like God’s love is uncertain.

We stop trying to justify ourselves through success, reputation, morality, politics, control, or religious performance.

And we trust Jesus.

Because in him:

we have peace,

we stand in grace,

we live in hope,

and we are loved beyond all doubt.

You may not understand everything in your life right now.

But you can know this:

The God revealed in Jesus Christ is faithful.

He has already acted for your good.

And he will finish what he began.

Because the One who died for you while you were still a sinner will not abandon you now.

God proves his love for us.

Communion Transition

As we come to the Lord’s Table today, we come to the visible sign of that truth.

The bread and the cup are not reminders of our worthiness.

They are reminders of Christ’s faithfulness.

At this table, we do not present our accomplishments.

We receive his grace.

We come as those who are weak, yet loved.

As those who still need mercy, yet already belong.

This meal proclaims what Paul declared:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So come in faith.

Come in peace.

Come in gratitude.

Come and receive again the love God has already proven in Jesus Christ.

Prayer for the Elements

Father,
we thank you for this bread and this cup, signs of your Son’s self-giving love.

By your Spirit, make us mindful that in Christ you have drawn near to us, forgiven us, and made us your own.

As we receive these gifts, deepen our trust in your grace, strengthen our hope, and renew us in your love.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Benediction

Receive this blessing:

May the God who proved his love for you in Jesus Christ fill your hearts with peace.

May the Holy Spirit pour his love into you anew.

And may you walk this week in the sure hope that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Go in the peace of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Click on link to see original sermon: https://equipper.gci.org/2026/05/sermon-for-june-14-2026-proper-6