Our Loving God

            God is love. We hear this phrase all the time. This phrase is one of the most common things said by progressive Christians. The fact that God is love is often misconstrued. What does it mean when we say that God is love? We aren’t saying that he is loving as if some aspect of God is loving. We aren’t saying that a characteristic of God is loving or he in nature is loving. This phrase demonstrates to us that God embodies love. When we want to define what love is, we must merely look at God and see how he demonstrates this quality. This week we will explore the different aspects of God’s love and how it manifests itself.

            First, we must ground ourselves with the reality that God is love. We see in 1 John 4:8 that John declares this saying, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” We also see Paul declare this as well by writing, “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” We see clearly in scripture that God is love. Now that we have grounded ourselves in that reality, we can now explore what this reality means for us.

            God’s love has three different aspects. The first way that God is love is through his intra-trinitarian love. In other words, each person of the trinity loves the other persons of the trinity. “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands” (John 3:35). “but [the Holy Spirit] comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave” (John 14:31). We see that each member of the trinity works in loving unity with each other. They each move and work out of love for each other. This is not a selfish love; rather, it is a selfless, unifying love that causes them to work in perfect unity with each other.

            Next, we see God’s love for the fallen world. The most obvious verse being John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God loved us so much while we were sinners and hated him that despite that reality, he sent his Son to die on our behalf. We also see that God does not delight in the death of the wicked. “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’” (Ezekiel 33:11). God does not want any to perish. We see that God wants that all men turn to him. He is grieved when we continue in our rejection of him.

            We also see that God has salvific love for his elect. Those that God chose to be his, he has a special love for them. He calls them his own. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him” (1 John 4:1). This is a special love. “No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:27).

            We can see God’s love manifest itself in four distinct ways. The first way that we see God’s love manifest itself is through his goodness and benevolence. In other words, we see it in God’s generosity to his creatures. “The Lord upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:14-16). Second, we see God’s love manifest through his mercy. We see God’s kindness to those in misery, apart from what they deserve. “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you” (Psalm 86:5). Third, we see God’s love manifest through his patience. This is God’s withholding of judgment on those who deserve it. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Fourth, we see God’s love manifest through his grace. This is God’s unmerited favor. We see in Scripture two kinds of grace. The first is common grace. This is grace given to all people. The second is special grace. This is grace related to salvation. “And if by grace, then [salvation] cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).

            Since this phrase that God is love is often misconstrued, we must now spend some time explaining what it is not. It does not mean that God loves you exactly the way you are. If that were the case, then what would be the point of sanctification? He loves you as an image bearer; he hates the sin. If God expected you to change before you were his, then no one could be saved. We are not able to change who we are at our core outside of the work of the Spirit in us. Once you are his, you are expected to start bearing the fruit of the Spirit. That means that you are putting off your old self and putting on the new self. How does one do this? One does this by killing sin in one's life. Sin is clearly defined in scripture; it is not what one wants to define as sin. John Owens warns us in his book The Mortification of Sin, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing sin.” We must be wary of this errant teaching of God’s love.

            God’s love is vast. It is an identifier of who he is. He loves us. Isn’t it amazing how God loves us even though we are in constant rebellion against him? We, as believers, can be comforted that God will never stop loving us no matter how much we mess up. He is always willing and able to forgive us. He wants to have an intimate relationship with us. He wants to have an intimate relationship with you.