We are approaching the end of our study of the attributes of God, there are just three left. I have enjoyed this study very much and I hope it has also been beneficial to your growth in the Lord. That said, the last remaining attributes are by no means inferior just because they are at the end of the study. In fact they may be the crescendo. This week in our study: God is love.
It’s actually quite hard to talk about this topic, as sin has dramatically distorted our understanding and concept of love. Sadly, many churches today are teaching false doctrine about God’s love. We inappropriately use the word love all the time. Man’s definition of love is based in pleasure, affection, romance, sexual attachment, and deep interest or enjoyment; and this all without ever considering the one from whom love flows! The whole of the Bible is jam-packed with God declaring his love. In Exodus 34:6, God says he abounds in steadfast love. Ephesians 1:4-5 says that it was in love that God chose us to be his children and 1 John 3:1 says, “See the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.”
1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love another for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love.” 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love” and “whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is often read at weddings to testify to the love that a man and a woman have for one another and hopefully will continue to have in their marriage. However, though often referred to as “The Love Chapter,” this is far more than a definition of actions between people. It is a manifesto of who God is. The passage begins, “Love is…” If we understand that God is love, then what we truly read that as “God is…”
It’s not that God loves us, it’s not that God’s love is perfect, it’s not that God’s love is enduring and unfading, though all of these are absolutely true; the point is much deeper. God is love. The character of God, the nature of God, the actions of God; these are all love. When God saves, when he forgives, when he disciplines, it is because of his love for us. John 3:16 says that the only begotten Son of God brings eternal life to his people because “God so loved the world.”
Go Deeper:
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and look for God’s character and nature.
Is your everyday use of the word love misapplied or inappropriate?
Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John atjwhite@thevillagemi.com)