What Does "God Is Love" Mean?
- Thread starter BarneyFife
- Start date
-
Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.
You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
I think both the Father and Son are still hurting when they see the state of mankind. If we love others by being willing to suffer ourselves, we are working to help them solve the problems of the world.How to even thank Him for what He has done? Well, I can think of a good way.....to obey Him!
I would think that The Father was heartbroken for His Son...but, that is what LOVE does! Amen.
If you can show love for others and get them to love you, you have helped them. Sometimes we love others and they don't love us back; but the tragedy is not that they don't love us -- it's not a selfish kind of sorrow. I can live without everyone loving me. I'll be okay. But what about the people who reject love?
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Yes, I too believe that The Father AND The Son AND The Holy Spirit are, as one, grieved by our foolish ways, God forgive us this! I can see in my spirit The Lord weeping over the choices of His creation, as well as His children.
I too can live without anyone loving me because I have Him. And, those who reject love to me are the most lonely of people. JMHO
In Him,
nancy
LOVE is the default directive of the universe because of Who designed and sustains it.
Evil (including hate, selfishness, etc.) is an intruder; an anomaly; an outlier, so to speak.
Most people think of LOVE/goodness and hate/evil as polar and linear opposites.
But that would be effectively equaling hate/evil with LOVE in terms of power and influence.
And this cannot be.
You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:35)
Evil/hate is restricted to the earth which is but a speck and is surrounded by endless LOVE.
Evil/hate is nothing but self-love--the pitiable alternative to self-sacrificing, other-centered LOVE.
LOVE (God) is everywhere and evil/hate (from Satan) is only somewhere (Earth), and soon to be NOWHERE.
It is not a zero-sum equation.
And we haven't even gotten to HOW and WHY GOD is love yet.
Or have we?
Evil (including hate, selfishness, etc.) is an intruder; an anomaly; an outlier, so to speak.
Most people think of LOVE/goodness and hate/evil as polar and linear opposites.
But that would be effectively equaling hate/evil with LOVE in terms of power and influence.
And this cannot be.
You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. (Deuteronomy 4:35)
Evil/hate is restricted to the earth which is but a speck and is surrounded by endless LOVE.
Evil/hate is nothing but self-love--the pitiable alternative to self-sacrificing, other-centered LOVE.
LOVE (God) is everywhere and evil/hate (from Satan) is only somewhere (Earth), and soon to be NOWHERE.
It is not a zero-sum equation.
And we haven't even gotten to HOW and WHY GOD is love yet.
Or have we?
Hi @BarnyFife,
The words, 'God is love', are part of a verse, which is part of a chapter, which is part of a book, you will agree, and so these words have to be understood in relation to what comes before and what follows.
'He that loveth not knoweth not God;
for God is love.'
(1 John 4:8)
'And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.'
(1 John 4:16)
* In Romans we read that 'God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us'. 'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.' As a righteous God His judgment still remains, but a means of deliverance is given.
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Hello @BarneyFife,
But God does hate, He is also a jealous God. (Exodus 20:5)
'These six things doth the LORD hate:
yea, seven are an abomination unto Him:
.. A proud look,
.... a lying tongue,
...... and hands that shed innocent blood,
........ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
.......... feet that be swift in running to mischief,
............ A false witness that speaketh lies,
.............. and he that soweth discord among brethren.'
(Proverbs 6:16-19)
'For thou shalt worship no other god:
for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:'
(Exodus 34:14)
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Well since God drowned everyone on Earth but 8 "making them an example", there must be more.
Hello kcnalp,
That action was to protect the seed of the woman, through whom the promised seed should come (Genesis 3:15), for only Noah was found to be righteous before God (Genesis 7:1, Hebrews 11:7). All had become corrupted by the action and influence of fallen angelic beings (Genesis 6:1-8).
It was therefore an act of redemption as well as one of destruction. God was long-suffering: Warning was given by Noah, a preacher of righteousness; the door of opportunity was open in the ark until the last moment for man to be saved (Genesis 7:16). But none took advantage of it (1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; Ezekiel 14:14 & 20).
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Last edited:
Only 8? That was Noah and family, but there were others even though designated by some as lower animals or beasts:
"But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive." Gen 6:18-20
"And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;" Gen 8:1
God certainly remembered all of those living things as well as Noah and family, did He not? Is that not more?
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." I Peter 2:9-10
Is not Peter speaking of gentiles as Not being a people, but now are? Why were the unclean beasts saved also in the ark built by Noah?
"I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" Ecc 3:18-21
Food for thought or for study or for prayer?
Last edited:
'Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
through sanctification of the Spirit,
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.'
(1 Peter 1:1-2)
Hello @amadeus,
I believe Peter was addressing those described in the verses quoted above? Who were the redeemed remnant of Israel, they were the Holy Nation in embryo, scattered throughout the nations, as 'strangers and pilgrims' among them. The elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. These are a foretaste of those, of the same nation, in whom the prophecy of Hosea 1:10 & 2:23 will ultimately be fulfilled. Which included also those Gentiles who had been grafted into Israel's covenant privileges (re. the Olive Tree) - Romans 9:24-26, which is now in abeyance.
Only Israel is ever referred to as a Holy Nation, theirs also is the Divinely appointed priesthood (Exodus 19:6).
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris
Last edited:
Hi, Chris
Ah, but God does hate the way humans do? As I mentioned earlier, God's hate is so far removed from the spiteful intent to harm that human beings exhibit that it should be given another name altogether and, in fact, it is in some places. In the King James, for example, it is also rendered "eschew." One can find the word "hate" (for people) attributed to God only in the old testament. God said plainly that He loved Jacob and hated Esau even before he was born. Scholars say that there is a difference between the way hate was treated and understood in Hebrew, Greek, and modern history. We know from Greek lexicons and even from a simple comparison to the 5th commandment that Luke 14:26 cannot be understood from a plain reading in most of the English translations available today.
One can Google this subject and for every 8 hits they will get at least 9 explanations but for me, the bottom line is: How can a God who "takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11), and is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9) hate in the same way that man normally views hate?
The answer is simple: He doesn't.
And it's because of this that He warns us our measure of justice is out of calibration in
Luke 6
37“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
ChristisGod
Well-Known Member
God is LOVE. In Love the Father sent the Son on our behalf to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. We Love because He first loved us and sent His Son as 1 John tells us.
We must understand how Gods attributes all work in harmony together not in opposition to each other. All of Gods attributes and His character flow from His Love for God is Love.
God being Love has nothing to do with His creation. That is secondary. God is Love and that Love is perfect lacking nothing within His Triune nature as God. Love by definition has to be expressed with another which is why a unitarian god cannot be Love. Love requires another to share and express that Love and it’s what we see with the Triune God. God is Love before anyone/anything existed.
Before creation there was no sin hence no judgment, wrath, mercy, grace, justice etc................. Why because those are Gods secondary attributes. God’s Love is a primary attribute like Holy is a primary one. Everything about God flows from His being Love which includes His secondary attributes.
All doctrine begins with God at its starting point.
hope this helps !!!
You're arguing against something which s not claimed in the quote you provided.
Agreed
You couldn't be more wrong about this.
Nothing is secondary with God.
Couldn't agree more
Baloney. God loves beings that do not share and express it.
There was justice because God is just. Ditto mercy, grace, judgment is justice, God is not wrathful
God has no attributes that are less important than others.
Again...
Half-correct
You really ought to think this stuff through before you go on one of your post-bombing raids.
More on love and creation coming
Last edited:
Even if Peter was so addressing that particular group, that hardly limits God to having no other message to anyone reading the Bible today, does it? Who among us knows everything that God has to say to everyone through the written scriptures? Does God have precisely the same message for each and every member of the Body of Christ from each and every chapter and verse?
ChristisGod
Well-Known Member
Thats your opinion and you have a right to be wrong. I just present the truth and you can accept it or deny it that is your choice. God is Love because within the Godhead is a perfect love like no other hence a Divine love within the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The Perfect Love .
For God to need something outside of the Trinity to love reveals a lack within His own nature. God is Love before the world existed.
hope this helps !!!
Is it possible that there is an underlying standard of truth throughout the Bible? And yet, at the same time the possibility of God speaking to each according to his need?
Obviously, this is rhetorical, but since Christ is the Truth (John 14:6), and the whole Bible testifies of Him Who changes not, the writing is on the wall, so to speak, is it not?
This, coupled with the testimony of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, would seem to clinch the deal.
Last edited:
There are 3 persons of the Godhead who loved each other in eternity past.
I present my interpretation of truth for others to examine. I am not an ultimate arbiter of truth as so many seem to estimate of themselves.
Thank you for granting me the right to be mistaken.
Nancy
Well-Known Member
Even Calvinists get it right sometimes
Seriously though, I have read and listened to Piper, Pink, MacArthur and have come away with much wisdom...just some of their salvific doctrines I cannot agree with.Similar threads
