God is Love
The one attribute of God that stands out and resonates with many is that of love. If there is one thing that people know about God is that He is a God of love. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The love in this instance isn’t some epicurean fancy (like eggs with truffles or caviar), neither is it a fraternal bond between like minded cohorts, neither is it the romantic quest against all odds to find the elusive soul mate. The kind of love displayed by God is one that involves the unconditional giving of oneself for the betterment and glory of another.
A cardinal truth of Christianity is that God incarnated Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who gave His own life to redeem sinners and bring them into a right relationship with God the Father. In Romans 5, Paul writes, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (vv. 6-8). Condemned sinners, on the basis of Christ dearth, they are “justified” (v. 9a), they are “saved from the wrath” (v. 9b), and they are “reconciled” into a right relationship with God (v. 10).
Hosea the prophet through his message and ministry offers to us a portrait of divine live like no other. The Lord informed the prophet to marry Gomer, a woman who one day would be unfaithful. She committed adultery, the marriage ended, and through a course of time she became enslaved and found herself being sold as a prostitute. The Lord then instructed the prophet to the prophet to buy her out of bondage. The life and the message of the prophet serves as a living parable of the Lord love for the people whom had forsaken their covenant with Him and ended up exiled to a foreign land. He would seek out the remnant, call them to repent and restore their covenant with the Lord. The prophet, therefore, writes, “For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days” (Hosea 3:4-5).
The New Testament unveils an even greater display of divine love in that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The multitudes of souls saved through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ demonstrate the greatness of God’s love to all.
On important thing to note is that divine attributes like omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are considered to be incommunicable, since these qualities are not shared by finite creatures. Love is, however, different in being a communicable attribute, which means it is a quality both God and people can express. John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). As God’s divine image bearers whom have been redeemed by the Son, we are to reflect the same divine love shown to us.
A cardinal truth of Christianity is that God incarnated Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who gave His own life to redeem sinners and bring them into a right relationship with God the Father. In Romans 5, Paul writes, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (vv. 6-8). Condemned sinners, on the basis of Christ dearth, they are “justified” (v. 9a), they are “saved from the wrath” (v. 9b), and they are “reconciled” into a right relationship with God (v. 10).
Hosea the prophet through his message and ministry offers to us a portrait of divine live like no other. The Lord informed the prophet to marry Gomer, a woman who one day would be unfaithful. She committed adultery, the marriage ended, and through a course of time she became enslaved and found herself being sold as a prostitute. The Lord then instructed the prophet to the prophet to buy her out of bondage. The life and the message of the prophet serves as a living parable of the Lord love for the people whom had forsaken their covenant with Him and ended up exiled to a foreign land. He would seek out the remnant, call them to repent and restore their covenant with the Lord. The prophet, therefore, writes, “For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days” (Hosea 3:4-5).
The New Testament unveils an even greater display of divine love in that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The multitudes of souls saved through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ demonstrate the greatness of God’s love to all.
On important thing to note is that divine attributes like omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence are considered to be incommunicable, since these qualities are not shared by finite creatures. Love is, however, different in being a communicable attribute, which means it is a quality both God and people can express. John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8). As God’s divine image bearers whom have been redeemed by the Son, we are to reflect the same divine love shown to us.
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