Much is said about God’s love today. “God loves us.” “God is love.” These are, of course, true and a principal theme of the Bible. Much has been written about God’s love in books, articles, hymns, etc. Overstating God’s love is, probably, not possible. The problem is understating God’s love or the failure to understand the fullness of God’s love. On the surface, the statement, “God loves us,” should stand on its own. It’s self-explanatory, isn’t it? Three simple words! What’s there to explain?
The issue is how the hearer interprets each word. Of course, the hearer interprets these according to his background, i.e. his experiences and what he has been taught. Even if we take the typical hearer’s understanding of the word love, it’s still quite amazing. Many poems and pop songs have been written about love – its power, i.e. its ability to move people, its ability to save from defeat and desperation, its ability to bring hope, its ability to change lives. And certainly the love between husband and wife, or the love between parent and child, is a spectacular thing. And again, all this understanding is in the typical context of the average person – religious or nonreligious. Naturally when one hears, “God loves us,” we would interpret this in the light of the love we hear about in music and movies, and in light of what we’ve experienced, in our homes and with our friends.
I would suggest that a person’s understanding of these three simple words depends on their understanding of each word. The fuller their understanding of the meaning of each word, from a biblical perspective, the richer and fuller (maybe’ explosive’ is not overstating it) are the words when strung together.
Let’s look at the three words in reverse order.
God loves us. Who are we? Who are these objects of God’s love? We are created in God’s image. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . .’” We are different from God’s other creatures because we are made in His image. We are special. While we are His special creation, we are also fallen. “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” When Adam and Eve rebelled in the Garden of Eden, mankind and the creation were affected. This rebellion has its horrendous effect – man’s depravity. Sin affected the whole of man – his body, his mind, his soul and his spirit. Isaiah writes in chapter 64, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Jeremiah writes in chapter 17, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” In Romans 9, Paul describes us as, “. . . vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” We are really messed up and our future is bleak!
God loves us. What is love? Is it the type of love we see in movies and hear about in music? In what type of home were we raised? Was it a loving environment or was it filled with abuse and neglect? If the home was devoid of love, then the movies we see and the songs we hear define what love is. All these may contain elements or aspects of God’s love as described in the Bible. But none can fully or accurately describe God’s love. God’s love is covenantal. In other words, God’s love for us remains regardless of our response to Him. He loves when we obey Him and when we rebel. His love is a sure thing – it is not capricious. We cannot make God love us more nor make Him love us less. The prodigal son, described in Luke 15, is loved by his father despite having run away from home and squandered his inheritance on wanton living. When the son came to his senses and returned home, his father ran to embrace him and threw a lavish banquet celebrating the son’s return. I would add that all the time the son was away, the father’s love remain steadfast, longing for the day when the son would return.
A prime example of God’s covenantal love is his love for Israel. For centuries, Israel rebelled against God – the One who delivered her from bondage in Egypt. After deliverance and between settling in the promise land, Israel rebelled against her leaders, Moses and Joshua. After settling in the promise land, she continued her rebellion in Judges and through all the kings. God sent numerous prophets to warn her, but the rebellion continued, interspersed with brief periods of repentance. Finally, Israel was sent into exile to a pagan land. Even in exile, God loved Israel and looked to her future restoration. In Isaiah 54, God speaks concerning Israel,
“For the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” says your God. For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.” (NASB) [Bold emphasis mine.]
God loves us. The most important question is, “Who is this God that loves us?” Why is God loving me different from another human loving me, viz. if the other person loves me unconditionally. First, God is wholly different from us humans. He is the Creator, we are His creature. God spoke into existence this universe and He willed man into existence. The gulf between the greatest living creature on this earth, e.g. man versus the smallest or simplest living creature, e.g. an ant, is small compare with the gulf between God and man. The difference in the former comparison is one of degree whereas the latter comparison is one of nature or substance. Isaiah writes in chapter 55, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
God is holy, i.e. He is perfect, pure, and completely set apart from man. God is eternal, with no beginning and no end. He has always existed. God is sovereign by virtue of being the only Creator and all else is created. He answers to no one. Isaiah 40 says,
“To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the [y]strength of His power, not one of them is missing.” (NASB)
We are all accountable to Him. God reigns in majesty above all and over all. He is all powerful, all knowing, all present. Yet, God is merciful, gracious, compassionate, full of lovingkindness. Psalm 103 says,
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (NASB)
This is the God who loves us. Because of who God is, the statement, “God loves us,” is raised to another level, to a wholly different plane. It now becomes magnificent, even awesome. “God loves us,” is an awesome statement first, and primarily, because of who God is. The second reason this statement is magnificent is because of the nature of this love – covenantal love. Third, this statement is astounding because of who we are. Combined these three words with the proper biblical understanding of each word and the result should be humble adoration and worship of God Almighty. The infinite Creator exalted in glory condescends to our level, emptying Himself and becomes man so that He could die on a crucifix to redeem a creature who consistently rebels and chases after other gods.
When we speak of God’s love in a sermon or in a song, we must not take it for granted that those who hear understand who God is, who we are, and what His love is all about. In doing so, we risk at best tremendous dilution of the force behind, “God loves us,” and at worst, idolatry. We must not diminish God’s love. Whenever we speak of God’s love, we must devote equal time to speaking of God. A proper understanding of God’s love requires a proper understanding of God. Only then can we lift the love of God above the plane of movies and pop songs.
Let’s look at an imperfect illustration. It’s good, and gracious, if a friend bought me dinner at a nice restaurant. It would be far greater if the President of the United States invited me to dinner. We understand this comparison, and the President and my friend are both men, creatures as I am. Though both are men, the President is “higher” than my friend. Continuing the comparison, my wife’s love for me is one thing, but God’s love for me is in a different realm. This is not to diminish my wife’s love for me, rather to exalt God’s love for us. It grieves me that when God’s love is spoken of or sung, it’s often not well understood. The failure lies not in the omission of speaking God’s love, but in the omission of speaking about God.
Meditate on the words by Charles Wesley regarding God’s love.
And can it be that I should gain An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me?
‘Tis mystery all! Th’Immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine!
‘Tis mercy all! let earth adore, Let angel minds inquire no more.
He left His Father’s throne above, So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free; For, O my God, it found out me.
Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee.
No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come. 