Okay, let us begin another journey into GOD, together:
A CLOSER LOOK AT GOD’S LOVE
The Bible tells us that God is Love, but that does not imply that He is sentimental. God does not bless or reward our human good works or our sincerity in wanting to please Him (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6). As fallen mankind we do not and cannot ever qualify for God’s acceptance. Our beggarly human good, by which we attempt to impress God, is an arrogant attempt, and we are in contempt of God, by trying to impress Him with how great we are as we compare ourselves to other people.
This is what Paul was expressing when he wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
By taking the credit, or trying to earn the credit for our salvation, we blaspheme the LORD, and at the same time reject God’s Plan of salvation through Christ the Lord on Calvary. God has a Plan for man’s salvation.
THINK GOD FIRST — THINK TRUTH!
We must remember to think God first and then think man. When we understand who and what GOD IS, we will more clearly see who and what WE ARE NOT. God is Absolute. There is no other reality! Our human characteristics and functions do not apply to God. GOD’S Characteristics do not apply to man.
As created human beings we learn truth and think truth, but God IS TRUTH. Everything God IS and DOES IS TRUTH. (John 14:6)
We need to understand that as believers, we comprehend Truth in three categories: the laws of divine establishment; the Gospel; and Bible doctrine. Every category of Truth IN Scripture is an aspect of God’s perfect character and purpose.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
BIBLE CLASS – SPRING/SUMMER 2017:
Two years ago in Bible Class we studied “The Divine Decrees,” through which God established the existence of every detail of reality. We learned that the Realities of Life and Truth are based on all the attributes of God’s Essence. These attributes are revealed in Scripture.
- God IS ABSOLUTE!
- God’s Righteousness and veracity guarantee His Absolute freedom from compromise, contradiction, or falsehood in all that He thinks or does (Deuteronomy 32:4).
- God’s Omniscience knows everything, always has, always will know all there is to know.
- God’s knowledge has no restrictions, nor is His concentration limited. God is constantly aware of and occupied with ALL things simultaneously.
- God is not distracted, nor does He lose perspective.
With these Divine characteristics of God in mind, why does man think he can please God? The question that comes to my mind and perhaps yours too, is: How can a Perfect God, love imperfect human beings (John 3:16)? The answer is contained in the question.
God is Perfect Love! But, there is more to the equation of Perfect Love. God’s Love is NOT contingent on His Creation. His Love is who HE IS. God is NOT sentimental or biased. God’s Love knows no boundaries. GRACE is and always has been God’s Perfect Love Plan for the human race. YES!
Righteousness condemns unrighteousness (Romans 5:19). Compared to God we are pathetic and hopelessly helpless. But God so loved us (and always has — John 3:16), that He gave. God can never stop loving us. God always knew man would fall, and God always had a plan called Grace. This is why Grace is so important. Grace is God’s plan for man. Grace is God’s eternal love for Christ, and those that are Christ’s at His coming. Grace is all that God is free to do for mankind because of Christ’s blood (spiritual sacrifice) on Calvary.
Christ died for us, in our place, so that we could be restored to God, the Father. God blesses the believer according to that plan. Likewise, God disciplines us when we depart from that plan.
THE DOCTRINE OF IMPUTATION
Impute suggests ascribing something that brings discredit by way of accusation or blame.
In Christ, the believer becomes the Righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is called “Imputed Righteousness” in theology and may be best understood and defined as the judiciary act of God whereby He justly declares us righteous when we believe in the Cross work of Christ who paid our sin debt by His sacrificial death in our place (See Romans 3:31; 8:1, 31-34).
Christ’s death-payment in our place is credited to our account, at salvation, by God who is propitiated (satisfied) with Christ payment in full. The Greek word “logizomai” means “credited” and appears eleven times in the fourth chapter of Romans. We are justified by His blood (Romans 5:9). Christ’s Resurrection is proof that our sins are gone — paid in full.
The ascension of Christ and His acknowledged seat at the Right hand of the Father are living proof that God is totally propitiated. Amen!
Thank you Jesus for paying our death penalty so we could become heirs of salvation and spend eternity in your awesome presence.
IMMUTABILITY
God is Immutable, meaning God never changes — He is who He is. God’s absolute consistency reflects our inconsistencies. God’s Righteousness is Absolute. God’s Justice is absolute, therefore impartial. God is not partial to you or me because we are such wonderful people full of love and kindness and personality. When we truly begin to understand who and what God IS, we finally begin to understand who and what we are — AND THAT IS not GOOD AT ALL!
LOVE IS GOD’S PERFECTLY SPLENDID THING
Virtue is God’s Perfectly Splendid Attribute. Therefore, virtue IN THE BELIEVER, is demonstrated by personal love for other believers and impersonal love for mankind.
GOD’S LOVE PATTERN
God’s Love is our pattern, because God is the source of Love. This LOVE PATTERN of GOD is expressed throughout Scripture. Therefore, our capacity to love originates with God, for we are made in His Image (Genesis 1:26). Human love involves thought — emotion. The mature believer’s love is designed by God as a spiritual expression of God’s Virtue Love.
We are to love as Christ loved. We cannot love as Christ loved if we do not know Christ! Knowing Christ unlocks the mysteries of God. Knowing Bible doctrine unlocks the mysteries of the Cross of Christ. Knowing Bible doctrine unlocks the mysteries of the Grace Plan of God for mankind. Therefore, GOD KNOWLEDGE IS THE ULTIMATE KNOWLEDGE! Isn’t that awesome?
God is fascinating. Bible doctrine is fascinating. How can we neglect so great a document, written by the very finger of God, specifically for mankind, but especially for the believer? How can we be so careless in our devotion to the study of God? What a tremendous resource God has given us as believers (1 Corinthians 2:16).
BIBLE DOCTRINE
Knowledge of Bible doctrine strengthens our virtue which builds our capacity for love. Therefore, the more we know Bible doctrine, the more capacity we have to love God, other believers, and mankind, living without Christ, without eternal life.
“BIBLE DOCTRINE BUILDS URGENCY!” C. S. Craig.
TWO KINDS OF LOVE
Theologically speaking, there are two kinds of love: personal love, and impersonal love. God loves His Church of believers — His children, with personal love. God loves the world (unbelievers) with impersonal love. As believers we reflect God’s personal Love for other believers and our family and friends. But, we can only love unbelievers with impersonal love, because we do not know them — you cannot love what you do not know in a personal way!
Meditate on these things, as I have for many years. Pray about God’s Perfect Love. Pray that as believers we would learn to love, as Christ Loves US. To reflect God we must learn Bible doctrine. As we take in and put God’s Word to work in our daily lives, we not only develop a vocabulary, but we develop virtue love for The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
Happy Studying!