Who Is God? His Attribute of Love

Valentines Day is about love. We want to elevate the love celebrated today beyond mere romantic love to the pure love that flows from the goodness of God.

J.I. Packer: When we looked at God’s wisdom, we saw something of his mind; when we thought of his power, we saw something of his hand and his are; when we considered his word, we learned about his mouth; but now, contemplating his love, we are to look into his heart.

Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun cam out. You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day You cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play. -Annie Sullivan-

I. God Is Love

1 John 4:8 NASB95

8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

A. Not Mere Sentiment

B. Not Perverted

Romans 12:9 NASB95

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

II. God’s Love Is Unconditional

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 NASB95

7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

We cannot earn His love, nor does He love us because we are somehow more lovable than others.

He also did not love us because He knew that we would love Him at some point in the future.

1 John 4:10 NASB95

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

III. God’s Love Is a Covenant Choice

Ephesians 1:4–5 NASB95

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,

What does it mean to be adopted? You are obligating yourself legally to have an unbreakable relationship.

Romans 8:35–39 NASB95

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

IV. God’s Love Is an Action of Self Sacrifice

1 John 4:9–10 NASB95

9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

John 3:16 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Westminster Larger Catechism

Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man? Answer: Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Because God is spirit, he is not bound by a body of flesh that can be only one place at a time, He is unbound to show love at all places at all times, and without any limits.

Because He is great, He is free to choose whom He will love. God has the power through His greatness to overwhelm us with the deepest, strongest love that we can experience. This love in coordination with His greatness is a love that will never give up and can never be taken away.

Because God is good, His love for us is pure and unselfish. It is a love that seeks our best interest to the highest moral quality. And so, God’s whole being works in concert to love us with a love that surpasses human knowledge. EK

There is God’s love. It is offered to you. It is what it is. You cannot change it. You can receive it and enjoy it for eternity, or you can reject it and enjoy yourself for a very short time. Which will you choose?