God's attributes Bible study- Love

Introduction

This evening we are going to be looking at the attribute of God’s love together. Like all of the attributes of God we can try our best to describe what we can understand but at the end of the day we fall short of comprehending how awesome and great God really is. It is no different with the love of God.

A W Tozer said about his; if we would know God and for other’s sake tell what we know, we must try to speak of His love. All Christians have tried, but none has ever done it very well. I can no more do justice to that awesome and wonder-filled theme than a child can grasp a star. Still, by reaching toward the star the child may call attention to it and even indicate the direction one must look to see it.

A. W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy (p. 128). General Press. Kindle Edition.

I. God is love

one of the most often proclaimed truths about God by Christians is that He is a loving God. There is very good reason for this too.

The Bible makes it very clear that God is love. Our God is a loving God.

Exodus 34:6 “ The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”

Another well known verse declaring God’s love is 1 John 4:8 “8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

II. Define God’s love

The Bible is clear that God is love but what does that mean?

When we say God is love we are not referring to an emotion that God sometimes feels. But rather it is one of his attributes. It is part of who he is and how he deals with him creation.

God’s love has been described as God’s eternal giving or sharing of himself.

We could describe God’s love using four other words-

He is benevolent-

He cares and is loving towards his creation. One person has described it “By benevolence we mean God’s concern for the welfare of those he loves. He unselfishly seeks our ultimate welfare.” (Errikson)

He is gracious-

He deals tenderly with us. He doesn’t deal with us as we deserve but in Jesus Christ he offers us underserved kindness.

He is merciful-

He takes pity on us. If grace is giving what people don’t deserve, mercy could be described as not giving what we do deserve which is judgement.

He is long suffering-

God is patient with his sinful creation because he loves it and desires its repentance and restoration.

God is love, he is benevolent, gracious, merciful and long suffering towards us.

We are going to focus more in a moment on how God shows his love to his creation but before we do we need to view God’s love in light of his other attributes.

God’s love is eternal

He has always been a loving God. In Jeremiah God says to his people I have loved you with an everlasting love. He has loved his people since before the dawn of time.

God didn’t need to create us in order to display his love. God’s attribute of love has always been active with in the Godhead. God the Father, has always loved God the Son. God the Son has always loved God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. All three persons in the Godhead have always existed in the bond of perfect love.

Mat 3:17 “17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

John 14:31 “31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do.”

God’s love is infinite

God’s love is measureless. It is beyond our comprehension.

It is limitless, it has no end, it has no boundaries. It has no comparison.

The google definition of infinite is limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.

Thats what God’s love is like God’s love is limitless or endless in extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.

We can think of the greatest love humans may feel. Perhaps it’s the love of a mother for a new born baby. Yet that love, as strong as it is, has limits. God’s love has no limits.

Eph 3:17-19 “17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge...

There is a hymn called the love of God is greater far, which captures well the infinite love of God. The first and last verse say this

The love of God is greater far   Than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star   And reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care,   God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled   And pardoned from his sin.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,   And were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill,   And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above   Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole,   Though stretched from sky to sky.

God’s love is immutable, unchanging

God does not change. As a result his love does not change. His love is infinite and eternal and it always will be. God will never be an unloving God, he will never be not love. He will always be a loving God.

That will never change. When something doesn’t change we say it is set in stone. God’s love is set in the stone of his immutability.

God’s love is eternal, infinite and unchanging.

His love is also in perfect harmony with his other attributes.

The love of God is a holy love, it is a just love, it is a righteous love, it is an all knowing love.

This means although God is love, he is also just. In his justice he must punish sin, but in love he desires to offer us mercy. The two attributes are perfectly displayed at the cross.

God’s love is a holy love. He cannot have sin in his presence because he is holy, yet he loves us and wants us in his presence. Thats why he sent Christ to take away our sins.

God’s love is an all wise love, this means we can trust God in whatever trials or sorrows we face. We know that he may allow something to happen to us that doesn’t seem loving to allow but as he is all knowing we can trust that actually a far greater good will come from this difficulty, and Godin is his love knows that.

God is love, his love is eternal, infinite and unchanging. It is in perfect harmony with all of his other attributes.

Thats a definition of God’s love but how does he show it to us?

III. How does God show this love to us?

When we think about how God demonstrates his love for us it is helpful to distinguish between his love for the world and everyone in it and his love for his people.

This might sound a little confusing to some as we know that God loves everyone, sometime we can think that he loves everyone in the same way or to the same degree but it is clear from the Bible he does have a special love for those who belong to him.

We have different kinds of love and so does God. We as Christians are called to love everyone, we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. But if we loved every woman the same way we loved our wives then that would be wrong.

Or we could use the example of Children, as Christians we are to love children, we are to care for them and want the best for them. But that said you don’t love every child in your son’s school in the same way you love your own son. Your love for your son is much stronger, much deeper.

It is like this with God, he loves every body, but he has a special love for those who are his children through faith in Christ.

How does God love everyone?

God loves every single person on this planet.

He shows this love in a number of ways.

god shows his love by sustaining their life and by providing their food and drink.

Psalm 145:9, 15-16 “9 The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.” “15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. 16 You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Matt 5:45 “45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

God also shows his love for all by desiring everyones salvation

1 Tim 2:4 “4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

How does God love his people?

He has loved his people from eternity Eph 1:4-5 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love  he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will

He has shown his love by sending Jesus to save us Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:10 “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.”

He cares for all of our physical needs, he does so in a greater way for his people

1 Peter 3:12 “12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.””

He has a greater good planned for those who are his. Eternal life.

God will always love us and nothing can change that Romans 8:35-39 “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Questions

What would you say is most amazing about God’s love?

Seeing God’s love is infinite is it possible for anyone to be beyond the love of God?

How does God’s love help us cope with suffering as Christians?

How does God’s love encourage us if we fall into sin?

How does God’s love effect the message we proclaim to the lost?

What if somebody says God loves me so it doesn’t matter if I sin or not because he loves me?

How can we imitate God’s love in our lives?