The Profound Dimensions of God's Love

 

Summary

The love of God is a profound and multifaceted concept that transcends human understanding. It is not merely a simplistic or universally accepted notion but a complex and, at times, unsettling reality. God's love is rooted in His very nature and is expressed in various dimensions. First, there is the intra-Trinitarian love, the perfect love shared among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This love existed before creation and is the foundation for all other expressions of God's love. It is a love characterized by perfect obedience and mutual glorification within the Trinity.

Secondly, God's love extends to humanity in a general sense. This love is unconditional and indiscriminate, manifesting in common grace, compassion, warnings, and the offer of the gospel to all. God's common grace allows all people to experience the goodness of life, while His compassion is evident in His grief over the lost. His warnings serve as a call to repentance, and the gospel offer is extended to everyone, demonstrating His desire for all to come to salvation.

However, God's love for His own, those who are His chosen people, is distinct and profound. This love is eternal, unconditional, and uninfluenced by anything other than God's sovereign will. It is a love that ensures the salvation and eternal security of believers, a love that is demonstrated through Christ's sacrificial death and His ongoing intercession for His people. This covenant love is unbreakable and assures believers of their place in God's eternal kingdom.

Ultimately, the love of God is governed by His glory. While He loves all humanity, His saving love is reserved for those He has chosen, and this is for the purpose of His glory. God's love is not bound by human expectations or demands but is an expression of His sovereign will and divine purpose.

Key Takeaways:

- Intra-Trinitarian Love: God's love begins within the Trinity, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share a perfect, eternal love. This love is characterized by mutual glorification and obedience, setting the foundation for all other expressions of God's love. [04:49]

- Common Grace and Compassion: God's love for humanity is evident in His common grace, allowing all people to experience life's goodness, and His compassion, which grieves over the lost. This love is unconditional and indiscriminate, reflecting God's nature. [16:27]

- Warnings and Gospel Offer: God's love is also expressed through His warnings and the offer of the gospel to all. These serve as calls to repentance and demonstrate God's desire for all to come to salvation, highlighting His patience and forbearance. [28:30]

- Covenant Love for His Own: God's love for His chosen people is distinct and profound, ensuring their salvation and eternal security. This covenant love is unbreakable and assures believers of their place in God's eternal kingdom. [36:07]

- God's Glory and Sovereignty: The love of God is ultimately governed by His glory. While He loves all humanity, His saving love is reserved for those He has chosen, reflecting His sovereign will and divine purpose. [59:13]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:26] - Introduction to God's Love
- [01:42] - The Complexity of God's Love
- [03:41] - Breaking Down God's Love
- [04:49] - Intra-Trinitarian Love
- [06:43] - Expressions of Intra-Trinitarian Love
- [08:26] - The Father's Love for the Son
- [10:29] - The Magnanimity of God's Love
- [13:05] - God's Love for Humanity
- [16:27] - Unconditional Love for All
- [18:13] - God's Love for Enemies
- [21:24] - Common Grace Explained
- [24:50] - Compassion and Warnings
- [30:20] - The Gospel Offer
- [36:07] - God's Love for His Own
- [41:03] - Jesus' Love for His Disciples
- [45:19] - Eternal Love and Security
- [48:04] - Covenant Love in Ezekiel 16
- [55:57] - God's Everlasting Covenant
- [59:13] - God's Love and His Glory
- [01:06:35] - Resting in God's Sovereignty
- [01:07:55] - Closing Prayer

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Love of God

Bible Reading:
1. John 14:31 - "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so, I do. Arise, let us go from here."
2. Matthew 5:44-45 - "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
3. Ezekiel 16:6-8 - "Then I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you while you were in your blood, 'Live!' I made you numerous like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall, and reached the age for fine ornaments; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare. Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine," declares the Lord God.

Observation Questions:
1. What does John 14:31 reveal about the nature of Jesus' love for the Father and how it is demonstrated? [05:54]
2. According to Matthew 5:44-45, how does God's love manifest towards both the righteous and the unrighteous? [21:24]
3. In Ezekiel 16:6-8, how is God's covenant love for Israel depicted, and what actions does He take to demonstrate this love? [50:32]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the intra-Trinitarian love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit serve as the foundation for all other expressions of God's love? [04:49]
2. What is the significance of God's common grace and compassion as expressions of His love for humanity, and how do they reflect His nature? [16:27]
3. How does the concept of God's covenant love for His chosen people provide assurance of salvation and eternal security for believers? [36:07]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's common grace in your life. How did it impact your understanding of His love for all humanity? [21:58]
2. How can you demonstrate unconditional love to someone who may be considered an "enemy" in your life, following the example set in Matthew 5:44-45? [18:13]
3. In what ways can you actively respond to God's warnings and the offer of the gospel in your daily life? Consider specific actions you can take this week. [28:30]
4. How does understanding God's covenant love for His own influence your sense of security and identity as a believer? [36:07]
5. Identify a situation where you can glorify God by expressing His love in a way that aligns with His sovereign will and divine purpose. What steps will you take to do this? [59:13]
6. Consider the intra-Trinitarian love and how it is characterized by obedience and mutual glorification. How can you apply these principles in your relationships with others? [06:43]
7. Reflect on the story of Israel in Ezekiel 16. How does this narrative challenge you to remember and appreciate God's grace and love in your own life, especially during times of disobedience? [48:04]

Devotional

Day 1: The Foundation of Divine Love
God's love is rooted in the intra-Trinitarian relationship, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share a perfect, eternal love. This love is characterized by mutual glorification and obedience, setting the foundation for all other expressions of God's love. The intra-Trinitarian love existed before creation, highlighting its eternal nature and significance. This perfect love within the Trinity is not just a theological concept but a profound reality that underpins the entire narrative of God's interaction with humanity. It is a love that is self-sufficient, needing nothing from outside itself, yet it overflows into creation, inviting us into a relationship with the divine. [04:49]

John 17:24 (ESV): "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."

Reflection: How can you reflect the intra-Trinitarian love in your relationships today, focusing on mutual glorification and obedience?


Day 2: The Unconditional Love for All Humanity
God's love for humanity is evident in His common grace, allowing all people to experience life's goodness, and His compassion, which grieves over the lost. This love is unconditional and indiscriminate, reflecting God's nature. Common grace is the kindness God shows to all people, regardless of their relationship with Him, allowing them to enjoy the beauty and goodness of life. His compassion is seen in His deep sorrow for those who are lost, demonstrating a love that desires all to come to repentance. This aspect of God's love challenges us to see others through His eyes, recognizing the inherent value and dignity in every person. [16:27]

Matthew 5:45 (ESV): "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Reflection: In what ways can you extend God's common grace and compassion to someone you encounter today, regardless of their background or beliefs?


Day 3: The Call to Repentance and Salvation
God's love is also expressed through His warnings and the offer of the gospel to all. These serve as calls to repentance and demonstrate God's desire for all to come to salvation, highlighting His patience and forbearance. The warnings are not threats but loving invitations to turn away from destructive paths and embrace the life God offers. The gospel is the ultimate expression of God's love, offering salvation to everyone who believes. This aspect of God's love reminds us of the urgency and importance of sharing the gospel with others, as it is the means by which God draws people to Himself. [28:30]

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV): "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear the gospel message today, and how can you lovingly share it with them?


Day 4: The Covenant Love for God's Chosen
God's love for His chosen people is distinct and profound, ensuring their salvation and eternal security. This covenant love is unbreakable and assures believers of their place in God's eternal kingdom. It is a love that is not based on human merit but on God's sovereign will and grace. This love was demonstrated through Christ's sacrificial death and His ongoing intercession for His people. Understanding this covenant love gives believers confidence and assurance in their relationship with God, knowing that nothing can separate them from His love. [36:07]

Ephesians 1:4-5 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: How does the assurance of God's covenant love impact your daily life and relationship with Him?


Day 5: The Sovereignty and Glory of God's Love
The love of God is ultimately governed by His glory. While He loves all humanity, His saving love is reserved for those He has chosen, reflecting His sovereign will and divine purpose. God's love is not bound by human expectations or demands but is an expression of His sovereign will and divine purpose. This aspect of God's love challenges us to trust in His sovereignty, even when we do not fully understand His ways. It calls us to rest in the knowledge that God's love is perfect and that His plans are for His glory and our good. [59:13]

Isaiah 46:10 (ESV): "Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.'"

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to trust more in God's sovereignty and glory, and how can you actively surrender those areas to Him today?

Quotes

"Before there was any creature to love, God was still perfect love, and perfectly loved the members of the Trinity mutually. Open your Bible for a moment to the fourteenth chapter of John. We'll look at a couple of passages in John just as a starting point because, obviously, we can't get too far into these things, or we'll not be able to cover the breadth of what we want to say." [00:05:04]

"Jesus said, 'Let's progress toward the inevitability of the cross that the world may know that I love the Father, and I show that love in perfect and sacrificial obedience.' In the fifteenth chapter, still in this wonderful Upper Room Discourse, the night of the Passover with His apostles, Jesus says, verse 9, chapter 15, 'Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in My love.'" [00:06:09]

"God has the power to raise the dead, so does the Son. God has the right to judge, verse 22, but He's given all judgment to the Son. God is worthy of all honor, but He's given equal honor to the Son. God is the one to be believed, but He gives His Word to His Son who also is to be believed. The Father gives life, the Son gives life." [00:11:15]

"The Father loves the Son so much that He gives to the Son a redeemed humanity. You understand, don't you, that God loving sinners is secondary, and God loving His Son is primary? He loves sinners insofar as by loving them, He can express His love to His Son. We are nothing but an elect bride, the Father's love gift to the Son." [00:13:18]

"It is true, God does love men and women. God does love the world. There is a love of God which is unconditional, you hear that? Used so many times that adjective, 'unconditional,' you would think that's the demanded adjective to describe God's love finally, ultimately but it is not. But there is, however, an unconditional kind of love, an unlimited kind of love, an indiscriminate kind of love, a love extended to all people." [00:16:19]

"God loves His enemies. God's love is not restricted to the redeemed. This is an unqualified, unconditional love. Another illustration of this is found in the tenth chapter of Mark which, I think, is sort of tucked into that tenth chapter and perhaps overlooked unless you're reading thoughtfully. Verse 17, 'As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him,' Mark 10:17, 'knelt before Him, and began asking Him, 'Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?''" [00:18:25]

"God loves those who don't love Him, and that love is manifest, listen, in an earthly, physical, temporal fashion. By rain and good. And you understand that, of course, because you know that the soul that sins, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. And yet, the world is constantly, from the very start, populated by people who sin and sin continuously in an unbroken pattern and go on living." [00:22:10]

"God's love for mankind is revealed in His incessant warnings. All through the Scripture, we won't take the time to recite them. I always think of a text that I first heard from R.C. many years ago, when I listened to his series on 'The Holiness of God,' I think it's in that series, taken out of Luke 13 where they came and asked Jesus about the tower that fell on the people, and then people who were in worshiping, and the soldiers came in and sliced them up." [00:28:25]

"God's love for mankind, in the broadest sense, is revealed in His incessant and extensive offer of the gospel. 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel' to? 'Everyone,' everyone. The path to salvation has been made known to all. 'That which may be known of God,' Romans 1, 'is in them.' It is that logical process built into the mind, that cause-and-effect pattern in human thinking that is the operation of logic." [00:30:41]

"God's love for His own. Listen carefully, though God genuinely loves the world, He loves them enough to give them common grace, He loves them enough to feel compassion and extend it to them. He loves them enough to warn them. He loves them enough to give them gospel opportunity. That love has no limit in extent, listen, but it has a limit in degree. This is always challenging for us but, nonetheless, true." [00:36:07]

"Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 'Having loved,' past tense with ongoing force. Having always loved His own who were in the world, He loves the world, but there's another kind of love. We know He loves the world, but He has another love for His own who are in the world, and what is it? He loved them to the end." [00:38:11]

"To those whom He chooses to love in a covenant way, His love is perfect, complete, saving, and eternal. Listen to what Jeremiah 31:3 says, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, I have drawn you with loving-kindness.' Before the foundation of the world, God set His love upon His own, is that not true? And He loves them with an everlasting love." [00:57:11]

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Transcript
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