Understanding God's Delight: The Nature of Divine Love
Summary
In our exploration of divine love, we delve into the profound concept of God's love of complacency, a term that often raises eyebrows due to its modern connotations of indifference or smugness. However, the root meaning of complacency is delight or pleasure, which is theologically significant when discussing God's love. This love of complacency is the delight and pleasure God takes in His relationship with His people, distinct from His love of benevolence and beneficence. The ultimate object of God's love is His Son, Jesus Christ, as demonstrated during Jesus' baptism when God declared His pleasure in His Son.
This love extends to the redeemed, those whom God has chosen and called according to His purpose. It is a love that is deeply intertwined with the concept of election and predestination, as outlined in Romans 8. Here, Paul speaks of a "golden chain" of salvation, where those foreknown by God are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This calling is not merely an external invitation but an internal, effectual call by the Holy Spirit that transforms hearts and minds, enabling a genuine response to God's love.
The distinction between the external and internal call is crucial. While many hear the Gospel externally, only those who receive the internal call experience the transformative power of God's love. This internal call is a manifestation of God's electing grace, where He quickens the spiritually dead, granting them the ability to love Him in return. This love is not based on human response but is a result of God's eternal delight and foreknowledge, which is a foreloving, an intimate knowledge that transcends mere intellectual awareness.
Ultimately, God's love of complacency is a reflection of His love for His Son, spilling over to those who are conformed to the image of Christ. It is a love that assures us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This divine love is a testament to God's grace, choosing to love the unlovely and making them objects of His eternal delight.
Key Takeaways:
1. God's Love of Complacency: God's love of complacency is not indifference but a profound delight and pleasure in His relationship with His people. This love is distinct from His general benevolence and beneficence, focusing on the redeemed who are called according to His purpose. [03:21]
2. The Golden Chain of Salvation: Romans 8 outlines a "golden chain" of salvation, where those foreknown by God are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This sequence highlights the inseparable link between God's foreknowledge and His electing grace. [12:18]
3. External vs. Internal Call: The distinction between the external and internal call is crucial. While many hear the Gospel externally, only those who receive the internal, effectual call experience the transformative power of God's love, leading to justification and glorification. [18:21]
4. Election and Predestination: God's election and predestination are not based on human response but on His eternal foreknowledge and delight. This foreknowledge is a foreloving, an intimate knowledge that transcends mere intellectual awareness. [22:33]
5. Conformity to Christ: God's love of complacency is a reflection of His love for His Son, spilling over to those conformed to the image of Christ. This divine love assures us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. [20:40]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:35] - Types of Divine Love
- [01:15] - Understanding Complacency
- [02:46] - Theological Implications
- [03:21] - God's Delight in His Son
- [04:16] - Love for the Redeemed
- [05:34] - Electing Grace
- [06:18] - Romans 8:28 Explained
- [07:29] - The Called and the Church
- [08:00] - External Call of the Gospel
- [09:05] - Responses to the Gospel
- [10:14] - Internal Call and the Holy Spirit
- [11:40] - Order of Salvation
- [13:27] - Foreknowledge and Predestination
- [16:08] - Prescient View of Election
- [18:21] - Effectual Call and Justification
- [20:03] - Transformation through Grace
- [22:33] - Intimacy in Foreknowledge
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: Understanding God's Love of Complacency
Bible Reading:
1. Romans 8:28-30
2. Matthew 3:16-17
3. Romans 9:13
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Observation Questions:
1. What is the primary object of God's love of complacency, and how is this demonstrated during Jesus' baptism? [03:21]
2. How does Romans 8:28-30 describe the "golden chain" of salvation, and what are the steps mentioned in this sequence? [12:18]
3. What is the difference between the external call and the internal call as discussed in the sermon? [10:14]
4. How does the sermon explain the concept of God's foreknowledge in relation to election and predestination? [16:08]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of God's love of complacency challenge modern understandings of the word "complacency"? What implications does this have for understanding God's relationship with His people? [01:15]
2. In what ways does the "golden chain" of salvation provide assurance to believers about their salvation and God's purpose for them? [06:18]
3. How does the distinction between the external and internal call affect one's understanding of how people come to faith in Christ? [11:00]
4. What does the sermon suggest about the nature of God's foreknowledge and its role in the process of election and predestination? [22:33]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt God's delight in your life. How did that experience shape your understanding of His love of complacency? [03:21]
2. Romans 8:28 assures us that all things work together for good for those who love God. How can you hold onto this promise during challenging times in your life? [06:18]
3. Consider the difference between hearing the Gospel externally and experiencing the internal call. How can you be more open to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in your life? [10:14]
4. How does understanding God's foreknowledge as a "foreloving" change the way you view your relationship with Him? [22:33]
5. In what ways can you strive to be conformed to the image of Christ in your daily life, reflecting God's love of complacency? [20:40]
6. How can you actively seek to understand and embrace God's electing grace in your life, rather than relying on your own efforts or responses? [19:26]
7. Think of someone in your life who may not have experienced the internal call of God. How can you pray for them and support them in their spiritual journey? [09:05]
Devotional
Day 1: God's Delight in His People
God's love of complacency is a profound delight and pleasure in His relationship with His people, distinct from His general benevolence and beneficence. This love is particularly focused on the redeemed, those who are called according to His purpose. It is not a passive or indifferent love but an active delight in those who are conformed to the image of Christ. This divine love assures believers that they are cherished and valued by God, not because of their own merits, but because of His eternal purpose and pleasure. [03:21]
Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV): "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."
Reflection: In what ways can you actively remind yourself of God's delight in you today, especially when you feel unworthy or distant from Him?
Day 2: The Golden Chain of Salvation
Romans 8 outlines a "golden chain" of salvation, where those foreknown by God are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. This sequence highlights the inseparable link between God's foreknowledge and His electing grace. It is a reminder that salvation is not a random act but a deliberate and loving plan orchestrated by God. Each step in this chain is a testament to God's sovereignty and His unwavering commitment to bring His people to glory. [12:18]
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 understanding the "golden chain" of salvation change your perspective on your spiritual journey and God's role in it?
Day 3: The Transformative Power of the Internal Call
The distinction between the external and internal call is crucial. While many hear the Gospel externally, only those who receive the internal, effectual call experience the transformative power of God's love. This internal call is a manifestation of God's electing grace, where He quickens the spiritually dead, granting them the ability to love Him in return. It is a powerful reminder that true transformation comes from within, initiated by the Holy Spirit, and not merely through external adherence to religious practices. [18:21]
1 Corinthians 2:12 (ESV): "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when you experienced a profound internal change. How can you be more open to the Holy Spirit's transformative work in your life today?
Day 4: God's Foreloving Knowledge
God's election and predestination are not based on human response but on His eternal foreknowledge and delight. This foreknowledge is a foreloving, an intimate knowledge that transcends mere intellectual awareness. It is a deep, personal love that God has for His chosen ones, rooted in His eternal purpose and pleasure. Understanding this aspect of God's love can bring comfort and assurance, knowing that His love is not conditional but steadfast and eternal. [22:33]
Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV): "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Reflection: How does knowing that God has foreloved you change the way you view your identity and purpose in life?
Day 5: Conformity to Christ
God's love of complacency is a reflection of His love for His Son, spilling over to those conformed to the image of Christ. This divine love assures us that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. It is a call to live a life that reflects Christ's character, knowing that in doing so, we are participating in God's eternal plan and delight. [20:40]
2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
Reflection: What specific steps can you take today to align your life more closely with the image of Christ, knowing that this brings delight to God?
Quotes
"God's love of benevolence that refers to his good will that he exercises to all people, and his love of beneficence which indicates his activity by which he pours out benefits -- what we call the benefits of common grace to all people -- such as the sun and the rain and so on." [00:00:22]
"But when we're speaking theologically about God's love of complacency, we're talking about that love by which the Father takes delight and is pleased by his relationship with people. Now, we said all along that the number one object of God's love, the perfect object of his pleasure and of his delight is his Son." [00:03:14]
"Again, we remember that when Jesus is baptized, and the dove descends from heaven, and the voice is heard audibly where God says, 'This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.' And so in that context God announces his love of complacency for Jesus. He is the one in whom the Father is well pleased." [00:03:45]
"That is, that Jacob receives this transcendent love of complacency -- the love that God has for his elect that differs from the general love of benevolence and the love of beneficence that of course Esau would have received the first two kinds of love from God, but he wouldn't have received the saving love of God, the redeeming love of God, in which God takes delight in his people." [00:05:01]
"I think we all are familiar with Romans 8:28: 'And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose.' Now, notice that in this text Paul does not say that all things work together for good for everybody." [00:05:58]
"For those who love him, and those who love him are indeed those who are called according to his purpose. So, those who love God with this kind of love and are loved by God with the love of complacency, may be called 'the called', which indeed is where the word election comes from." [00:06:50]
"On the other hand, the Bible uses the term 'to call' in another manner, which we call in theology the inner call, or the internal call, and sometimes even called the effectual call of God. And this has to do with the operation of the Holy Spirit that takes place inside the person." [00:10:30]
"Moreover, whom he predestined these he also called. And whom he called these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. Now, I'm submitting to you that what Paul is talking about here is not the external call of the Gospel, but the internal call that indicates the supernatural operation of the Holy Ghost." [00:12:08]
"That it is that their response is not the grounds of predestination but the point of the text is all whom God predestines will receive this internal call, and all who receive the internal call will in turn receive justification and glorification. So we are predestined not because we respond to a call, but we are predestined to respond to that call." [00:19:06]
"Because without that electing grace and the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost I am by nature at enmity with God. I have no affection for him, but now once I have received the inward call, and my heart has been changed, that which I formerly abhorred now I love, and Christ becomes the object of my affection." [00:20:24]
"And God is not willing that his Son not be the firstborn of many brethren. And as Jesus tells us in the prayer in the upper room in John 17 and so on he speaks of those whom the Father has given him. And that's what the elect are -- the love gifts that the Father gives to the Son." [00:21:06]
"So, but the point is this -- that this foreknowledge means more than simple intellectual awareness. If we examine the word, the verb 'to know' in the Bible, we know that there is one sense in which the Bible uses the verb 'gnosis' to refer to intellectual awareness, but there's also a deeper meaning to that verb, or to the noun 'knowledge' that refers to the love of intimacy." [00:22:11]
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