In lesson 4, our study took us to passages of Scripture that reveal God’s power, His wrath against sin, and His righteousness as exhibited in the cross of Jesus Christ. Today, we want to examine the love of God. In the next lesson, we will study His grace, mercy, and kindness, which are most clearly portrayed in the death of Jesus.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
“...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” Ephesians 5:25
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
The cross displays the love of God, the Father, and the love of Jesus Christ for us in blazing glory. Never has passionate love reached such a fervor, never has love been displayed with such dedication and zeal and commitment. God loves us, so Jesus died for us. Jesus loves us, so He gave up His life willingly for us. It is a simple truth, but this truth has been saving and changing lives for thousands of years.
But to understand and embrace the love of God thoroughly, we must understand the need for the cross better. We learned in lesson 4 that God hates sin, and that because of His righteousness, He must punish sin. We read of God’s further detestation of sin in Habakkuk 1:13:
“You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and are silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” Habakkuk 1:13
God cannot even look at wrong. He is too pure to see evil. He hates sin so much that He cannot look at it. And since all people are born sinners (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23), God's righteousness and purity will not allow Him to look upon us, much less allow us into His presence.
Psalm 7:11 states that "...God is angry with the wicked every day" (KJV).
Romans 1:18 is particularly clear on this subject:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Romans 1:18
Question 1. What does Romans 1:18 say is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men?
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But God also loves the world (John 3:16). So, how can God’s hatred for sin and wickedness, His anger for the wicked, His wrath against the unrighteousness of men, and His love for the world be harmonized and reconciled? It is an important question.
The answer is that through the cross of Christ, God’s wrath is appeased, His anger at the unrighteous deeds of sinful man is expressed and exhausted, but His love is also displayed in all of its beauty and for all eternity. At the cross, the love of God for sinners finds full expression. At the cross, God can be just and the justifier of the ungodly (Romans 3:26). Because of the death of Jesus Christ, God’s love triumphs and extends throughout all eternity for those who believe in Jesus Christ.
This kind of love caused Paul to erupt in praise as He tries to put dimensions around the love of Christ:
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
Question 2. What does Ephesians 3:17-19 teach about the love of God?
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