THE LOVE OF GOD...His most comforting and misunderstood attribute

We are getting ready at our church to embark a two to three year study of the gospel of John and Hebrews. The gospel of John's great theme is "The Word of His Love" and depicts Jesus as God the Son - the exalted Lord Christ come as man to earth (the Word become flesh - 1:14). And the wonderful theme of Hebrews is the Supremacy and Sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the great characteristics of John's gospel is how he unfolds and focuses on the love of God. In that light, I thought it would be fitting to republish this article by A.W. Pink on the love of God as a precursor to the gospel of John. I hope it will be an encouragement to your heart and mind today as you serve the Lord.

In His fathomless love,
Steve
1 Cor. 13


by A.W. Pink

There are three things told us in Scripture concerning the nature of God. First, "God is spirit" (John 4:24). In the Greek there is no indefinite article, and to say "God is a spirit" is most objectionable, for it places Him in a class with others. God is "spirit" in the highest sense. Because He is "spirit" He is incorporeal, having no visible substance. Had God a tangible body, He would not be omnipresent, He would be limited to one place; because He is spirit He fills heaven and earth. Second, God is light (1 John 1:5), which is the opposite of "darkness." In Scripture "darkness" stands for sin, evil, death; and "light" for holiness, goodness, life. God is light, means that He is the sum of all excellency. Third, "God is love" (1 John 4:8). It is not simply that God "loves," but that He is Love itself. Love is not merely one of His attributes, but His very nature.

There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. The Divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence; it is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion. Now the truth is that on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed thereon in Holy Scripture. That there is urgent need for this is apparent not only from the ignorance which so generally prevails, but also from the low state of spirituality which is now so sadly evident everywhere among professing Christians. How little real love there is for God. One chief reason for this is because our hearts are so little occupied with His wondrous love for His people. The better we are acquainted with His love—its character, fulness, blessedness—the more will our hearts be drawn out in love to Him.

1. The love of God is uninfluenced.
By this we mean, there was nothing whatever in the objects of His love to call it into exercise, nothing in the creature to attract or prompt it. The love which one creature has for another is because of something in them; but the love of God is free, spontaneous, uncaused. The only reason why God loves any is found in His own sovereign will: "The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved thee" (Deut. 7:7,8). God has loved His people from everlasting, and therefore nothing of the creature can be the cause of what is found in God from eternity. He loves from Himself: "according to His own purpose" (2 Tim. 1:9).

"We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God did not love us because we loved Him, but He loved us before we had a particle of love for Him. Had God loved us in return for ours, then it would not be spontaneous on His part; but because He loved us when we were loveless, it is clear that His love was uninfluenced. It is highly important if God is to be honored and the heart of His child established, that we should be quite clear upon this precious truth. God’s love for me, and for each of "His own," was entirely unmoved by anything in them. What was there in me to attract the heart of God? Absolutely nothing. But, to the contrary, everything to repel Him, everything calculated to make Him loathe me—sinful, depraved, a mass of corruption, with "no good thing" in me.

"What was there in me that could merit esteem,
Or give the Creator delight?
‘Twas even so, Father, I ever must sing,
Because it seemed good, in Thy sight."

2. It is eternal.
This of necessity. God Himself is eternal, and God is love; therefore, as God Himself had no beginning, His love had none. Granted that such a concept far transcends the grasp of our feeble minds, nevertheless, where we cannot comprehend, we can bow in adoring worship. How clear is the testimony of Jeremiah 31:3, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." How blessed to know that the great and holy God loved His people before heaven and earth were called into existence, that He had set His heart upon them from all eternity. Clear proof is this that His love is spontaneous, for He loved them endless ages before they had any being.

The same precious truth is set forth in Ephesians 1:4,5, "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. In love having predestinated us." What praise should this evoke from each of His children! How tranquilizing for the heart: since God’s love toward me had no beginning, it can have no ending! Since it be true that "from everlasting to everlasting" He is God, and since God is "love," then it is equally true that "from everlasting to everlasting" He loves His people.

3. It is sovereign.
This also is self-evident. God Himself is sovereign, under obligations to none, a law unto Himself, acting always according to His own imperial pleasure. Since God be sovereign, and since He be love, it necessarily follows that His love is sovereign. Because God is God, He does as He pleases; because God is love, He loves whom He pleases. Such is His own express affirmation: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:19). There was no more reason in Jacob why he should be the object of Divine love, than there was in Esau. They both had the same parents, and were born at the same time, being twins; yet God loved the one and hated the other! Why? Because it pleased Him to do so.

The sovereignty of God’s love necessarily follows from the fact that it is uninfluenced by anything in the creature. Thus, to affirm that the cause of His love lies in God Himself, is only another way of saying, He loves whom He pleases. For a moment, assume the opposite. Suppose God’s love were regulated by anything else than His will, in such a case He would love by rule, and loving by rule He would be under a law of love, and then so far from being free, God would Himself be ruled by law. "In love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to"—what? Some excellency which He foresaw in them? No; what then? "According to the good pleasure of His will" (Eph. 1:4,5).

4. It is infinite.
Everything about God is infinite. His essence fills heaven and earth. His wisdom is illimitable, for He knows everything of the past, present and future. His power is unbounded, for there is nothing too hard for Him. So His love is without limit. There is a depth to it which none can fathom; there is a height to it which none can scale; there is a length and breadth to it which defies measurement, by any creature-standard. Beautifully is this intimated in Ephesians 2:4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us: the word "great" there is parallel with the "God so loved" of John 3:16. It tells us that the love of God is so transcendent it cannot be estimated.

No tongue can fully express the infinitude of God’s love, or any mind comprehend it: it "passeth knowledge" Eph. 3:19). The most extensive ideas that a finite mind can frame about Divine love, are infinitely below its true nature. The heaven is not so far above the earth as the goodness of God is beyond the most raised conceptions which we are able to form of it. It is an ocean which swells higher than all the mountains of opposition in such as are the objects of it. It is a fountain from which flows all necessary good to all those who are interested in it (John Brine, 1743).

5. It is immutable.
As with God Himself there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17), so His love knows neither change or diminution. The worm Jacob supplies a forceful example of this: "Jacob have I loved," declared Jehovah, and despite all his unbelief and waywardness, He never ceased to love him. John 13:1 furnishes another beautiful illustration. That very night one of the apostles would say, "Show us the Father"; another would deny Him with cursings; all of them would be scandalized by and forsake Him. Nevertheless "having loved His own which were in the world, He love them unto the end." The Divine love is subject to no vicissitudes. Divine love is "strong as death ... many waters cannot quench it" (Song of Sol. 8:6,7). Nothing can separate from it: Romans 8:35-39.

"His love no end nor measure knows,
No change can turn its course,
Eternally the same it flows
From one eternal source."

6. It is holy.
God’s love is not regulated by caprice passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at the expense of it, but "through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21), so His love never conflicts with His holiness. "God is light" (1 John 1:5) is mentioned before "God is love" (1 John 4:8). God’s love is no mere amiable weakness, or effeminate softness. Scripture declares, "whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb. 12:6). God will not wink at sin, even in His own people. His love is pure, unmixed with any maudlin sentimentality.

7. It is gracious.
The love and favor of God are inseparable. This is clearly brought out in Romans 8:32-39. What that love is from which there can be no "separation," is easily perceived from the design and scope of the immediate context: it is that goodwill and grace of God which determined Him to give His Son for sinners. That love was the impulsive power of Christ’s incarnation: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Christ died not in order to make God love us, but because He did love His people, Calvary is the supreme demonstration of Divine love. Whenever you are tempted to doubt the love of God, Christian reader, go back to Calvary.

Here then is abundant cause for trust and patience under Divine affliction. Christ was beloved of the Father, yet He was not exempted from poverty, disgrace, and persecution. He hungered and thirsted. Thus, it was not incompatible with God’s love for Christ when He permitted men to spit upon and smite Him. Then let no Christian call into question God’s love when he is brought under painful afflictions and trials. God did not enrich Christ on earth with temporal prosperity, for "He had not where to lay His head." But He did give Him the Spirit "without measure" (John 3:34). Learn then that spiritual blessings are the principal gifts of Divine love. How blessed to know that when the world hates us, God loves us!

this has been a timely encore presentation

DO YOU FEEL THEIR PAIN?..."love your neighbor as yourself"; and your neighbor is anyone, in your path, in need

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
"And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii [1] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” -Luke 10:25-37

THE GRACELIFE...the love of God come to man through Jesus Christ the Lord

Apart from our Lord’s name, the word grace is the sweetest utterance in all of Scripture. It signifies God's acceptance of the unacceptable; His relationship with those He was only at enmity with; and His peace being granted to those who deserve nothing but His tormenting justice in the fires of perdition for eternity.

Grace is God’s unmerited favor to man—granting us what we do not deserve… eternal life and granting us the forgiveness of sins from the curse of the Law. It is God’s free sovereign will in action; redeeming for Himself a remnant people for His own pleasure, purpose and praise.

The acronym G.R.A.C.E. could be defined as:

God’s Righteousness At Christ’s Expense.

It's Not About Us; It's All About Him
Grace robs man of any glory and boasting; grace crushes pride and exalts the Lord Jesus Christ; grace is a gift not based on anything of worth contained in man, but only in that what is worthy of a holy God and perfectly agrees with the council of His own will.

Left to myself, full of my own goodness, clothed with the rags of my own righteousness, I am only worthy of one thing—eternal punishment in an everlasting hell forever and ever; in unmitigated fury and gall; unrelenting, undiminishing; unforgiving. In short, I am worthy only of God’s wrath. But yet, instead of enmity, He gives us His unfailing love; instead of His justice, He gives us His inexhaustible mercy; instead of His wrath, He has without consideration for any goodness in any of His creatures, poured out upon His own that He knew before the foundations of the world His matchless, unfathomable grace. Oh what a Savior in response to sinners!

G.S. Bishop defines grace this way with these powerful words:

"GRACE IS A PROVISION for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection."

That's grace... amen?

The One Triune God of Grace
God is the God of all grace (1 Pt. 5:10); and the giver of all grace (James 1:17). His throne is a throne of grace (Heb. 4:16) that we may approach to find help in time of need. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). Grace was upon Christ (Luke 2:40); He spoke with grace (Luke 4:22); and was full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Grace came by Christ (John 1:17), was given by Christ (1 Cor. 1:4) and even foretold by the prophets (1 Pt. 1:10). The riches of grace was demonstrated and manifested in God’s kindness through Christ (Eph. 2:7). We were “chosen by God before the foundations of the earth… to be adopted as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:4-6).

The Divine Character of Grace
God’s grace is described in His Word as being: great (Acts 4:33); sovereign (Rom. 5:21); rich (Eph. 1:7); exceeding (2 Cor. 9:14); manifold (1 Pt. 4:10); all-sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9); all-abundant (Rom. 5:15, 17, 20); and glorious (Eph. 1:6). The very gospel itself is a declaration of grace (Acts 20:24, 32). God’s grace is the source for: election (Rom. 11:5); the call of God in ministry (Gal. 1:15); justification (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7); faith (Acts 18:27); forgiveness of sins (Eph. 1:7); salvation (Eph. 2:5,8); consolation and hope (2 Thess. 2:16).

As His children and saints, we are heirs of His grace (1 Pt. 3:7); under His grace (Rom. 6:16); received grace from Christ Himself (John 1:16); abound in gifts of grace (Acts 4:33; 2 Cor. 9:8, 14)); established in grace (Heb. 13:9); strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus for ministry (2 Tim. 2:1); should be growing in grace (2 Pt. 3:18); and should speak with grace for the edifying of one another (Eph. 4:29). Most importantly God’s grace is not to be received in vain (2 Cor. 6:1); not to be abused (Rom. 3:8); is not a license for sin (Rom. 6:1, 15); and is not antinomian (against the law) (Jude 1:4).

Grace “Rights”
It is clear to see that the Christian life is all of grace and nothing for which we can take credit for or find something of merit within ourselves to boast of. "Apart from Him we can do nothing" (John 15:5). Charles Spurgeon commenting on this wonderful reality says,

"Consider this, believer. You have no right to heaven in yourself: your right lies in Christ and His grace. If you are pardoned, it is through His blood; ifyou are justified, it is through His righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because He is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in Him. Thus Jesus is magnified-for all is in Him and by Him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us-for it is obtained in Him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved "in whom" we have obtained all

And further he states,

"When Jesus gave himself for us, he gave us all the rights and privileges which went with himself; so that now, although as eternal God, he has essential rights to which no creature may venture to pretend, yet as Jesus, the Mediator, the federal head of the covenant of grace, he has no heritage apart from us. All the glorious consequences of his obedience unto death are the joint riches of all who are in him, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. See, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, "Whither the Forerunner is for us entered" (Heb. 6:20). Does he stand in the presence of God?-"He appears in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24).

The Apostle Paul brings this tremendous grand truth of God’s grace to where we live every day in Titus 2:11-13. He describes to us three practical stages of grace: 1. Saved by Grace; 2. Sanctified by Grace; and, 3. Glorified by Grace. In other words, we’ve died once to the penalty of sin; we die daily to the power of sin; and one day, we will be free from the presence of sin.


Saved by Grace—
We’ve Died Once to the Penalty of Sin
Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” Here the Apostle Paul makes grace more than a theological concept or another attribute of God— he makes it embodied in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. “The grace of God has appeared” after having been long hidden in the loving counsels of God (cf, Col 1:26; 2Ti 1:9,10). This is grace incarnate. The grace of God has now been embodied in Jesus, the brightness of the Father's glory," manifested as the "Sun of righteousness" (cp, Heb. 1:1-3). This is describing “the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us” (John 1:14). This is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, coming to earth; taking on the form of a bond-servant. This is Divine Love clothed in humility, God’s gracious gift condescending to fallen mankind (cp, Phil. 2:5-8).

It is He, Christ Jesus the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). As the Apostle John says, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

The Greek word epiphainomai for “appeared” here, means to be made clear or manifest. The essential meaning of the word is "to appear suddenly upon a scene" and it is used particularly of divine interposition. It signifies the dawning of light upon darkness. Such was the incarnation of Jesus Christ—the Light of world. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5).

For what purpose did Christ humble Himself and put on flesh? For the purpose of “…bringing salvation to all men.” This is the saving and delivering of sinful man from the right reward of our transgression against a holy God—eternal punishment. Christ comes, grace incarnate, “bringing salvation to all men.” This does not mean that all men will be saved—that would be called universalism. On the contrary, “all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not…depart from Me you who practice iniquity. The road is narrow that leads to eternal life and few are they that find it."

“All men” is not a numerical designator—but one of scope. The gospel is for all people of all races, all nations, all tongues and tribes of the earth. The gospel is to be proclaimed to the four corners of the world. We are to call all men to repentance. It simply is referring to mankind, not everyone in mankind. In other words, the gospel is not for a spiritually elite who are more gifted; more noble; more good; more civil; more moral; not as sinful, who God somehow looked down upon and thought, “they really are special and have lived a life better than most…I will save them.” Not so. It is referring to humanity in general; of all peoples of all lands. The Lord will call His own from among them. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to cover and forgive every sin that would ever be committed, by every one that would ever believe. Paul describes this truth in his opening words in Titus 1:1-2, “Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.” Out of all humanity, it is only those whom God has chosen to believe that will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).

Sanctified by Grace—
We Die Daily to the Power of Sin
The new life in Christ represents a new way of living in this world. Salvation is completely transforming. We have been not just "made over", we have been regenerated--born again.

We once were as Paul says we were:

“as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." "Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving," "The poison of asps is under their lips"; "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness"; "Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:10-18).

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:1-3).

"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another” (Titus 3:3).

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

It is so clear that we are totally depraved people. Sinners; not because we commit acts of sin; but sinners, because by nature we are sinful. And sinful by nature people always will commit acts of sin. Depraved doesn’t mean that we are doing bad things and only bad things that are in themselves entirely bad. It doesn't mean that we are as bad as we could be. For even "the rain falls on the just and the unjust." Unsaved people can be generous, doing acts of great humanity for others, showing love and kindness to their neighbor, having warm, rich meaningful families and relationships, being productive and philanthropic in their communities, etc. But rather depraved means that we are completely inable to satisfy God by our own good works in order to appease His wrath, meet the demands of His justice, and atone for our sins. But when the entrance of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ saves us, we are born again. “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things are made new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Notice what Paul says, all things are new; all old things pass away. Complete life transformation by the gospel of grace. That is good news! And new lives in Christ demand a new way to live. We cannot say that we are new creatures in Him and live the same old life we used to live in the world. "A good tree produces good fruit" and the new life will evidence itself in Christlikeness.

Though justification and sanctification are two different realities spiritually, they are two inseparable truths as well. All those whom the Lord saves, He sanctifies (sets apart for His use and glory). If we claim to know Him there must be the fruit of the transformed life lived. To illustrate this point, when I was in Germany several years ago ministering at an Air Force base in Bitberg, a young man came up to me after one of the meetings and told me that he had been a Christian since he was ten years old—but there had been no change in him since then. He said, “Steve, I have my fire insurance, but I am still the same person I’ve always been. I said a sinners prayer, and if I really meant it, it’s OK, I am still a Christian and going to heaven one day. It doesn’t matter how I live; after all, we all struggle with sin, right?” Is that genuine Christianity? Live anyway you want and grace has got you covered? Of course not. Grace doesn’t wink at sin nor pacify sin. Grace drives us to further obedience in Christ. The root of our salvation is the grace of Christ; but the fruit of our salvation is the life of grace evidenced in the believer.

This is Paul’s point here. Grace is, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12). Notice here, when salvation comes, so comes the new life. We are saved by grace, and also sanctified by grace.

A Faithful Teacher
Grace is our daily teacher. This word instructing means to train by discipline; to train a child. It is a similar word for tutor found in Galatians 3:24. Grace is now our daily tutor, training us in righteousness and Christlikeness. It faithfully instructs us in two things: “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires.” Ungodliness here means the rejection of everything that is reverent and of all that has to do with God. This is lawlessness or premeditated disobedience against the Lord Himself. This a total disregard for the things of the Lord and His chaste ways for us.

Worldly desires is the passion behind the irreverence. It is the strong overpowering lustful desire of our hearts. Epithumeia is the Greek word here and signifies the dominating unrestrained passions of one’s life. Grace empowers us not to live a life of lust or unrestrained pleasure against the standard and holiness of God. Everyday, grace teaches us to surrender our lives to Christ as a living sacrifice, and not simply give in to the desires that would defy the Lord and His reverent standard for us, but to use the instruments of our flesh as weapons of righteousness. In other words, we can have victory over the desires and passions that would pull us away from being fruitful in service to the Lord and most effective as a witness and vessel for the Master's use.

Paul gives us great hope and surety in our walk in the Lord when he says in Romans 5:2, “we stand in grace.” This is our security in sanctification. Spurgeon, when commenting on this verse to his congregation in London said, “Our finite sins can never exhaust his infinite grace.” Isn't that good? That is real hope for us beloved. When we do sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous” (1 John 2:1). Once again, grace doesn’t wink at sin, give license to sin, minimize what sin is, or underestimate its compromising influence and deceiving power; but grace teaches us not to sin; not to succumb to the lustful passions of our lives or that which would exalt itself against the reverence of God; grace instructs us daily to live for the Lord.

As brother Spurgeon once again so aptly encourages us,

“Yes, there is no safety like that which comes of dwelling near to God. For His best beloved the Lord can find no surer or safer place. O Lord, let me always abide under thy shadow, close to thy wounded side. Nearer and nearer would I come to thee, my Lord; and when once specially near thee, I would abide there for ever. What a covering is that which the Lord gives to His chosen! Not a fair roof shall cover him, nor a bombproof casement, nor even an angel's wing, but Jehovah Himself. Nothing can come at us when we are thus covered. This covering the Lord will grant us all the day long, however long the day. Lord, let me abide this day consciously beneath this canopy of love, this pavilion of sovereign power and grace.

Glorified by Grace—
We will One Day be Free from the Presence of Sin
This is our great hope and comfort—we shall be free from the very presence of sin when on that glorious day we shall see Him and we shall be like Him. “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;” (Titus 2:13). “Those whom He justified… He glorified” (Rom. 8:30). As we are making our way through this world struggling with being new creations incarcerated in unredeemed flesh; we are waiting for the return of our Lord and to serve and reign with Him forever in glory…amen?

This is our hope. This is our joy. This is our unfading motivation in living for Him. This will prove the antidote to worldly lusts, and the stimulus to "live in this present world" conformably to this expectation. One day we will be with Him and we will be like Him; so we press on for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Col. 3:1-4). Notice that Paul calls this a blessed hope (cf, Rom. 8:22-23; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 John 3:2-3). This should produce in us great joy in the journey as we find comfort in the great promise of the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.

In JF&B’s great commentary on the Bible, they insightfully say,

“Blessed… bringing blessedness (Rom.4:7-8). Hope, that is, the object of hope (Rom. 8:24; Gal. 5:5; Col 1:5). The glorious appearing, there is but one Greek article to both "hope" and "appearing," which marks their close connection (the hope being about to be realized only at the appearing of Christ). Translate, "The blessed hope and manifestation (compare Note, see on Tit 2:11) of the glory." The Greek for "manifestation" is translated "brightness" in 2 Thess. 2:8. As His "coming" (Greek, "parousia") expresses the fact; so "brightness, appearing," or "manifestation" (epiphaneia) expresses His personal visibility when He shall come.” That really conveys this great truth.

Here Paul gives us one of the great verses on the deity of Christ found anywhere in the N.T. – “our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” He is our Savior, the very meaning of His name, Jesus. But only a great God can save; and He is both—fully man and fully God. He is the Son of Man made flesh; but He is eternally, God the Son. He is Jesus our Savior; but He is the Lord, our Sovereign. There is but one Greek article to "God" and "Saviour," which shows that both are predicated of one and the same Being. Of Him who is at once the great God and our Saviour.

This is the theme of one of the great doxologies of Scripture: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).

May our hearts rejoice in His grace today as we look towards the blessed return of our King for His people. And in the meantime, may we submit to our loving disciplinarian—our faithful instructor and teacher of grace, as we learn to walk faithfully and humbly with the Lord each day saying no to worldliness and ungodliness.

And beloved, may we keep fresh on our lips this wonderful benediction for the “gracelife” pleasing to the Lord: “For me to live is Christ; and to die is gain.”

From the crucible of grace...
Steve
Romans 5:2

The Love of God as Revealed in His Law...the Ten Commandments

"To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." -Galatians 3:15-29 (ESV)

Christ fulfilled the Law and all righteousness by His active and passive obedience in His sinless life culminating as a once for all propitiatory sacrifice for our sins on the cross as our divine substitute. Which now, having been justified by faith, His righteousness is imputed to all who have been predestined, foreknown and chosen before the foundation of the world. By grace, through Christ Jesus our Lord, the law is no longer our judge condemning us (Romans 3:19-26; 8:1) and our tutor pointing us to Christ (Galatians 3:24), but is an instrument of conviction that the Spirit of God uses in our sanctification to conform us to the image of Christ HImself. This is the ultimate purpose of the law, that God may be glorified in our sanctification.

Ten Characteristics of God's Love as Revealed in The Ten Commandments:
(Exodus 20)

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart,
and with all your soul and with all your strength"

Love Toward God:
1. Love is loyal v.3
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods a before Me.

2. Love is faithful v.4-6
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. Love is reverent v.7
7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

4. Love is holy v.8-11
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or our daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

"and you shall love your neighbor as yourself"

Love Toward Our Neighbor:
5. Love is respectful v.12
12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

6. Love is harmless v. 13
13 You shall not murder.

7. Love is pure v.14
14 You shall not commit adultery.

8. Love is unselfish v.15
15 You shall not steal.

9. Love is truthful v.16
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Love is content v.17
17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.


Christ, A Shadow and Type in the Old Covenant
(Leviticus 1-3)

1. Burnt offering
*Atonement: Christ giving His life sacrificially because of His total fidelity to God.

2. Grain offering
*Perfection: Christ wholly devoted to the Father's purpose.

3. Peace offering
*Reconciliation: Christ made us peace with God.

4. Sin offering
*Propitiation: Christ died in our place as our divine substitute. Christ died for God to satisfy His holiness, justice and wrath against sin.

5. Trespass offering
*Repentance: Christ completely paid the price for our sin. Blessed redemption and victory through the perfect sinless life of our Lord Jesus.

There is No Pit So Deep Where God's Love Is Not Deeper Still...unshakable assurance through trials

God's Love Turns Sinners into Sons
1 John 3:1 Look at how great a lovea the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him.
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.
1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

God's Love is a Justifying, Hopeful, Preserving Love
Rom. 8:31 ¶ What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Rom. 8:32 He did not even spare His own Son, but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?
Rom. 8:33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies.
Rom. 8:34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.
Rom. 8:35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Rom. 8:36 As it is written:

¶ Because of You we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

Rom. 8:37 ¶ No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us.
Rom. 8:38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
Rom. 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

God's Love Surpasses Knowledge
Eph. 3:14 ¶ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father
Eph. 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
Eph. 3:16 |I pray| that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,
Eph. 3:17 and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. |I pray that| you, being rooted and firmly established in love,
Eph. 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and width, height and depth,
Eph. 3:19 and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Eph. 3:20 ¶ Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think— according to the power that works in you—
Eph. 3:21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Though We Are Great Sinners, God is a Greater Savior
Eph. 2:1 ¶ And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
Eph. 2:2 in which you previously walked according to this worldly age, according to the ruler of the atmospheric domain, the spirit now working in the disobedient.
Eph. 2:3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also.
Eph. 2:4 But God, who is abundant in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us,
Eph. 2:5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. By grace you are saved!
Eph. 2:6 He also raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavens,a in Christ Jesus,
Eph. 2:7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in |His| kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Eph. 2:8 For by gracea you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—
Eph. 2:9 not from works, so that no one can boast.
Eph. 2:10 For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.