God's Essence - Love
God is love. His love is the absolute virtue and kindness of His thinking and actions. However, God’s love is not anything like human love. That may seem obvious, but many Christians use human love as a basis for understanding God’s love. We must not do that. God does not just possess or express love; He is love. He does not need an object for His love to exist (1 John 4:7, 8, 16). Since God is love, always has been love, and always will be love, God does not fall in love, nor can His love be changed by our sin, failure, or evil. His love cannot be corrupted, compromised, or bribed by human works. It does not increase with our legalism, self-righteousness, or good deeds. God's love is never frustrated, disappointed, or distracted.
God’s perfect, stable, never-changing love based on His infinite virtue was expressed toward the entire human race when God the Father judged His Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9, 10). When we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, God’s personal love is extended to us because His righteousness, given to us at salvation, is in us, and He loves that righteousness (Romans 5:1-5). We possess His righteousness and never lose it, and God loves us personally because of that righteousness in us regardless of our spiritual status. God does not love the believer more because that believer is living the Christian life and fulfilling His plan. In fact, God loves the failing believer, even the believer who rejects God’s Word, with the exact same personal love. Hebrews 12:5, 6 says, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are punished by Him; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He punishes every son whom He accepts.” We do not earn or deserve the love of God; that is legalism.
All the other characteristics of the essence of God further define God’s love for us. With God’s sovereignty, He makes decisions for our benefit (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 8:28). God is eternal; therefore, there never is a time when God is not love. The righteousness and justice of God mean His divine love cannot be prejudiced, unfair, or discriminatory. God is immutable and so His love is unchangeable. God's love is never disappointed, frustrated, or distracted. God is omniscient; therefore, His love always functions rationally and is never based on ignorance, emotion, or irrationality.
God’s love can never be complicated by ignorance or absurdities. God knows every thought that every person ever had throughout history. Many of the thoughts about God are not kind, but that doesn't change God at all. We do not have the power or ability to change God's love. God does not condone sin, but He doesn't stop loving the sinner. God is absolute truth (veracity); therefore, His love is revealed in the Scripture. The Word of God is the thinking or mind of Jesus Christ. God’s love is expressed in His grace toward both believers and unbelievers (Ephesians 2:4). Psalm 119:76 says, “May Your lovingkindness comfort me, according to Your word to Your servant.”
Memory verse: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).