An Outline of Christian Thought is designed to provide a thorough consideration of Christianity, as revealed in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, and as generally understood by professing Christians across the theological/denominational spectrum. I will be presenting my particular views on the issues we will be considering, and these will be divided into seven sections, each containing three subjects, as follows:
Section I – 1) Revelation 2) Humanity 3) God
Section II – 1) Love 2) Law 3) Liberty
Section III – 1) Sin 2) Death and Judgment 3) Mediation and Reconciliation
Section IV – 1) The Purpose of God 2) Covenants and Promises 3) Jesus of Nazareth Section V – 1) Grace 2) Legalism, or Works of Law 3) Faith, or Works of Faith
Section VI – 1) Repentance 2) Salvation 3) Sanctification; or Holiness
Section VII – 1) the Sovereignty of God 2) the Providence of God 3) History
It goes without saying that there will be differences of opinion amongst my fellow Christians, especially in areas of theology and doctrine which have been debated for generations in the Church at large. It is my great desire to stimulate and facilitate Biblical dialogue for thinking Christians. To that end, I welcome all questions, comments, and objections. Let Christian forbearance and brotherly love rule, and nothing but fruitful and happy dialogue should follow.
Likewise, it is my hope and prayer that many who do not know or profess to follow Jesus Christ and Christianity will honestly and sincerely consider the truths presented here, as this work unfolds. Again, I will welcome and be most pleased to consider and respond to comments, questions, or objections any interested reader would be inclined to submit.
For the sake of brevity, the material contained in An Outline of Christian Thought will be presented in an extended outline form. Bible references will, for the most part, be cited but not quoted. This will of course require additional study and thought on the part of the serious reader.
Let us therefore begin An Outline of Christian Thought with a consideration of
SECTION I
1) DIVINE REVELATION
A) A revelation is defined as an enlightenment or illumination; a disclosure of something which has heretofore remained hidden or unknown.
B) Revelation, or opening the consciousness to facts, principles, or concepts previously unknown, is what the art and science of teaching in general, and religious instruction in particular is all about. There are, no doubt, endless illustrations of this fact from the many subjects we humans are prone to study.
C) Religious instruction must inevitably deal with ultimate issues:
1) How did we get here? How do we explain the origin of the universe, especially mankind?
2) Is there a purpose for us being here; for me being here?
3) Where am I going? How shall we deal with the ultimate reality and meaning of death and its aftermath?
The consideration of these questions will involve a substantive and thorough study of all the issues mentioned in the introductory statement inasmuch as
D) It is a certainty that every living soul must deal in some way with these ultimate issues, even if that means simply ignoring them.
E) All religious instruction, especially that divine revelation which An Outline of Christian Thought is particularly concerned with, will involve some definite ideas or principles as follows:
1) Light
2) Truth
3) Direction which calls for decision and action. This involves a distinction between that which is purely theoretical or academic from that which is “known” experientially, and therefore involves,
4) The certainty and trustworthiness of what is taught, and hence,
5) The authoritative nature of what is revealed, and finally
6) The danger of ignoring or neglecting the direction, or call to action, which results from said divine revelation.
F) The following is a statement regarding the linkage between the ideas and principles just mentioned:
1) First, there must be an acknowledgment that there is such a thing as universal truth which is absolute, discoverable, and authoritative. This truth must be acknowledged as
being an entirely objective reality, that is, absolute and authoritative truth regardless of whether anyone believes it or not. Indeed, the whole point of religion and religious instruction is the pursuit and discovery of a real and vital connection to this Universal Truth or Universal Reality, which is otherwise known as God. This requires communication from God Himself. This requires divine revelation.
2) Light is needed in order to bring illumination to certain conditions, claims, actions, and outcomes in life which may be inherently sensed but which remain hidden from conscious view. That is, we may naturally have light enough to illuminate a sense that something is wrong, but not enough to know what to do about it. For this we need additional light or revelation. We need divine revelation. History has proven time and time again that none of the various endeavors which men may pursue in this life are capable, in and of themselves, of imparting the light necessary to answer the ultimate questions of human existence.
3) By virtue of the manifestation of light, truth imparts knowledge and direction regarding the reality of divine moral law and human moral obligation. This involves the existence of sin and its aftermath, which is death. 4) Before anyone will actually receive and obey the directions which light and truth impart to the heart and mind, those directions must be considered certain and trustworthy reality. That is,
5) The light and truth which is imparted to the soul, along with the resulting instructions, must manifest an objective authority powerful enough and persuasive enough to be voluntarily submitted to subjectively; powerful enough and persuasive enough to carry with it a sense of danger and condemnation if that authoritative direction is ignored or neglected, for whatever reason.
G) Let us now consider each of the above-mentioned ideas a little more deeply.
1) Light
a) Light is revelatory. It exposes what is real or true.
b) Light reveals outwardly to our physical sense of sight. Light also reveals inwardly to our spiritual sense of sight.
c) The way light reveals outwardly is self-evident. No proof is needed beyond the fact of what the light has just revealed. In theory, someone may argue that the wall which the light has just revealed is somehow an illusion. But if he insists on proving his theory by running his car into that wall, the absurdity of his theory will be instantly known. There are endless illustrations which prove this point.
d) Light which reveals inwardly is illuminating the heart and mind, that is, the spirit and soul. It involves the realm of philosophy and religion. The nature of this kind of illumination requires proof which is persuasive and provably authoritative and conclusive.
e) The Bible claims to provide this kind of spiritual light. It claims to be the Word of God; the self-revelation of God to all humanity for the purpose of the reconciliation of all mankind to Himself. In An Outline of Christian Thought, we are proceeding under the assumption that the Bible is all that it represents itself to be – a perfect divine revelation – and that during the course of this portrayal of Christianity the truth of this assumption will be proven.
f) Jesus of Nazareth claims to be the literal incarnation of God’s self-revelation to humanity and hence He is called the living Word of God. (John 1:1-6; Revelation 19:11-16) In Hebrews 1:3, the Bible states that Jesus of Nazareth is “the radiance of [God’s] glory and exact representation of His nature.” Accordingly, Jesus also calls Himself the Light of the World. (John 8:12; 9:5; and 12:46) We shall consider the person of Jesus more deeply at the proper place in our outline.
2) Truth
a) Truth is defined as that which accords with reality. It is therefore infallibly and incontestably certain.
b) Truth is first of all an objective reality. It is reliably true whether I or anyone else believes it or not.
c) Truth is mutually exclusive. There can only be one “truth” or “reality” concerning a single event or fact at a time. One toss of a coin must be heads or tails. It cannot be both heads and tails at the same time. Two plus two can only equal four. Two or more conflicting accounts of the same fact or event cannot be equally true at the same time. d) Subjectively held beliefs or opinions cannot be true merely because they are mine, or merely because I really want them to be true. The idea that there can be more than one “truth” about the same fact or event is a dangerous myth. A subjectively held idea regarding truth, as it concerns any fact or event, must be shown to accord with the certainty of objective reality or it is merely self-deception.
e) The “you have your truth and I have my truth” myth becomes all the more dangerous when it concerns the great ultimate issues we must inevitably deal with – right and wrong, life and death, and eternal moral judgment after death.
f) The Bible claims to reveal infallible and authoritative truth with respect to these ultimate issues: God, creation, life, physical death, salvation from sin and spiritual death, and eternal judgment. The Bible claims to be truth worthy of all trust and obedience. (Psalm 37:3; 62:8; 119:142,151,160; Proverbs 3:5-6; John 1:14-18; 8:31-32; 17:17)
g) The Lord Jesus Christ, as the incarnate Word of God, claims also to be the embodiment of all truth and hence worthy of all trust and obedience. (Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:1, 6, and 15) Jesus Himself, through the pages of the Bible, claims to give authoritative direction which is infallible truth and which ought to be followed.
3) Direction
As implied in what has been said thus far, we need moral and spiritual instruction which has the above-mentioned qualities, namely, that which is fully consistent with revealed light and truth and hence is authoritative. We have stated that the Bible claims to give us this kind of instruction; that which will direct our lives in just and true ways, and prepare us for eternity. But we ask ourselves, “How, exactly is this accomplished in the pages of the Bible? Let us consider this question.
a) In the Bible we find the following: history or historical narrative, poetry, the writings of men called prophets, the Gospels, which relate the life of Jesus from four different perspectives, the parables of Jesus, which we shall define in the proper place, and letters written by the apostles who were commissioned by Jesus Himself.
b) Contained within all these writings we find the revelation of the moral law of God, with all its principles and applications.
c) Law can be defined as a rule of action or conduct; that which is right, just, and equitable in the eyes of the Lawgiver.
d) The moral law of God is revealed first of all through His act of creating all humankind in His image. This image is revealed most strikingly in our innate moral consciousness ascommunicated through the conscience.
e) The principles and rules of conduct which are expected of us by God are revealed in the Bible by way of commandments which are referred to sometimes as statutes, ordinances, judgments etc. These commandments are enlarged upon for our benefit by way of counsel, instruction, reproof, rebuke, admonition, correction, etc.
f) These principles or rules of action are as necessary to a sound and lasting spiritual life as principles for a sound physical life are for good health, so long as we live in our bodies. More so, in fact, because our physical lives are bound to end at some point. Our spirituallives will continue on throughout the vastness of eternity.
g) The Bible states emphatically, and without hesitation or qualification, that “God is love.” (I John 4:7-8,16) The moral law, as given to us by God, is simply a reflection of that love, revealed to our moral consciousness, and to our minds through the Bible.
h) The purpose of this revelation, through creation and through the pages of the Bible, is to establish the law of love as the ultimate ruling principle of life in relations between God and men, and between ourselves and our fellow man.
i) All the direction we receive in the pages of the Bible is designed to achieve a reconciliation between God and man and between man and man. It is a sad fact of human history that all the ways and means which have been devised by men have never accomplished a thorough and universal reconciliation between the various races and cultures of mankind, let alone a reconciliation between God and all humanity.
j) The Bible proposes to accomplish this dual reconciliation and to give us the direction by which it is, in fact, accomplished. Christians, therefore, declare without any doubt or qualification that the direction which is revealed to us in the pages of the Bible is a certain and trustworthy revelation from God.
4) The Certainty and Trustworthiness of Biblical Direction
a) In terms of the totality of human experience in this life, the nature of the truth or reality we must be most certain of is that which is spiritual and eternal; that which really begins when this life ends.
b) There is a sense in which the spiritual and eternal aspects of truth and reality are unconcerned with merely temporal matters, in the sense that they go far beyond them in their importance. (Matthew 6:19-21; 31-34; Luke 12:15)
c) Obviously, there are temporal concerns in this life which must be met responsibly. However, materialistic concerns and accomplishments are not essential to true happiness in this life or in eternity. Neither are the various kinds of self-indulgence which people drown themselves in.
d) The truths of Christianity – as revealed by the light of the Bible, the Word of God – do not depend upon, lead to, or result in any kind of worldly utopian vision. All the strivings of humanity to achieve a utopian ideal have failed, and will always fail simply because they are not based in truth. Utopian strivings of whatever kind have only added to human misery.
e) The temporal reality which alone is certain and trustworthy is death. This is the only certain and trustworthy physical proof we have or need of the spiritual and eternal reality we must deal with, as the Bible plainly states in Hebrews 9:27: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
f) The proofs of the certainty and trustworthiness of Biblical direction are made known to our “inner man,” that is, to our moral consciousness as reflected in our hearts and minds.
g) The certainty and trustworthiness of Biblical revelation and direction concening spiritual and eternal issues are as tangible to our moral nature as earthly reality is to our physical nature. In fact, it is the inner desires and conflicts of the heart and mind which drive all human endeavor, and every attempt on the part of all mankind to satisfy those desires and resolve those conflicts. This is but a certain and trustworthy testimony that we are, in the final analysis, spirit beings, created in the image of a God who is Spirit.(John 4:24)
h) These inner desires and conflicts also bear certain and trustworthy testimony to the ultimate spiritual and eternal reality we are surrounded by in our earthly lives, and into which we are ushered when we die.
i) We know by the certain and trustworthy testimony of our inner moral nature that we are essentially spiritual beings and that our lives ultimately transcend life on earth. We know that we need instruction that transcends merely temporal concerns. We know that we need spiritual instruction that will prove to be eternally certain and trustworthy, that is, instruction upon which we can stake our very eternal existence. We need instruction which will prove to be persuasive, conclusive, and authoritative. In essence, we know that we need divine instruction. The question is, “Where do we get it?”
j) This is precisely what the Bible gives us, as the apostle Paul told his friend and protégé Timothy, in I Timothy 3:15 as follows: “…from childhood you have known the sacred writings
[the Bible] which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
k) The conclusion of the matter is this – The certainty and trustworthiness of all Biblical teaching and direction is made known first of all by its persuasive, conclusive, and authoritative testimony in the human heart and mind, and secondly by its infallible validation throughout all human history.
5) Authority
a) As we enter upon a discussion of the subject of authority we must first define two terms, namely, authority itself, and moral law. These definitions will be taken from “Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged.”
b) First, we shall define “authority” as follows: “The right to expect obedience; superiority derived from a status that carries with it the right to command and give final decisions.” In other words authority, in the sense in which we are using it, is the right to rule.
c) Second, we shall define the term “moral law” as follows: “A general rule of right living; especially, such a rule or group of rules conceived as universal and unchanging and as having the sanction of God’s will, of man’s moral nature, or of natural justice as revealed to human reason.” The moral law as we shall use it is a unit. That is, it is an absolute and united compilation of principles or rules of action which can be summed up as the law of love or of that which is inherently good. This law exists as an absolute and unchanging reality in the mind and will of God and is communicated to the heart and mind of all humanity by God’s act of creating man in His image. (James 2:8-12)
d) Therefore, Christianity and the Bible teach that God has the right to rule and does, in fact, rule in the affairs of men and nations. But wherein does this right exist? Namely, in the perfect harmony of all God’s attributes by which we say, and again the Bible teaches, that God is good, and that God is love.
e) In defining these terms we have defined also the only true standard under which all righteous, just, and equitable human authority can exist and be exercised.
f) God alone, by virtue of His role as Creator and the perfection of His attributes, is our moral governor and has the right to rule; the right to command and expect entire obedience. His sovereignty is absolute and universal in both the physical and moral realm.
g) The perfect harmony of God’s attributes, His moral law, and His communication of that law to the heart and mind of all mankind is distinctly stated in Psalm 19, and in Romans 1:18-2:16. h) All human authority, governmental or otherwise, can only possess and exercise a qualified and limited authority; qualified and limited by the absolute and universal moral law of God. Again, God alone has and exercises a universal, absolutely true, and absolutely obligatory moral authority at all times and under any and all circumstances. i) God’s authority is perfectly and unconditionally objective. His authority is fact; it is truth whether anyone believes it or submits to it or not.
j) To this perfect objective reality is added God’s perfect, unqualified, and unconditionally subjective knowledge of His absolute and perfect worthiness to have and exercise an ultimate, final, and supreme authority in time and eternity over the whole of His creation, especially over all humanity. (Isaiah 42:8; 48:11)
k) The passages cited above from Isaiah make reference to God’s glory, which He does not and will not give to anyone else. By virtue of His glory (which involves His holiness, goodness, and love) God possesses and exercises perfect knowledge, perfect and unlimited moral authority, all-wise and loving moral suasion, and unlimited power. All of us are accountable to the moral government of God in this life, and in the existence into which death ushers us.
l) The attributes of all true authority, divine or otherwise, are as stated above, namely, knowledge, moral authority, moral suasion, and power. We, as finite and flawed beings, can only possess these attributes in a qualified and limited fashion. All human authority is given by God for right, wise, and good reasons. All human authority is rightly subject to the moral government of God. (Romans 13:1-4)
m) The most common reality in all human history is the unjust arrogation of that authority which belongs to God alone, arrogation being defined as “the assumption or claiming as one’s own unduly, proudly or presumptuously.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Fifth Edition)n) What has been stated in this consideration of the nature, possession and exercise of authority, divine and human, is plainly revealed to us in the pages of the Bible through plain declaration and through historical illustration. These facts have been experienced and recounted throughout human history time and time again. It is the plainest and most well known fact of human history, whether honestly acknowledged or not.
o) The considerations which have been introduced here involve what can be described as “the divine- human interplay.” We shall delve more deeply into these things as An Outline of Christian Thought unfolds.
6) The Danger of Neglecting or Ignoring God’s Revelation to Us in Creation and in the Bible
a) While we are “in the dark” concerning a condition or circumstance which poses a risk or danger to us if not acted upon, there can be no sense of danger or urgency to address the situation.
b) What we need in such a case is revelation. We need light which will sufficiently illuminate the mind in order to perceive the condition or circumstance which poses a threat to us.
c) Furthermore, we need revelation which can be regarded as credible; revelation which imparts to us light which is deemed to be substantive and true, and not merely an abstract or academic possibility. Such revelation must possess the knowledge, moral authority, and moral suasion sufficient to convince the mind that the condition or circumstance involved poses a certain risk to the well-being of the soul if not acted upon.
d) This kind of revelation must be communicated to the heart and mind with sufficient moral and spiritual weight so as to move the will to voluntary action.
e) There are numerous examples of this truth exhibited in the affairs of our ordinary lives involving medicine and health; business, finances, and estate planning; law, government, the administration of justice, and war; family life situations, and finally the ultimate reality in this life which we call death.
f) Here we again find a familiar and all-too-regular failing of human nature, namely, the tendency to ignore or neglect these kinds of revelations for any number of reasons. We will seek out second, third, fourth opinions, ad infinitum, until someone is found who will tell us what we want to hear.
g) This is especially true in the area of religious belief and instruction which by its very nature goes far beyond and far deeper than the comparatively superficial realities of life. An Outline of Christian Thought is considering the very spiritual and moral core of human existence and the eternal substance of human experience, which transcends this temporal life.
h) Christianity, through the pages of the Bible, deals with the deepest yearnings of the hearts and minds of all men. This has special and crucial importance as we deal with the ultimate issues of human life, namely, the spiritual and moral core of our lives now, and that final reality we must deal with – death, judgment, heaven and hell – in short, the kind of existence we shall have in eternity and how our actions now affect that reality.
i) We shall see, as An Outline of Christian Thought continues to develop, that the Bible gives us credible, definitive, and authoritative direction respecting how we are to live our lives now and how we ought to prepare ourselves for the ultimate eternal reality which awaits us after death.
j) Likewise the Bible, the Word of the true and living God, gives us plain and pointed warnings as to the cost of ignoring, neglecting, or rejecting the revelation it brings to the human heart and mind respecting the eternal reality in which we live. (Proverbs 1:20-33; Hebrews 2:1-3; 12:25)
We have now completed the first consideration in our opening section of An Outline of Christian Thought, namely, that of the reality of divine revelation. Our next subject involves an examination of the biblical understanding of humanity.
2) HUMANITY
A) A Consideration of Life
1) Of first importance in our consideration of humanity is the question of our genesis, or our “coming into being.” Lurking behind this question – “Where do we come from?” – we
find a more comprehensive issue we must deal with, namely, “Where does life itself, any form of life, come from?”
“Can that which is mere matter somehow generate or create its own life?” The truly Christian answer to this question is a resounding “No!”
2) Life is something which is completely distinct from matter. It is something which is bestowed upon and breathed into matter. That life is distinct from matter is proven by the fact that when life departs from any living object, be it a tree, a dog, or a man, that object begins immediately to return to its fundamental material elements; it begins to “decompose.”
3) Christianity teaches that life comes from the One, and the only One who is, in fact, selfexisting; the One who is Himself Life, and from Whom all life proceeds. All life, in whatever form it exists, comes from God and all life is sustained by God, and by God alone.
4) This truth of self-existence is also spoken of as belonging to Jesus of Nazareth in John 1:4, which simply states that, “In Him[Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men.” This truth is reiterated more profoundly in John 5:25-29 as follows: “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and He has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” Lastly, Jesus says, in John 8:58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” I have quoted these verses in their entirety because the truth of the self-existence of God, and the deity of Jesus Christ, that is, that He is Immanuel, the God-Man, is of supreme importance in An Outline of Christian Thought.
5) Of all forms of life, the human race is unique in that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26-27 and 2:7 plainly and specifically teaches this reality. We have already seen that God is a spirit. Therefore, our being created in His image is not a visual or material image but a spiritual and moral one, which we will deal with later in this discussion.
6) We have also already noted that the reality of our being created in the image of God is implanted in the consciousness of all mankind. This fact we know innately by what is called a “first truth of reason,” or something that is known instinctively without needing to be taught. In creation, God has made this reality known to all mankind. All men know that the essence of their being is spiritual and moral, and not material. Those who would deny this truth must do so by muting the voice of human consciousness and resorting to human concocted philosophy and fable. (Romans 1:18-22)
7) Genesis chapters one and two recount God’s work of “creating the heavens and the earth.” We are the culmination of His creation, and we are created to have true and lasting communion and fellowship with Him.
8) An interesting summation of the creation of mankind is related in Genesis 5:1-2. Verse two makes the following statement: “[God] created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind [Adam] in the day they were created.” The Hebrew word for Adam simply means Mankind. Man and Woman are simply two sides of the same coin. Together we are Mankind, and we share equally in the spiritual and moral nature which God has implanted within each one of us. Likewise, we share equally in both the privileges and responsibilities which are inherent in that reality.
9) This leads us to a consideration of those aspects of human nature which reveal mankind’s spiritual and moral nature, and the reality of our being truly created in God’s image and likeness.
B) A Consideration of Man’s Spiritual Nature
1) Mankind is unique in creation because, as has been stated previously, we are created in the image of God. As He is Spirit, so the essence of our existence is a spiritual one, notwithstanding the brief time we spend living in this world. (Proverbs 20:27; John 4:24)
2) Because of this fact, the human race has, and always will, search in vain for proofs of the existence of God in the physical realm alone. The proofs of God’s existence, which are exhibited in creation, are known and understood spiritually in the heart and mind of man because there He has revealed Himself to us directly. Creation merely bears witness to this inner reality.
3) So long as we deny these inner spiritual realities we cannot expect any satisfying and certain answer to our quest for an understanding of God and His ways. Our knowledge of God begins with an honest appraisal and admission of these inner spiritual realities. 4) The following are some of the truths or realities which are communicated directly to human reason by God Himself, concerning our understanding of God:
a) There is a God.
b) He is Spirit and must therefore be known in a spiritual way.
c) He is eternal. That is, He is self-existing. He has no beginning, no ending, and undergoes no change of any kind.
d) He is Supreme in knowledge (omniscience), in power (omnipotence), and in being always, and at the same time, universally present (omnipresence).
e) He is eternally and universally sovereign. For our purposes, this means that He ultimately governs and guides the lives of men and nations, notwithstanding appearances at any given time. This involves what we shall call the divine/human interplay or interaction, which we will consider at the proper time.
f) He is known initially by the testimony of creation and those laws by which it is governed.
g) He can be known more deeply, in a truly spiritual way, which, by the very act of knowing, imparts eternal life to the spirit, soul, and body. (John 17:3)
h) This knowledge is beyond our capacity to understand, given the light we have through creation, and therefore requires additional light by way of divine revelation. (Witness the universal religious impulse of all mankind, from the most primitive of societies to the most advanced. This human tendency is true and universal, even if this inner spiritual drive ends in self-deification and worship.)
5) The following are some of the truths or realities which are communicated directly to human reason by God Himself concerning our understanding of ourselves:
a) The human soul is immortal. That is, death is not the end of existence but merely a change in the nature of existence.
b) There is a distinction between the fact of existence – the immortality of the soul – and the quality of that existence – the eternal state of the soul.
b) There is absolute and universal right and wrong.
c) We are responsible and accountable beings in accordance with those principles of right and wrong.
d) We are, therefore, subject to a divine and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
e) The One to whom we are accountable, and the One who is alone qualified in every sense to judge us is the true and living God who gives us life, and who has placed within us a mirror which reflects the reality of His moral law, namely, the human conscience. This brings us to,
C) A Consideration of Man’s Moral Nature
1) Since the fundamental essence of human existence is a spiritual one, by virtue of our being created in God’s likeness, we have an inborn and inescapable understanding that He is holy, that He is truth, that He is love, that He is just, and that He is impartial in His dealings with all mankind. We know therefore, that He is perfectly and infallibly good.
2) It is granted that we do not understand these things perfectly, or as we would like to, but human consciousness acknowledges that we are under a moral obligation to reflect in our own lives this divine goodness. We understand, therefore, that there is a divine moral law which requires a perfect and wholehearted obedience.
3) We understand that moral obligation implies a Moral Governor, a Lawgiver, we are obliged to obey. Jesus says, in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” The apostle Peter expands upon this injunction in his instruction to Christians in I Peter 1:13-16.
4) The moral law of God, implanted in the human heart by His creative act, is but a reflection of divine goodness. The expression of this law in the Bible, such as in the Ten Commandments, is given only to strengthen our sense and understanding of our obligation, and to impart conviction relative to our failings. Therefore, the apostle Paul states in Romans 3:20 that “through the law is the knowledge of sin.”
5) Because of the strong human inclination for self-deception and vain imagination, God, in His mercy, has granted us His written law to awaken within us that sense of moral obligation which our proclivity for self- deception and vain imagination has muted, or even quenched. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)
6) A simple observation of young children will demonstrate our innate moral consciousness and understanding of moral obligation. We shall consider two illustrations:
a) Illustration #1 – Timmy and Johnny are playing outside. Johnny decides that he wants the toy or whatever object Timmy is playing with, so he takes it from Timmy. Timmy goes to an adult authority figure, be it a parent or teacher etc., not to discover the moral essence of the situation but to make it right, because he knows he has been wronged. When challenged, and asked why he did what he did, Johnny may shuffle his feet and say, “I don’t know,” not because he truly doesn’t know, but because he knows he is wrong and simply does not want to admit it. If pressed further, he will either admit his wrong, or stubbornly cling to his misdeed.
b) Illustration #2 -- Sally has been instructed to clean her room by her parents. But, she decides it’s more important to go outside and play with her friend. When mom or dad challenge her regarding her disobedience her response is, “I meant to do it but…” Why does she say that? Because she knows intuitively that if her parents truly believe that she honestly intended to obey but was prevented, for whatever reason, her disobedience must either be mitigated or excused.
7) In the realm of divine moral law, relative to our inborn moral nature and consciousness, motive and intention are everything, and we understand this intuitively. This reality is declared throughout the Bible, Mark 7:20-23, being one distinct example. What happens in the heart encompasses the entirety of morality.
8) Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Fifth Edition defines “motive” as follows: “That within the individual, rather than without, which incites him to action.” This same dictionary
defines “intention” as follows: “A determination to act in a certain way or to do a certain thing. The object toward which the thoughts are directed.”
9) Motives can exist in the human heart without being acted upon; without, that is, an accompanying intention whereby the given motive is acted upon so as to satisfy it in some way. But we do nothing in this world apart from an active intention which has a directing motive behind it. Therefore, motive is the fundamental reason or desire which incites or induces us to act, and intention is that which I aim to do; the goal at which I am aiming, in order to satisfy the directing motive. Again, I would ask the serious reader to consider Mark 7:20-23 and Jeremiah 17:9-10.
10) Early in life each one of us is faced with a choice which must be made. The nature of human life in general, and of living in this world in particular, makes it in inescapable that a choice must be made. In making this choice there are only two motives in view and only one of two ultimate intentions which must inevitably result.
11) One choice involves the supremacy of my “self,” and thus my preeminence with respect to all other people and considerations. This is indicated by the following traits: self-will, self-rule, self-indulgence, and self-justification. According to this choice, the way in which I value and treat all other people, circumstances, conditions, and potential outcomes are regarded and acted upon based on how these things will affect “my” wellbeing, “my” happiness, “my” reputation, and so on.
12) The second choice is one which is compatible with God’s moral nature and attributes. It is also compatible with that which the Bible announces and defines as the two greatest commandments. All other commandments are based on these two greatest commandments, as is all obedience to the law of God. Jesus, when questioned as to which was the greatest commandment in the law, answered as follows: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” He then added this, … “and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
13) Again, the essence of human nature and the conditions into which we are born in this world – wherever we happen to be born – make these two ultimate choices a first and inevitable necessity and reality of life, as God has ordained it. Christianity confidently teaches that the entire history of the world, individually and collectively, hinge upon the operational reality of these two choices.
This leads us to,
D) A Consideration of Man’s Social Nature
1) Again, mankind – male and female – are created in God’s image or likeness.
2) The one true and living God is self-existing in a trinity, or as some have said, a “triunity,” of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3) In the God-head, there exists a perfect sociality or fellowship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
4) Likewise, there is an innate social drive by which we, as one common humanity, naturally need to, and seek to, form voluntary associations.
5) God has specifically ordained and established three particular forms of voluntary human association from which flow all other types of human interaction. These are: a) the family – Genesis 1:27-28; 9:1; Matthew 19:3-6 b) human government – Genesis 9:6-7; Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 13:1-7 c) the Church – a comprehensive biblical concept, Old and New Testaments, representing an assembly or congregation of the souls of men, women, and children who have submitted themselves to the saving grace and rule of God. This work continues today, and will continue until the day of judgment.
6) Just as the moral law of God is designed to rule over and regulate the motives and intentions of individuals, so it is intended that His law should govern and regulate the many endeavors and institutions which we, as a race, are involved in during our lifetimes.
7) As we are involved in those interactions we call human society, the total moral corruption of the human heart is inevitably and strikingly revealed. When the Bible states, in Romans 3:23, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” the Word of God is simply stating what is obvious to any honest human observer.
8) We live in a world in which competing motives and intentions are governed by the self, which is to say, the self-will, self-rule, self-indulgence, and self-justification, of individual moral agents. This most obvious reality is what leads to all manner of governmental upheaval, conquest, and revolution within nations and between nations, as well as all manner of conflict between families and every other institution through which our societies operate.
9) Although we are judged as individuals, and therefore accountable to God specifically for those personal sins which are born and sustained in our hearts, a part of that accountability involves the influence we exert upon those with whom we are associated, however intimate or casual that association may be.
10) There is a striking historical example of the power of both individual and collective influence related in Genesis chapters ten and eleven. This story involves the example and influence of a man named Nimrod. He is considered to be the first prominent rebel against God, and the first tyrant and empire builder among men.
11) The influence and command which Nimrod exerted upon his fellow man resulted in the first large scale united rebellion against God, as well as the first large scale utopian vision, in which the possibilities of united human achievment independent of God’s power and authority was concieved.
12) The power and possibilities of united human action are a major factor in the relating of this story. However, the overruling sovereignty of the true and living God is the decisive and all-important reality to be learned from this crucial event in human history. The incident we are talking about is the attempt to build the Tower of Babel and God’s decisive judgment upon it, from which results the confusing of human language and the separating of humanity into nations and the geographical regions in which those nations would live and operate, according to the ruling purpose and will of God.
13) The essential elements of this story are related in Genesis 11:1-9, and the human race has been learning and relearning these lessons ever since. Concerning this incident, the primary considerations we are concerned about in An Outline of Christian Thought are these:
a) Since the days of historical Nimrod and the Tower of Babel, many “Nimrods” have arisen in the sense of a man or group of men seeking world domination, which must include the tyrannizing of mankind. It also involves those who are in league with the tyrant seeking the fulfillment of his ideological and falsely utopian vision, which must ultimately include the unseating of Almighty God from His throne of sovereign rule over all mankind.
b) To further make the point, consider these questions: Where are the ancient empires, and those who led them; the Hittites, the Babyonians, the Assyrians, Alexander’s Grecian empire, and Rome? Where is Karl Marx and his vision of a godless utopia? Where will Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, or Vladimir Putin be in one hundred years, along with their hunger for world conquest and human domination? They will be, along with everyone else who has ever lived, in the grave and subject to the judgment of the true and living God, whose universal rule will be as secure then as it is now.
c) As it relates to the legitimate and universal rule of God over all humanity, and all the nations into which we are formed, consider this – In exercising His authority, all the acts of God in dealing with mankind, individually and collectively, are only varying manifestations of His love and long-suffering toward us, with the design to save the souls of all who will consent to be saved.
d) The apostle Paul makes this point plain in his comments to the Athenians on the Areopagus in Acts 17:24-28 as follows: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since
He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being…”
e) Unfortunately, the words of Isaiah the prophet are true of all humanity, from Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way…” f) So the end of the matter is this: In spite of all the efforts of all mankind individually, and in spite of all the efforts of all mankind socially, through philosophy, false religion, and united governmental action, the Lord God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is ruling, and the souls of all men are perishing, except those who will yield and submit to the work of God in their hearts and minds to convict of sin, and to bring about a true and sincere repentance which results in a true and saving faith in the work of Jesus Christ our Lord, on our behalf. This brings us to,
3) GOD
A) The Natural Attributes of God
1) First, we must acknowledge that all our considerations regarding this discussion of the person of the Godhead will be far from comprehensive. In An Outline of Christian Thought, we will be considering those ideas which can give us a sound beginning in understanding the plan of redemption which God has freely and lovingly revealed to mankind. Accordingly, we will first discuss the three natural attributes of God under which all, or nearly all, other aspects of the Godhead can be organized. The first of these is the omnipresence of God.
2) The reality of the omnipresence of God involves the universal presence of God in terms of both time and space.
3) Regarding the reality of His omnipresence spatially, He is at all times universally present, not only throughout this world but also throughout the entire universe. In Psalm 139:7, the Psalmist asks the question, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? Likewise, through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord Himself asks, in Jeremiah 23:23-24, “Am I a God who is near, declares the LORD, and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him, declares the LORD? Do not I fill the heavens and the earth, declares the LORD?”
4) Regarding the reality of His omnipresence chronologically, we can only say that there is no chronology at all with God. He exists personally outside the realm of time. This is not to say that He does not enter into and involve Himself with time factors in dealing with humanity. He does. But this involvement is a manifestation of His love and grace towards mankind and not an indication that He is in any way constrained by temporal considerations of any kind. In this regard Moses says, in Psalm 90 verses 2 and 4, the following, “Even from everlasting to everlasting You are God… For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by.” In the New Testament, the apostle Peter expresses the same idea when he says, in II Peter 3:8, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
5) In these matters we are reminded of one primary reality regarding the “true and living God,” namely, that He is an eternally self-existing spiritual being completely independent of the constraints of time and space. He is the Creator and Ruler of time and space. He is likewise the Creator and Ruler of everything that fills time and space. This brings us to a consideration of,
B) The Omniscience of God
1) Here we add to the reality of His omnipresence in terms of time and space, the reality of His onmiscience. His knowledge of all things, especially those things which have to do with human nature and action is infinite and perfect.
2) Because He is both an eternal and spiritual personality, and in keeping with His omnipresence, the totality of His knowledge is an eternal present tense. That is, God’s knowledge is an everlasting NOW. For Him everything is eternally TODAY; or more precisely, this very moment. From His eternal and spiritual perspective there is no possibility of there being any type of lapse in His knowledge of all things, especially that which pertains to this world, past, present, and future.
3) This omniscience is not merely an academic nicety. We can understand more completely the awesome reality of God’s all-knowing nature when we see that His omniscience in His dealings with every human soul is tempered or regulated by perfect love for the human race. His great desire to be reconciled to every soul and to redeem us from the just consequences of sin. This we will consider more thoroughly when we come to our discussion of God’s moral attributes.
4) In acknowledging that God’s perfect knowledge with respect to the human soul is regulated or tempered by His perfect love for us, we are led to go beyond the mere knowledge of facts to that aspect of knowledge we call understanding and wisdom. Accordingly, we ought to first of all define each of these terms. To do this we will be using
“Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Fifth Editiion and “Webster’s Third New International Dictionary Unabridged.”
a) Understanding is defined as follows: “Discernment, comprehension or interpretation; the power to render experience intelligible by bringing perceived particulars under appropriate concepts; the capacity to formulate and apply to experience concepts and categories … and to draw logical inferences.”
b) Wisdom is defined as follows: “Ability to judge soundly and deal sagaciously with facts,” that is, with keen penetration and judgment, “ especially as they relate to life and conduct; ability to discern inner qualities and essential relationships; insight or sagacity.”
5) The wisdom and understanding of God is seen first of all by our participation in, and understanding of Creation, and second of all by the way in which He has guided every aspect of world history, considering that history relates personally to every soul who has ever lived, or ever will live.
6) In this regard, we find another very interesting and appropriate definition of wisdom which has a direct bearing on An Outline of Christian Thought. Here we find wisdom defined as follows: “the effectual mediating principle or personification of God’s will in the creation of the world.” This is a specific reference to the Living Word, Jesus, which, again, we will discuss at the appropriate place.
7) So we see that God’s wisdom and understanding are intimately involved with all the intricacies of creation in all of its aspects, material, moral, and spiritual. We find the above-related truths concisely stated in Hebrews 11:3, which says that, “by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” It is interesting to note that in the original Greek, the language in which the New Testament was first written, the word for “worlds” is “aion” which is translated as an interval of time, or the ages, meaning that which relates to the complete span of human history. This idea is also stated in Hebrews 1:2, Colossians 1:13-18, and Ephesians 1:7-10.
8) And here we must again stress that a consideration of God’s omniscience must include not merely His wisdom and understanding as seen in His material creation, but also His complete and perfect comprehension of, and ordering or regulating of, the totality of human history in both a corporate and individual sense.
9) This brings us to the truly awesome reality of the spiritual omniscience of God, or that which relates to the human heart and mind. The Lord is intimately acquainted with the secrets, motivations, and intentions of every human heart and mind. Nothing is hidden from Him. This is made clear in Hebrews 4:13, which plainly states that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Other scriptures which declare this same truth are: I Samuel 16:7, I
Kings 8:37-39, I Chronicles 28:9, Psalm 44:20-21, Psalm 94:9-11, Psalm 139:1-6, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 24:11-12, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Luke 16:15, John 2:23-25, Romans 2:14-16, and Revelation 2:21-23. These are only some of the many Bible passages that plainly teach that God intimately knows and understands the thoughts and intentions of every human heart, and will therefore justly judge all men according to their works, understanding that every outward work which any of us does begins and ends inwardly, in the heart.
This brings us to a consideration of,
C) The Omnipotence of God
1) For the sake of clarity, we shall first define what we mean by omnipotence, again using the dictionaries mentioned above. Omnipotence is defined as follows: “Having unlimited power or influence; unlimited in power, ability, or authority.”
2) The fact of God’s omnipotence in creation is stated very concisley in Psalm 33:9, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded and it stood forth.” This fact is made clear in the account of God’s creative act, as found in Genesis chapters one and two; also in Psalm 19:1-6, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 145:8, Acts 17:24-28, and Romans 1:20.
3) God’s omnipotence, as seen in creation, regards primarily His unlimited power and ability. That is, His unlimited influence, which we see exerted in creation, is brought to bear upon inanimate matter or the universe of living creatures which are at best instinctive and can therefore offer no spiritual or moral resistance. When we consider the amazing complexities of creation, especially all forms of life, we clearly see His omnipotence operating in complete conjunction with, and in complete harmony with, His omnipresence and omniscience.
4) Since, in the world of purely physical and instinctive reality God’s authority meets no resistance, the whole of creation responds immediately and positively to His Word, His command.
5) Also, He has the unlimited and inherent power, abililty, and authority, to transcend the various laws of nature which He has authored, and enter into the realm of the miraculous. Thus, Jesus Christ, God the Son, calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-39), walked on water and enabled Peter to also walk on water (Matthew 14:22-33), healed all manner of disease, physical abnormality, and demon possession (the Gospels are filled with these accounts), raised the dead (the account of Lazarus, which comprises the better part of John 11) and many other things of which the Gospels are filled.
6) When we enter the realm of God’s moral omnipotence, we enter into the reality of human motives and intentions. That is, we enter into the world of God’s unlimited spiritual and moral power, ability, and influence.
7) Here we have transcended the material universe and entered into the uniqueness of mankind as created in the image and likeness of God. As with God’s physical omnipotence, we see, in His moral omnipotence, the complete confluence of His omnipresence and omniscience operating in perfect harmony with His moral omnipotence.
8) Here we leave behind the efficiency of mere physical power to effect an objective according to physical law. We have entered into the realm of spiritual and moral power, which uses the influence of motive to effect a result freely arrived at according to moral law, by virtue of an unrestrained liberty with respect to the choice itself. In the consideration of God’s redemptive plan for mankind, as taught in the Holy Scriptures, it is crucially important to keep the distinctions between the operation of God’s physical and moral omnipotence clearly in mind. These points we shall continue to develop as An Outline of Christian Thought unfolds.
9) The bottom line here is this: With respect to our consideration of the existence and operation of divine omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, whether physical or moral, we find the overarching reality of divine purpose operating in perfect harmony with divine law. This will also be discussed in more depth at the appropriate time. We shall now proceed to a brief discussion of
D) The Moral Attributes of God
1) It would take a considerably extensive volume to even begin to address the moral attributes of God as they exist and are manifested in the eternal realm, or as they are displayed in the history of His redemptive plan for mankind as recounted in the Bible. Therefore, in this place we are only going to consider the biblical definition of the sum of God’s moral attributes as seen in the outworking of that redemptive plan.
2) This the apostle John expresses most concisely in I John 4: 16, as follows, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” In this verse we have a perfect summation of the moral attributes of God, the basis of His redemptive plan for mankind, and the spiritual and moral state of the one who has entered into that redemption.
3) It is helpful here to consider the definition of the Greek word translated “love” in this verse, as given to us by James Strong in his monumental work Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. That Greek word is agape taken from the word agapao. In his laying out of the distinctions between the Greek words “phileo” and “agapao,” both of which can be translated love, he says that phileo means “to be a friend to, i.e. to have affection for (denoting personal attachment) as a matter of sentiment or feeling, while [agapao] is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty, and propriety.”
4) On the basis of these distinctions we can see that the agape love spoken of by the apostle John encompasses the ultimate intention of God’s will in terms of both the determination of a ruling purpose, and the working out of that purpose. All the acts of God as described in the Scriptures, and as manifested throughout post biblical history, are only various expressions of this ruling love of God.
5) Likewise, all the descriptive words which may be used to define those acts of God – gracious, merciful, longsuffering, judgmental, punishing, avenging, kind, forgiving, vindicating, wise, just, righteous – are only so many descriptions of very specific considerations of His love; a love which defines the very essence of His being and His specific dealings with humanity, whether on an individual or corporate basis.
6) Lastly, I want to introduce a distinction regarding the love of God which is crucial to a right understanding of the operation of that love in human history, namely, the unconditional versus the conditional nature of God’s love. This distinction is of paramount importance to an understanding of the thoughts and ways of God in His dealings with mankind, a distinction which has been somewhat confused in our times. This we shall be considering in a more comprehensive way shortly.
7) So, as we end this section, I want to reiterate that as An Outline of Christian Thought continues to unfold we shall need to keep God’s love, will, and law, which is to say His ultimate purpose, foremost in our minds in order to rightly understand the divine plan for mankind’s redemption which He has revealed to us in the pages of the Bible and in history. With this in mind we shall now proceed to,
E) A Brief Word About the Trinity
1) We must acknowldege, from the outset, that any attempt to definitively explain the doctrine of the Trinity is attempting to comprehend something which is pure transcendence. Human reason can understand and believe the fact of it; the fact that the Bible plainly declares it. But the ability to grasp this doctrine definitively, or beyond the point at which understanding ends and mystery begins is simply beyond human comprehension.
2) To separate the study of the doctrine of the Trinity from its relevance and importance relative to the issue of man’s redemption – his reconciliation and restoration to fellowship with his Maker – results in a descent into futile and hence hopeless speculations.
3) From the many scriptural passages which plainly teach the existence of one God in essence revealed in three distinct persons I am only going to mention, and quote from, the Genesis account of mankind’s creation. In Genesis 1:26-27 and again in 5:1-2 we read the following: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them… This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and named them Man [or Adam] in the day they were created.’”
4) The reality of mankind created as one essence, or “from one blood,” as the apostle Paul states in Acts 17:26, and in the image and likeness of God, yet existing in two distinct persons, male and female, is the best and only really useful illustration of the truth of the Trinity, notwithstanding the disparities which exist between the divine nature amd human nature.
5) The four gospels, especially the gospel of John, have several references to the existence of the Godhead, revealed in three distinct persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – and active in the pursuit of mankind’s redemption. I would highly recommend a concentrated study of these to any interested reader.
This brings us to the end of Section I of An Outline of Christian Thought containing a consideration of 1) Revelation, 2) Humanity, and 3) God. We shall now proceed to Section II in which we shall be discussing 1) Love, 2) Law, and 3) Liberty.
SECTION II
LOVE
I) OPENING STATEMENT
1) With respect to Christianity and the world of Christian thought, an understanding of the meaning and application of the word love is of paramount importance. Sadly, “love” is a word which is bandied about in our modern world, and especially in the Church in America, without much regard for what is intended by its use. It is seemingly every man for himself when it comes to a sound biblical understanding of the word and its use. One can only conclude that it is assumed by those who use it that the meaning is already understood, and so explanation and illustration are not needed. Those definitions or explanations which are offered, such as “Love is not a feeling it’s an act of your will,” are rendered inconsequential by virtue of overuse and by not defining what is intended by that saying. It is my hope to remedy this situation to some degree in An Outline of Christian Thought.
2) As we begin our study, we must first revisit the scriptural declaration that “God is love,” found in I John 4:8 and 16. In all of the realities of human existence this declaration reigns supreme. It is proclaimed throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments, by both explicit statement and historical example.
3) The saying “God is love” is an expression depicting His moral essence. All the acts of God, and those terms which can be used to descibe them – good, holy, true, righteous, longsuffering, just, avenging, condemning – are only very specific manifestations of His love. By extension, and by virtue of that moral law which flows out of His perfect love, love is the word which alone depicts the complete moral standard all humanity is obliged to live up to on pain of spiritual death. And thus the scriptures plainly state that “love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:10)
4) Mankind, created in the image of God, is capable of knowing and personally exhibiting the love of God. That moral law which is the full expression of the love of God is innate or natural in all men by virute of the creative work of God. The apostle Paul’s plain declaration found in Romans 2:14-15 is scriptural proof of this statement. However, because of the ravages of sin which plague all humanity without exception, the experiential reality of knowing and loving God, and of manifesting that love before one’s fellow man, is only possible by the grace and mercy of God made available through the redemption that is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
II DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION
1) In order to begin to establish some parameters from which we can deepen our understanding of both the meaning and application of the biblical idea of love, we must first revisit the definitions we earlier considered from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. There we noticed some very important distinctions between the kinds of love indicated by the Greek words phileo and agapao, both of which are translated love in the New Testament.
2) Phileo love is earthy, which is to say, natural. It is derived from needs and desires which all mankind have in common, and so it is not uniquely Christian. These needs and desires arise within each of us naturally and involuntarily. They do not need to be willed into existence. They are simply there. They do, however, present each one of us with motives and intentions from which we direct our lives. They are understood, received, and acted upon voluntarily rather than instinctively. We are not brute beasts. We are free moral agents accountable to the true and living God. In addition to this we have a definite moral consciousness, involving a conscience, from which we receive the judgment of the moral law upon our conduct, by which, as the scriptures say, we are either accused or excused. This conclusion from the moral law is nothing more or less than the judgment of divine love upon our conduct.
3) When one experiences a true conversion to Christianity the gracious and heavenly gift of agape love is given. This is true because, as the scriptures say in Romans 5:5, “the love of God is [then] shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.”
4) Prior to this experience of being “born from above,” the varying needs and desires which we all have in common are satisfied or fulfilled in a selfish way, or in a way by which they reign supreme in the heart, and so direct the life. This the Bible refers to as the life of the “natural man,” or living “according to the flesh.”
5) When one enters into a reconciled relationship with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, the gift of agape love is given and ministered to heart and mind through the “Holy Spirit who is given to us.” We then experience that reality spoken of by the apostle Paul, in Galatians 5:6, wherein he states that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
6) It is then that the truths, principles, and rules of action found in the moral law become willingly and happily operative in our lives, and we are then able to comprehend the statement written in Romans 13:8-10, that “love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Agape love cheerfully and comprehensively embraces every precept of God’s moral law.
DISTINGUISHING TERMS
We are now ready to set forth some attributes whereby we can clarify to some degree the meaning and application of love, as defined by the Greek word agapao. Generally speaking, agapao is a selfless love which is Holy Spirit governed and directed. It is not in any way influenced or motivated by personal gain or advantage of any kind. It will reign from the heart over the entire inner and outward life. This includes all those needs and desires which before Christ were only able to be understood, governed, and satisfied selfishly by a phileo love, which is to say, by the natural man, or “according to the flesh”. (Romans 8:1) Therefore, let us begin with the term,
1) Intuitive – Though there are several terms which indicate the same functioning of the human mind, I prefer to use the word intuitive to describe the means by which the human consciousness receives the moral obligation to love. We know this obligation to love by intuition. This operation is defined by Webster’s Third New International Unabridged Dictionary as follows: “The act or process of coming to direct knowledge or certainty without reasoning or inferring. Revelation by insight or innate knowledge: immediate apprehension or cognition.”
This obligation to love is known by nature or by self-evident truths made known by the creative hand of God. It is known without being taught. Romans 1:19 says, “What may be known of God is manifest in [mankind] for God has shown it to [us].” Psalm 19 teaches this same body of truth. Further, Romans 2:14-15 states the same idea in these words, “For when the Gentiles who do not have the law, do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law are a law unto themselves, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
Suppose two children are playing with their respective toys and one child decides he would much rather have the other child’s toy and promptly takes it. The injured child cries out to a parent or authority figure. Why? Not to find out the nature of what has just happened to him but rather to receive appropriate relief because he knows intuitively that he has been wronged.
This illustration from childhood shows that we at once know what it is to injure and what it is to be injured. That is, we know that there is right and there is wrong, and that one is indicative of love and the other of a refusal to love. The refusal to love is determined by an ultimate intention set on self-supremacy at all costs. This produces self-will, self-rule, self-indulgence, and self-justification which in turn describes the reality of sin in the human heart and the ongoing battle with the human conscience.
Thus, we intuitively know that we ought to exercise agapao love. We also know that we don’t truly understand what we know. For, if we truly understood the excellencies of a universal, consistent, and unselfish agapao love, we would positively yield to our mutual obligation and forever renounce every vestige of sin, which is based on universally competing allegiances to the supremacy of self. Therefore, we see that agapao love must be,
2) Divinely, Powerfully, and Compellingly Revealed, but Voluntarily Received and Exercised – Because of the darkness which is the fruit of sin in the heart, our understanding of the love of God is possible only through divine revelation. This we have in the Bible, the holy Word of God, made powerful by the Holy Spirit.
The first thing Divine Revelation teaches and commands us to receive is the purpose which is established by obedience to love. This purpose is embodied in the two Great Commandments which Jesus taught are the summation and fulfillment of all God’s commandments. In answer to the question, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40) The purpose which is achieved by obeying these two Great Commandments is the highest well-being or happiness of God, ourselves, our fellowman, and indeed all of creation.
This enlightenment of moral consciousness quickens our conscience and imparts a positive conviction of right or wrong moral action, of obedience to the call of love or sin. Being enlightened as to the reality of the love of God and of our moral obligation to obey His call to love we must make a decision. His command, His call to love must be accepted or refused. It cannot be ignored. It must be voluntarily received and exercised or rejected.
That which is voluntary is defined by Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Fifth Edition, as follows, “Proceeding from the will, or from one’s own choice or full consent… Unconstrained by interference; self-impelled; freely given… Done by design or intention.” Our response to God’s loving call is never forced. It has always been and must always be entirely voluntary. Notwithstanding the voluntary nature of our response to God’s call to love, we are not thereby independent of God in any way. All of our perception and reception of truth, the ongoing enlightenment of our moral consciousness, and the conviction to act, made powerful and effectual in the heart and mind, is the result of the living, loving, and active grace of God, made powerful by the presence and power of theHoly Spirit.
This divine/human interplay is real. It is first of all the love of God reaching down to lift man up from the darkness and desperation of sin. And although mankind’s action in response is entirely secondary, it is nonetheless vital. The Lord will not do for us what He commands and calls us to do for the honor and glory of His name and purpose. We find, therefore, that the vital energy of love in mankind is,
3) An Implicit Trust in God – When the call of God is made powerful and influential in a human heart and produces the desired effect, that result is accomplished by a voluntary act of faith in the name and will of God. This act firmly establishes an implicit and confiding trust and dependence in God, which in turn exerts a commanding influence over the outward life. Agapao love is then firmly established in the heart. Or, as the apostle Paul says in Galatians 5:6, the principle of “faith which works by love” is fully realized in the inner man and outward life.
Again, this overarching trust in God is an implicit reality. To see this more clearly we will define the word implicit and consider its implications. Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Third Edition defines implicit as follows, “Unreserved; unquestioning; complete… Involved in the nature or being of something though not shown, as ‘the oak is implicit in the acorn.’” This confiding dependence on the Living God is not an inert or listless experience. It is driven forward by all the holy energy of divine love which is “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us.” (Romans 5:5) So, we will find that holy divine love, voluntarily received and exercised, and fixing in the human heart an implicit confiding trust in God gives birth to,
4) Inner Harmony and Habitual Obedience – The voluntary reception of divine light, divine truth, and the power of divine love, brings the inner and outward life into a distinct harmony, distinguished by the exercising of an habitual obedience. This results in a complete reconciliation with God, oneself, and one’s fellowman. And, so far as it has to do with one’s own personal agency, peace and harmony of life individually and collectively. This is the apostle Paul’s point when he says, in Romans 12:17-18, “Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
Divine love, agapao love, residing powerfully in the heart through the Holy Spirit, is the only cure for all the restless, self-willed, and self-centered desires and ambitions which lie at the heart of all the individual and collective turmoil and conflict which has been and is now the history of this world. From time immemorial, the history of the darkness and destruction into which this world has sunk is the history of sin and death; the history of the voluntary rejection of the love of God.
Divine love, active in the heart and life, is the only source of true and lasting peace and satisfaction. It alone can produce an harmonious life of habitual obedience and a rest derived from that loving obedience. This kind of spiritual rest is spoken of in Psalm 95:7-11 and in Hebrews 3:7 through the entirety of chapter 4. Again, the only source of this kind of rest is the love of God received by faith and made active and powerful in one’s life by faith. In accordance with the first great commandment we must now see and understand that God’s love for Himself, and our love for God, must be,
5) Supreme – In considering this attribute of love, we must first notice that the love which the Lord God has for Himself is the same in kind as He requires of all men, namely a supreme love. We have already taken note of the command in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Mark 12:28-29 which Jesus calls the first and greatest of the commandments. The spirit of this command the Lord Jesus expresses in a much more striking fashion in Matthew 10:37-38 when He says, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” He again states and illustrates this point in Luke 14:15-35. That the Lord God Almighty loves Himself supremely is strongly implied or directly asserted throughout the Bible in words whose meaning cannot be misunderstood. Furthermore, because of who and what He is, which is to say, for His name’s sake, He loves Himself supremely and calls upon all of us to return that love in kind, if not in degree.
Throughout the Scriptures we are taught that God’s care and concern for His created order, as well as His continous display of compassion and mercy upon a rebellious human race, is evidence enough to elicit supreme love for such a God. When questions are asked which raise doubts about His power, love, and goodness, such as, “If God is wise and good and all-powerful, why does He allow evil, sickness, suffering, abusive parents, and oppresive governments in this world?” The simple answer to that kind of question is this. “Where do want Him to draw the line? How widely do you really want His sovereign control to reach?” Adultery, fornication, other forms of sexual perversion, lying, stealing, cheating, holding a grudge, revenge, mockery, megalomania, egotism, and narcissism. How long a list do you want of the things a loving God hates and is prepared to judge? Do you really want to lose the moral freedom which a loving God has granted, which also makes those kinds of abuses possible?
The true nature of these kinds of questions which seek to bring God’s love and wisdom into doubt are nothing but pure rebellion. Those who ask them expect God to bend the majesty of His deity to their selfish and arbitrary standard. The love of God alone is pure, holy, wise, and good, and to that love we ought to bow and render thanks by “[loving] the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.” We move now from the first great commandment to the second, which commands a love that is,
6) Equal – As we have already noticed, Jesus said that the second great commandment was “like” the first. That is, it derives its spirit from that of the first. It flows forth from the first. Our love for our neighbor, our fellowman, should be equal to the love we have for ourself. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” is very plain language. It is from this command that we get the “golden rule,” to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12)
Leviticus 19:11-18 gives us a very interesting enumeration of this principle of the moral law; this attribute of holy love. Then, in Romans 13:10, the apostle Paul summarizes the entirery of the matter with these words, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” The parameters of this command encompass every issue we deal with in this world, individually and collectively. Business, family, the various communities we associate with, the nation, relations between nations, the constitution and operation of just human governments, and any other issue which could be named,are all comprehended by this second great commandment to love our neighbor as ourself.
The presence and authority of these two great commandments, the yielding of the heart to them, and the resulting realization of their moral beauty when put into practice, will in turn call for that attribute of love which requires that the practice of agapao love should be,
7) Both Partial and Impartial – The Lord God Almighty is alone worthy of the total dedication and allegiance of our whole being to His cause in this world. In consideration of this fact, we are to possess and exhibit a complete partiality or bias in His favor without exception. This is the point the Lord Jesus is making in Matthew 10:34-39, which, as we have already noticed, is a very striking passage. When He says, in verses 37 and 38 of that passage, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me,” He is expressing a demand for the most radical kind of partiality, even to the bias against one’s own life. This kind of holy partiality for the honor and majesty of the name and law of God is expressed and taught throughout the New Testament.
Likewise this holy partiality is taught throughout the Old Testament. One could multiply passages ad infinitum from the Pentateuch, the historical writings, the Psalms and other poetic writings, and the Prophets. Here I will only mention three instances in which the point is made boldly and emphatically.
The first is found in Exodus 32 on the occasion of the rebellion and idolatry of Israel in making and bowing down to a golden calf. In essence, they had exalted themselves in forsaking the Lord their God and bowing down to the works of their hands, which is the essence of idolatry. As Moses becomes aware of the degradation into which they had fallen it is written in Exodus 32:25-27, “Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies) then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, ‘Whoever is on the LORD’s side – come to me!’ And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. And [Moses] said them, ‘Thus says the LORD God if Israel: Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’”
The second instance is found in II Chronicles chapters 18 and 19 during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, who was a good king, but who had been persuaded to help the wicked King Ahab against his enemies. This lapse of judgment almost cost this good king his life, and on the heels of this experience the prophet Jehu asks him, in II Chronicles 19:2, this telling question, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD and so bring wrath on yourself from the LORD?”
The third instance is the occasion of the contest between the faithful prophet Elijah and the idolatrous prophets of Baal, on Mount Carmel, as found in I Kings 18. Again, the people of Israel had forsaken the LORD God of Israel and had exalted themselves through idolatry. In the midst of this controversy Elijah calls the people to attention with this declaration, found in I Kings 18:21, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”
Partiality for the name and honor of our Lord and God is always the issue, and the verdict is always faithfulness or idolatry. And the idol need not be a physical image of some kind to which one bows down. The image is always found first of all in the heart. And the image is always, in the final analysis, oneself.
With respect to the second great commandment, and the love we are commanded to possess and exhibit toward our fellowman, it is always to be practiced with a complete impartiality. The old language of the King James Version is much more descriptive when it says, in James 2:1, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” In the New International Version it is simply called “favoritism.” Regardless of the term which is used it comes down to the same thing –a wicked partiality. And to those who practice such things the apostle James asks, in James 2:4, “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”
This principle of impartiality toward our fellowman is taught throughout the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:15 and Deuteronomy 16:19 state the following, “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor… You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteousness.” The prophet Isaiah states the inevitable and natural outcome of the practice of partiality in a powerfully poetic way in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
We have seen thus far that our love toward God must be supreme. Our love toward our neightbor must be equal with respect to our love for self. Our love for God must be completely partial. And our love for our fellowman must be completely impartial. Based on these realities, and the reasons for them, we now find that another attribute of agapao love is the desire that love be,
8) Reciprocal – In considering this attribute of love we must first define our term. From Webster’s Third New International Unabridged Dictionary we get the following definition: “Mutually existing: shared, felt, or shown by both sides… Corresponding to each other: being equivalent or complementary.”
We have no more exquisite statement of the reciprocal love which our triune God has for Himself than in our Lord’s prayer found in John 17. And there is no better or more complete way to express the nature and extent of this love, as it extends to and involves all true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, than to quote John 17:20-23. “I do not pray for these [immediate disciples] alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
By virtue of the glorious truths declared in John 17. By virtue of the two great commandments calling us to love in such a way as to fulfill our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” By virtue of the examples we have throughout Scripture of agapao love in action, in wonderful, glorious, and even frightening ways, we can say the following about the reciprocal nature of agapao love:
a) The love which our triune God has for Himself is in perfect harmony. It is perfectly given and received between the three Persons of the trinity, Father, Son, and HolySpirit. Though an entire volume could be written on this point alone, suffice it to say that God’s love for Himself and between Himself, is perfectly reciprocal, as we see in John 17 and throughout Scripture.
b) God has freely poured out His love on mankind. On the basis of His absolute, and absolutely benevolent authority, He has commanded that all men ought to freely reciprocate that love by obeying His word. Exodus 20:4-6, 34:6-7, Leviticus 19:18, Deuteronomy 6:4-5; 10:12-13, Joshua 22:4-5, multiple examples which could be cited from the Psalms and Prophets, the Gospels, and throughout the New Testament, the theme of agapao love freely given and freely reciprocated is constant. As a definitive example I will quote John 14:15,21, and I Timothy 1:5, as follows, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him… Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.”
c) The love which God commands in the first great commandment leads directly to the second. As Jesus said, the second great commandment is “like unto” the first. Love cannot be abstracted from its origin, glory, and commanding presence in God. True love exists only in God and flows forth from God. God calls us to love Him freely, completely, and supremely. He calls us to love our neighbor freely, selflessly, and impartially. I John 4:7-21 gives us an extended treatment of this subject.
d) We should always remember that love must be freely received and freely given. This is especially true with respect to the love which God has for mankind and desires from mankind. In addition to this, the Lord God has the authority to command both the receiving and giving of love, and the power to ordain and execute appropriate sanctions which apply to one’s obedience or disobedience to those commands. This is a vital and necessary element of the divine moral law. This relationship and interaction between God and man establishes conditions which are always present and which cannot be ignored or explained away, especially by a merely sentimental understanding of love which strips it of its transcendent strength, beauty, power, and authority.
e) The love of God is eternally bound up in both the command to love and the sanctions which he has considered right and wise to apply to one who is obedient or disobedient. In a far less absolute but morally real and engaging way all men know intuitively the reality of those laws, or rules of action, which flow from the divine command to love God supremely and one’s fellowman equally. Therefore, we cannot truly say that love can be unconditionally given or received in any way, shape, or form. We can, however, say that love can be,
9) Unilaterally given – Before proceeding with a discussion of the unilateral nature of agapao love we need to define our term. Webster’s Third New International Unabridged Dictionary defines unilateral as follows: “relating to, or involving one side: done, made, undertaken, or shared by one of two or more persons or parties … one-sided.”
God is love, and His love is given in an absolute and perfectly unilateral way.. It is given for its own sake, because of who He is, and because in and of itself agapao love is the greatest ultimate good any moral agent can render to another. It is the only source of all true happiness. It is powerfully active and freely given regardless of how anyone responds. Notwithstanding the fact that God’s love is unilaterally given with respect to anyone’s response, it is certainly not without conditions which are applied to those responses by way of appropriate sanctions.This is true because even though we are free to choose as we will, we are not therefore free from the commands which accompany the expression of His love. This is not contradictory, as any number of illustrations from the exercise of true parental love would show.
Although I know what those who use the term “unconditional love” are trying to convey, it is a most unfortunate choice of words because it completely misrepresents the true nature of divine agapao love, which He freely pours out upon mankind and which He in turn commands all men to receive and then practice. Again, a parent’s love is unilaterally given. But does this mean that a parent will not discipline his child and otherwise deal with that child as his conduct warrants, regardless of the fact that parental love continues to be unilaterally given to him? It is easy to see that although a parent’s love is freely given, it is not unconditional. God’s love is not conditioned exculsively on the basis of who He is apart from due consideration of those commandments which are essential to, and inherently united with, that love. Jesus Himself states the matter in the simplest of terms in John 14:15, when He says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Let us now consider some attributes or descriptions of this kind of unilateral love. Unilateral love is:
a) Freely given – Because agapao love is given for its own sake, as it is the highest good and can alone produce the highest well-being of all concerned, it is freely given. It is given regardless of the recipient’s response to that love. This is certainly implied in the two great commandments to love God supremely and one’s neighbor equally. It is likewise evident in the apostle Paul’s wonderful treatment of agapao love in I Corinthians 13. The instruction which the Lord Jesus gives his disciples, in Matthew 10, before sending them out to preach the Kingdom of Heaven says, in verse eight, “freely you have received, freely give.”
b) Agapao love is mindful of the moral nature of responses – This attribute of agapao love is self-evident by virtue of our moral consciousness and the operation of our conscience. It is intimately and predominantly an attribute and function of both divine and human nature. None, in this world, are more aware of this reality than those who are not yet Christians. They are acutely aware of their own failings in this regard, even if they don’t really care, as well as the failings of others with respect to themselves. The Scriptures are full of declarations and historical accounts of this reality. The reign of King Saul, as recorded in I Samuel chapters 13-15, and the principles stated in Proverbs 1:20-33 are typical of Old Testament examples of this aspect of agapao love. The apostle Paul’s dealings with his fellow Jews as found in Acts 13:44-46 and 18:4-6 are two New Testament examples. Jesus’ plain words to His disciples, as found in Luke 17:1-4 are a concise summation of this point, as follows, “Then He said to the disciples, ‘It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung arouond his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him.’”
c) Agapao love seeks to bless one’s neighbor – This God-given desire to bless our fellowman and thus obey and please God is what is meant by the word benevolence. This is the energy of agapao love, and means simply to have and exercise true good will. This desire to bless our fellowman and glorify God is a unilateral expression of unilaterally given agapao love. It is given regardless of the response one receives.
This is what could be called the “imitation of Christ,” as the apostle Paul calls for in I Corinthians 11:1 where he says, “Be imitators of me, just as I imitate Christ.” This is called “[walking] worthy of our calling,” in Ephesians 4:1 and Colossians 1:10. It is a common exhortation and admonition throughout the Scriptures. It is the essence of what Jesus is teaching in the Sermon on the Mount when He says, in Matthew 5:43-45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” This is the heavenly example of agapao love we are commanded to follow here on earth.
d) Agapao love is nonetheless intensely desirous of being reciprocated – Though unilaterally given, by its very nature love longs to be freely returned. A joint exercise in love is what is desired; a loving give and take. The plain fact of the matter is that godly love ought to be returned. It is commanded.
However, the command to love does not in any way cause its existence. It simply reflects what is eternally present in God as the eternal Author of agapao love. The two great commandments are emphatically expressive of this earnest divine desire to see true love practiced in this world. In Jeremiah 31:3, the Lord God says this, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. The Lord Jesus Christ, in John 12:32 says, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” So we see that the cross of Christ is the surest and most enduring testimony to the love of God, as famously expressed in John 3:16.
I John 4:7-5:3 makes the indelible connection between God’s eternal love for us and His desire that we love one another in His name.
e) Agapao love is grieved, sorrowful, and angry when refused or ignored – Love is compelled by its eternal goodness, righteousness, and justice, to desire and expect a true and just response. A loving God is grieved by a failure to receive that kind of response because He knows that it flows from a selfish and rebellious heart. He knows that self-deception is the root and self-destruction the fruit of that condition.
Again, the Scriptures are full of references to this point. Psalm 7:11 says, “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” A very sad example of this reality is found in II Chronicles 36:15-16 where it is written, “And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” Mark 3:1-6 is a an example of this truth in action in the life of Jesus. Also, the occasion of His overturning the moneychangers’ tables as found in Matthew 21:12-13 and John 2:13-17.
The Lord asks this question in Ezekiel 18:23, “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” This is the crux of the whole matter. The Lord is longsuffering and full of compassion. He is love, and in His love he desires that all men should turn from sin, love Him with a wholly devoted heart, and have eternal life. But in that selfsame love, He has indignation and must express that indignation at sin, through which a soul is lost eternally.
f) With respect to God agapao love is avenging, with respect to man, unavenging – It is plain from the Scriptures that vengeance, or the act of avenging evil and injustice, is a vitally important manifestation of agapao love. Righteous avenging carries with it distinct governmental implications. It is not merely a personal matter but involves the overarching well-being of society at large. Therefore, it must also involve a duly qualified and authorized governing authority. The legitimate functioning of this attribute of agapao love will produce vindication, requital or restitution, and punishment.
The Lord, as the eternally true and living God, is also the universal sovereign over all creation. Psalm 95:3 says, “For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods.” Revelation 19:16 says this about the Lord Jesus Christ, “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Psalm 2 and 110, and Philippians 2:5-11, are just three of the multitudes of scriptures that refer to God as our King. He rules over all creation and exercises both a physical and moral government. He is ruling over all mankind as free moral agents created in His image.
The ruling principle of His moral government is agapao love, and it is on the basis of this principle that God, as King, is prepared to execute vengeance. The prophet Nahum, in announcing the Lord’s impending judgment upon Nineveh, makes this strong statement in Nahum 1:2-3, “God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; the LORD avenges and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; the LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the guilty.”
The Lord Jesus, in His parable of the unjust judge, found in Luke 18:1-8 says, “Shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.” Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 says, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord’… For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, ‘The LORD will judge His people.’”
In Romans 13 the apostle Paul takes up the subject of the role of human government. In verses 3 and 4 he says, “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil… For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” Immediately following this section on human government Paul places those comments in the context of the supremacy of love. Here it is important to make a distinction between the corporate exercise of duly authorized and legitimate human government, justly avenging evil, and the personal principle of a just self-defense of life, liberty, or property, which is not vengeful. Both are in complete harmony with the reciprocal nature of the two great commandments. The practice of agapao love, whether at the corporate or personal level,
g) Establishes peace and harmony with oneself and the universe of moral agents – The prophet Isaiah concisely states the matter in Isaiah 26:3 and 48:22, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,” but, “there is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked.” Being in a state of peace with someone or something indicates a mutual agreement and application of the various moral elements so that there is no friction, discord, or disagreement between them. This indicates a steadfast unity of design and purpose whereby harmony is achieved.
Only the consistent practice of agapao love can produce a true and lasting peace on an individual or corporate basis. Only a free, voluntary, and consistent obedience to the two great commandments and all the precepts of the moral law which hang upon them can bring about the “peace and love” the world has been feverishly pursuing seemingly from time immemorial. The presence or absence of peace and quiet in the soul or in society is the most readily understood condition known to man. And, unless and until this world of moral agents gives up its self-seeking, self-exultation, and all the ambitions which are erected upon the foundation of the supremacy of self, in favor of agapao love, the quest for “peace and love” will remain, and can only remain, an exercise in terminal hypocrisy and futility.
Biblical peace, divinely authored peace, involves a sense of well-being, rest, quietness, happiness, and spiritual as opposed to material prosperity. This peace is mentioned continually throughout the Scriptures, as reference to any good Bible concordance will show. Jesus, in John 14:27, sums up the whole matter when He tells His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The practice of agapao love is obedience to the moral law of God, and peace. Far from producing self-seeking, self-exultation, or selfish ambitions, it produces instead ,
h) Self-denial – Agapao love, abiding in the heart and being reflected in the life of the true Christian, will also reveal the endless struggle which exists between light and darkness, truth and error, love and the supremacy of self. In this world, “faith working through love,” (Galatians 5:6) will require the forsaking of self in order to succeed. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Jesus also calls for the the true disciple to “forsake all that he has.” These terms for true discipleship are stated here, as well as in Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 14:25-33, II Corinthians 4:7-11 and 11:22-33, II Timothy 2:3-4 and many other passages.
The Greek words which are translated “deny” or “forsake” are defined by Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as indicating utter denial, disowning, abstaining, and renouncing. The life of self-will and self-indulgence is now over. Jesus Christ is now my Master and He calls the shots, as it were. Self-interest is no longer the leading factor in the decision making process. The Great Commission (found in Mattew 28:19-20) now reigns supreme, as revealing the ultimate will of God. This is not, however, a vain asceticism in which self-abuse is a means of spiritual attainment on the basis of that abuse. I Corinthians 6:19-20 teaches the Christian that he no longer belongs to himself but to Christ because he was “bought with a price,” that price being the cross of Christ. See also Colossians 2:18-23.
This is a mindset in which life itself is not too high a price to pay for the salvation of lost souls. This principle is highlighted in an incident found in John 3:22-36. We find here that the disciples of John the Baptist were jealous of Jesus for John’s sake, because Jesus was becoming more prominent in His ministry than John. In answer to their selfish complaint, John makes this simple yet powerful statement in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” And it is recorded that sometime after this John was arrested for a righteous rebuke of Herod the tetrarch and beheaded. This kind of self-denial has been a fact of life throughout Church history and is especially so today. How will I use the talents and aspirations the Lord has implanted in me? How will I use my time? How will I choose to use my money and other material resources? How will I act toward my neighbor in business matters and the many other issues involving neighborly dealings The way these questions are answered in actual lifestyle choices will reveal where my heart truly is, and who and what is loved preeminently in this world. Leviticus 19:11-18 and Romans 13:8-10 are texts that address this point.
We must now conclude this brief outline of biblical love; a love which is unique in this world and rightly considered otherworldly and transcendent. The attribute of love which seems to embody all the rest is peace, or a condition in which all the active agents involved, and all the issues being dealt with, are in harmony with each other. The well-being of everyone is equally considered and acted upon.This is true onenness or unity of mind and purpose. This is the true import of the declaration by Isaiah the prophet, in about 734 b.c., announcing the coming Christ child. “For unto a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
These words, found in Isaiah 9:6-7, are echoed by the angelic announcement given to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus, as found in Luke 2:8-14, where we read these words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The phrase “good will toward men,” can also be translated “toward men of good will.” Both of these translations form one united evangelical declaration. The evangel, the gospel, must first work the good will or benevolence of God in the hearts of willing men to then produce “men of good will.” It is then that the statement found in I John 5:3 is fulfilled, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” We are now ready to proceed to a consideration of,
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