[SIZE=+3]"God Is Love"[/SIZE]
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8)
God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)
Most people do not know love, because they do not know God (Psalm 10:4; 14:1-3; Matthew 7:13-14), and are therefore incapable of loving in any kind of godly way (Jeremiah 13:23; Romans 3:10-18; 14:23; Titus 3:3). God is the defining factor in a proper understanding of what is love, because God is love. If you do not know God (Galatians 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:8), you will not understand love, for the Lord
is love. Therefore, if you do not understand (Ephesians 4:17-18), or you reject what is revealed in this report about God and love, it is indicative of your lost state (John 8:47; John 17:3; 1 John 4:6). May the Lord have mercy, and may you come to know the God of love.
[SIZE=+2]I. God Is Patient (1 Corinthians 13:4).[/SIZE]
In its first definition of love, 1 Corinthians 13:4 defines God (Love) as One who "
suffers long" (NKJV). The Lord suffers? Yes, in His love, He suffers
long. Jesus said,
I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49)
The Almighty Holy God loves justice (Psalm 37:28; 99:4) and hates those who do evil (Leviticus 20:23; Psalm 5:5-6; 11:5; 78:59; 106:40; Proverbs 6:16-19). "
God is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11), and if they do not repent,
He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. (Psalm 7:12-13)
He prepares to destroy them. But, in the meantime, He suffers long with them and continues to make,
His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45).
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart. (Psalm 104:14-15)
These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. (Psalm 104:27-28)
God loves His enemies (Romans 5:8-10). He loves those whom He hates (Psalm 5:5-6; John 3:16; Romans 3:10-18). He is extremely patient towards evil men (e.g. Nehemiah 9:30). He has even been crushed by wicked men (Ezekiel 6:9). He suffers long with them (Romans 2:4), but not indefinitely.
You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. (Psalm 104:29; see also Luke 16:19-31)
For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them. (Ecclesiastes 9:12)
God is patient, but His patience has an end; and He chooses when that end will be.
Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. (Psalm 115:3)
Finally, the Lord is particularly patient with
believers, as 2 Peter 3:9 says.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV; NAS "patient toward you")
[SIZE=+2]II. God Is Kind (1 Corinthians 13:4).[/SIZE]
Along with His longsuffering, is His kindness toward mankind and all of His creation. Day after day He gives life and breath and sustenance to man, animals, and all life (Psalm 104; Acts 17:25).
The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:9)
The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15-16)
He is "
gracious in all His works" (Psalm 145:17), and He gives gladness of heart (e.g. Psalm 97:11; Acts 14:17) and enjoyment (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; 1 Timothy 6:17).
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 33:5; see also Psalm 119:64)
In His awesome love, the Lord is even "
kind to the unthankful and evil" (Luke 6:35). Israel's history well illustrates this. Nehemiah records,
You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, and told them to go in to possess the land which You had sworn to give them. But they and our fathers acted proudly, hardened their necks, and did not heed Your commandments. They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them. (Nehemiah 9:15)
Although, "
with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness" (1 Corinthians 10:5), God did not utterly forsake them (Nehemiah 9:31), but was abundant in His kindness toward Israel (Nehemiah 9:18-31).
Jonah knew well the lovingkindness of the Lord, so well, he fled to Tarshish. He did not want the Lord to save the Ninevites. After the entire city of Ninevah repented in response to Jonah's preaching (Luke 11:32), Jonah lamented,
Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish.; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. (Jonah 4:2)
Jonah wanted harm, not mercy, for the Ninevites, but the Lord had other plans; because He is
abundant in lovingkindness. Yet, God's kindness is not without bounds.
Ninevah did not remain in His goodness (Romans 11:22). Therefore, the Lord later testified against Ninevah and declared,
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 wicked. (Nahum 1:2-3)
Ninevah, eventually, was destroyed (Nahum 3:5-7).
Furthermore, in His kindness, God afflicts people and then saves them, as Psalm 107 testifies.
Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:17-21; see also verses 10-15 & 23-31)
This is the kindness of God towards men. As rebuke is a kindness (Psalm 141:5; Proverbs 27:6; Revelation 3:19), so God's affliction is a kindness to bring people to repentance (Romans 2:4). Although, men often do not take heed (e.g. Amos 4:6-11; Revelation 9:20-21; 16:8-11). But, those who do repent speak like this:
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:75)
[SIZE=+2]III. God Does Not Envy (1 Corinthians 13:4).[/SIZE]
The possessor of heaven and earth (Genesis 14:19, 22; Deuteronomy 10:14) would never envy (Job 34:12). Who or what would there be to envy? He is the One Who created everything (Isaiah 42:5). He is the One Who "gives to all life, breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25). He is the One Who upholds "all things by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3). "The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses" (Daniel 4:32). What is left for God to envy?
The godly may be tempted to envy the wicked (e.g. Psalm 37:1; 73:1-3; Proverbs 23:17; 24:1), but when they enter "the sanctuary of God," the santuary of love, they understand their end (Psalm 73:17-20); and the envy dissipates (Psalm 73:21-28). When they enter the sanctuary of Love (God), they see, in reality, all things considered, the wicked, and their lot, is undesirable (Psalm 37:2, 9; 73:18-20; Proverbs 24:19-20).
[SIZE=+2]IV. The Lord Does Not Parade Himself (1 Corinthians 13:4).[/SIZE]
"Love does not parade itself" (1 Corinthians 13:4, NKJV). Thus, we know God, who is love, does not parade Himself. As Job said,
If He goes by me, I do not see Him; if He moves past, I do not perceive Him. (Job 9:11)
Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. (Job 23:9)
Why? Because,
Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:15)
The Lord hides Himself. He does not parade Himself, nor does He brag (1 Corinthians 13:4, NAS) or boast (1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV). Jesus said, "
I do not receive honor from men" (John 5:41; note also Isaiah 53:2).
[SIZE=+2]V. God Is Not Proud (1 Corinthians 13:4).[/SIZE]
Love is not puffed up (1 Corinthians 13:4), therefore God is not puffed up. Jesus said,
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
The Lord is indeed lowly in heart. Although He is the King of Kings (1 Timothy 6:15), when He came to Jerusalem, He came in a humble way. As it is written,
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9; see also Matthew 21:1-9)
Furthermore, the Lord dwells "
with him who has a contrite and humble spirit" (Isaiah 57:15). He dwells with the lowly. As it is written,
God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)
Moreover, it takes humility on His part to have anything to do with His creation. As Psalm 113 says,
The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? (Psalm 113:3-6)
He humbles Himself just to look into the universe (the heavens), let alone to gaze upon the earth (Psalm 113:3-6).
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. (Psalm 147:5)
"
And His greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3). There is no pride in Him. "
The Lord is righteous in all His ways" (Psalm 145:17).
[SIZE=+2]VI. The Lord Is Not Rude (1 Corinthians 13:5).[/SIZE]
Love does not behave rudely (1 Corinthians 13:5), therefore God does not behave rudely. But what is rude? The Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 13:5 for "rudely" is only used one other place in the New Testament and that's in 1 Corinthians 7:36 translated "improperly." The Lord does not behave improperly, or rudely.
Even though Christ is the Rock of Offense (Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:33) and men were offended (Matthew 13:57; 15:12; Mark 6:3) and are offended because of Him (1 Peter 2:8), He nonetheless behaves properly, and not rudely. "For the Lord is righteous,"and He loves righteousness (Psalm 11:7).
Even though God has spread dung upon people's faces (Malachi 2:3, KJV), describes males as those who "pisseth against the wall" (1 Kings 14:10; 16:11; 21:21, KJV), and has caused people to eat their own children (Leviticus 26:27-29; Deuteronomy 28:53-63), He is never rude. He behaves properly, for God is love (1 John 4:8). He speaks truth (Psalm 33:4; 119:160; Proverbs 12:17) and judges at the proper time (Psalm 75:2).
[SIZE=+2]VII. The Lord Does Not Seek His Own (1 Corinthians 13:5).[/SIZE]
Love does not seek its own, and this is beautifully illustrated in Christ,
who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
Jesus did not do this for Himself, as He Himself said.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 6:38)
Jesus was so engrossed in love His food was to do the Father's will (John 4:34). The Lord did not seek his own (John 5:30).
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. (Isaiah 53:5)
He poured out His soul unto death. (Isaiah 53:12)
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
When you understand how God hates sinners (Psalm 5:5-6) and how repulsive they are in His eyes (Deuteronomy 25:16; Proverbs 3:32; 6:16-19; 11:20; 15:8-9, 26; 16:5; 17:15; 21:27; 28:9), then, and only then, can you truly understand the immensity of God's love towards mankind. For He sacrificed His own Son, and His Son sacrificed His own life, for those who are or were loathsome to Him (Proverbs 13:5).
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. (1 John 3:16)
[SIZE=+2]VIII. God Is Not Provoked (1 Corinthians 13:5).[/SIZE]
God has been provoked time and again in the past (e.g. Deuteronomy 9:7-8, 22; 32:16, 21; Judges 2:12; Psalm 78:40, 56-58; Mark 3:5) and is daily provoked by ungodly men (Psalm 7:11; Romans 1:18). When Christ was on the earth, at least twice He cleared the temple in His zeal for His house (John 2:13-17; Matthew 21:12-13), but His anger is right. "The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God" (James 1:20), but the wrath of God is good (Psalm 34:8; 90:11; 100:5; 145:17).
Now, if God is so provoked, how or in what way is the Lord not provoked? Just as there is a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to love and a time to hate (Ecclesiastes 3:3, 5, 8), so there is a time to be angry (Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26) and a time not to be (Ephesians 4:31); and the Lord knows this perfectly.
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He. (Deuteronomy 32:4)
As for God, His way is perfect. (Psalm 18:30)
In His perfect way, the Lord is not provoked in any way He should not be. For example, when Jesus came,
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:17)
Therefore, when Jesus was on the earth He was not provoked into condemning anyone (e.g. John 8:11), even though He hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7).
For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. (Luke 9:56)
Although God's wrath continued to abide on those who do not obey Him (John 3:36, NAS), and continued to be revealed from heaven as Christ walked the earth (e.g. Luke 13:1-5; Romans 1:18), and He continued to be angry with the wicked (Psalm 7:11), Christ's mission in the flesh was not to be provoked, but to save. As He Himself said,
I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. (John 12:47)