He Loved You Before There Was a You

by Jared C. Wilson 

God's love for his children is grounded in the eternal reality of his very self. It is predicated on nothing but the purity of his very nature, the endless-both-ways love he both has and is. 

Paul helps us ponder it this way:

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." - Romans 8:29

I note that Paul does not say "for what he foreknew." In other words, it is not as if God looked through time, saw you would be an asset to the organization and so chose you. He was not scouring the future for good apples for his prospective bushel.

Christians, God did not choose you based on what he foreknew you would do or be. He did not survey your good works and clear you for incorporation into the body of his son. No, none of us would qualify that way. We cannot be good enough, smart enough, or doggone it, likeable enough to earn credit with the three-times-holy God.

Paul says "for those he foreknew." For whom he foreknew.

Certainly God has a prescient foreknowledge. He is perfectly omniscient; thus, he knows all things, including things that, from our vantage point, are yet to be. But the foreknowledge spoken of in Romans 8:29 is a relational foreknowledge. He knew you before there was a you. And he predestined you to be conformed to the image of his Son.

Apart from your works, despite your sin. He saw it all. And he wanted you. He chose you.

This means that God's loving intentions for you began before the foundation of the world. From eternity past, he has loved you. Which means he will not stop. For eternity future, his love is yours, never to wane, never to be revoked.

It is not what you can do for him that he wants. He needs nothing. It is you yourself that he wants. You the unlovable. You the weak lover of him. He loves you with a boundless, free, and gracious love. He always has.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/he-loved-you-before-there-was-a-you

God's Loving Law

Erik Raymond

Wrapped in shiny wrappers, sin promises life but delivers death. Because God is loving, he warns us against sin by instructing us in the path of life.

In the Garden of Eden, God warned our first parents, Adam and Eve, with these sober words that echo through the ages, “the day you eat of it, you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). We know how the rest of the story goes. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s Word and ate from the tree. They plunge themselves and their posterity—all of us—into sin.

When we think about God’s warning here, we have to observe his love. It’s love that warns Adam and Eve what not to do.

Love for Adam and Eve

By warning us of what is wrong, God shows love for his creation. This is love because what is wrong is what will hurt us. Sin corrupts God’s good gifts. It perverts his gifts and harms us. Think of the pain and suffering that you have experienced in this world. Now consider how you may have hurt others. What, at the root, is the cause of this? It is sin. Sin brings separation, pain, and death (Rom. 6:23; Col. 1:21).

These warnings also preserve God’s blessings. We know that following this sin, Adam and Eve were ushered out of the Garden (Gen. 3:17-24). Banished from the happy and intimate fellowship with God, they were relegated to a world plagued by their sin. Had they obeyed, they would have remained in the garden and squarely in the realm of blessing.

When you think of God’s words of warning to you, remember that they are words of love. He wants what’s best for you. Your joy is not found by opening the shiny and forbidden wrappers of sin but through the trusting and treasuring of God’s Word.

Love for God Himself

God’s warnings also reflect a love for God himself. Yes, God shows his love for himself by warning us not to sin. How so? God’s Word, the Bible, reflects God’s character and will. Doing what God has commanded brings honor and glory to God (John 15:7-8). This pleases God. Disobedience to God’s Word dishonors God. This displeases God. God, out of love for his glory, commands his people to obey him.

It should be obvious if we are thinking in a way that reflects God’s thoughts, then we would want to obey his Word. This is what gives him glory. It also reflects our love for God.

As you read God’s commands to you in the Bible, remember the goodness of them (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Word of God not only protects us from hurting ourselves, but also preserves his blessing and good to us. Disobedience to God’s Word has a double evil: it assaults God and injures us.

Consider how Jesus brings both of these together. Motivated by love for his people and in obedience to his Father’s will, Jesus became a man and lived in perfect obedience to God’s Word. He never sinned (Heb. 4:15; 2 Pet. 2:22). Then he died upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sin (Isa. 53:5-6). So in Christ, we have the highest love for people and the highest honor to God (Gal. 2:20; John 10:17). He secured our blessing and satisfied God’s righteous requirements. How can we respond with anything else but loving gratitude (Gal. 6:14)?!

Posted at: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/gods-loving-law/

Love is Love, Except When it is Not

by Jason Alligood

“Love is Love!” We hear this mantra bandied about as if it means anything without defining what love is. It is, perhaps not surprising, that those who have been reared in a culture where it is preferred that words not be defined are so flippant with something so important as the word love. On the other hand, these are also quick to show offense when they are certain that another has crossed the line into what is not loving. This, of course, requires that one has a grasp of love’s definition. Therefore, the word must have some objective meaning, and cannot simply be defined by itself. “Love is love,” epitomizes the postmodern definitional conundrum in which we find ourselves.

Love that is true love is wrapped in objective truth. As Christians we are familiar with the phrase “God is love.” In fact, some non-Christians are familiar with this phrase and use it to castigate Christians who they consider unloving (again, we come to objectivity). I wonder how many Christians and non-Christians know the context of this phrase? Christians who grew up in the church are likely to know that this comes from 1 John 4:8. However, to rip 1 John 4:8 from the context of 1 John is a dangerous thing.

John does not start by stating that God is love. The earliest “God is” statement in 1 John is “God is light,” followed by “and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This statement about light and darkness demands an objective understanding of right and wrong. Here’s the summary:God is light, the very essence of goodness and righteousness, and we are not. This objective truth concerning God drives our understanding of not only what is good, but what is meant when John later says, “God is love.” God being light gives definition to God also being love. He is both light and love in and of himself, inseparably.

This logically leads to the conclusion not only that love must be defined objectively, but that when we genuinely love, we must press toward the light of who God is. God has shown his love in the darkness by sending the light of his Son into the world to live a perfect life, die an underserving death in the place of sinners, and be raised three days later as a witness to his deity and his conquering over sin and death. So, we must lovingly tell people that they are sinners. This is the most loving thing we as Christians can do.

Even the secular world understands that love has boundaries, but the subjectivity in which they have placed their faith has made it so that anyone can define love as they like and the whole thing has become a subjective mess. Since love is objectively defined by the God who is also light, we must, in loving others, express a truthful understanding of sin. We must therefore, in loving others, express a truthful understanding of human sexuality. We must therefore, in loving others, express a truthful understanding of the sanctity of human life, from the womb to the tomb. We must therefore, in love and in the scope of eternity, not elevate one sin as more egregious than another when condemnation according to God’s perfection is in view. We must therefore, in love, tell others of the objective love of God in Christ, which is the only answer to the sinfulness of falling short of the objective truth of God’s light. Love is love, except when it is not. We must declare with the Scriptures that God is both light and love.

Jason Alligood

Jason Alligood is the Teaching Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Peoria, Illinois. He holds degrees from Moody Bible Institute, Calvary Theological Seminary, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Systematic Theology at MBTS. He is married to Amber and together they have three children: Jonah, Karis, and Aubrey.

Posted at: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/love-is-love-except-when-it-is-not

How a Man Loves a Woman

Article by Ben Stuart, Pastor, Washington, D.C.

“How do I love my wife well?” Young husbands frequently ask me this question, and it is a great one to ask. They are often faced with a laundry list of good tips: prioritize date nights, lead family prayer times, organize evening devotionals, take walks together, buy her flowers, write poetry, help around the house, etc.

I have found that these lists can be extremely helpful examples or extremely tyrannizing laws. If you anxiously try to accomplish them all, the stress could steal the joy of your marriage.

So, what do we do? Is there one guiding principle that can help us navigate marriage well? I believe so. I believe we see it clearly in Genesis.

God Initiates

Genesis 1:2 presents a problem: “The earth was without form and void.” “Formless” means quite literally that it lacked form; it had no structure. “Void” means that it had no content. It was not full of anything. No form, no fullness. No structure, no content.

Then God initiates. He spends the first three days of creation building structure: first air, then sea, then land. He fashions the static systems necessary to sustain life.

Then in the following three days he fills these structures with content. He fills the air with birds, the sea with sea creatures, then the land with animals.

God sees formlessness and void and responds by bringing form and fullness. He creates order, but not stuffy, stifling order. It is order specifically designed to maximize the flourishing of life! This is our God. He brings structure, then content; form, then fullness; order, then flourishing.

Foundations for Flourishing

“Men are meant to create structures so that life can flourish.”TweetShare on Facebook

You see a similar rhythm play out in Genesis 2. God places the man in the garden. Though the garden is truly a “delight,” it is not yet all that it could be. Thus, God commands the man “to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). God charges the man to take the raw materials he has been given and structure the environment in such a way that promotes the flourishing of all the living things under his care. This is the role of man in the image of God!

Men are meant to create structures so that life can flourish. We create farms where the conditions can be perfectly calibrated to maximize the fruitfulness of the trees. We create ranches where animals can grow strong. We create financial structures where investments can reach their full potential. And, in the home, we create an environment where our wives and children can flourish in every area under God.

This is the mindset we are meant to take into our marriage: “How do I structure our family life so that everyone can flourish?” Certain constants will be present in every Christian home: study of the Bible, prayer, time together, time apart, etc. And yet we have the freedom to organize these constants in a way that best suits our particular spouses and children.

Crucial Questions to Ask

Therefore, as husbands we wake up every day and ask ourselves, How can I best organize the time, energy, money, and relationships that the Lord has given me to enable my wife to best flourish as a woman under God? Regarding time, have I given her enough time alone, away from the kids, to meet with God devotionally? How much time does she need? How will I create that space?

Have I given her enough time to meet with other women for support and encouragement? Have I given her enough time with me? With regard to our money, have I allocated it in the best way in order to fund those things that stir her affections for the Lord? How can I make that happen? What best helps her rest well? Vacation? Hobbies? Books?

“Jesus Christ gave all in order to create the ideal circumstances for us to flourish as children of God.”TweetShare on Facebook

For some of you the greatest gift you can give your wife is a night to get dressed up and hit the town. Others of you could go for a cheaper date night and use those funds to buy some lumber so she can build a picnic table (don’t laugh; that’s where my wife comes alive!).

With this approach, we are not tyrannized by a list of things we are supposed to be doing, but rather we are liberated to be excellent students of our wives. We are free to consider how we can use the resources God has given us to best love them.

Just Like Jesus

In many ways that is what Jesus did for us. He gave his life in order to create an environment where we can flourish under God. What do we need to be fully alive in God? The word of God? He came and preached it. The removal of our sin? He took it away on the cross. The indwelling power of God? He released the Spirit into us! A community of brothers and sisters? He created the church.

Jesus Christ gave all in order to create the ideal circumstances for us to flourish as children of God. We husbands are called to love our wives the same way. We give of our resources so that they can be all they were meant to be as the daughters of God. This pleases him and blesses them.

Ben Stuart (@Ben_Stuart_) is pastor of Passion City Church, which he helped plant in Washington, D.C.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-a-man-loves-a-woman

The Scandal and Sweetness of John 3:16

Article by William Boekestein

John 3:16 has become so familiar that we no longer find its words astonishing. But this remarkable verse reveals amazing truth that should delight us every time we hear it.

A Remarkable Claim

Jesus boldly asserts that God loves the world. God, the maker of heaven and earth, is self-sufficient and needs nothing outside of Himself. He is the Holy One whose pure eyes cannot look upon sin (Hab. 1:13). His desires are always upright, His love completely pure, and His affection never misplaced. How can such a God love the broken, sin-marred world?

In the broadest sense, the world represents the universe that God created. God loves the creation that He spoke into being. His love for the sin-corrupted world is bound up in His plan to totally restore heaven and earth (Acts 3:21).

More specifically, the world represents the human inhabitants of the earth, a race of rebels, traitors, and idolaters–objects far from deserving God’s love. Because man sinned, God would have done no injustice by letting everyone perish (Rom. 3:19). Instead, God chose to love.

The Reach of God’s Love

Christ uses the word world to show the mystery and fullness of God’s love, which is not limited to any race, region, or time. Jesus is not suggesting a universal atonement. He died for those whom God chose to believe in Him (John 6:37) and in whom He works saving faith as a gift of grace (Eph. 2:8). Still, God loves sinners and has provided a way of salvation for a vast host of fallen people (Gen. 15:5).

The Reality of God’s Love

God’s love for the world seems incongruous and far-fetched–even impossible. To believe in this love, we need irrefutable evidence. Jesus’ coming to the world is the irrefutable evidence of the Father’s love for it. People can talk about their love for others, but the proof of love is action, not words (1 John 3:18). “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The Riches of God’s Love

God’s love is not sentimental but sacrificial. It is agape, a committed and costly affection proved through action. According to John, only one event in the history of the world is capable of demonstrating true love. He writes, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

God’s love for His people can only be understood in relation to His love for His Son. The only begotten Son is the eternal object of the Father’s affection. Twice during Christ’s public ministry, the Father shattered heaven’s silence to affirm His absolute love for His Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). Our love for our children is diminished by both our sin and theirs. But the love between God the Father and God the Son is perfect, personal, intimate, deep, eternal, and committed.

Christ came to earth to show us the riches of God’s love. This is the good news of Christ’s advent. In Jesus Christ, God loves His believing children with this same incomprehensible, infinite, and unchangeable love. Having sacrificed His Son for our salvation is it possible that He will now withhold from us any good thing (Rom. 8:32)? No, for Christ’s incarnation confirms that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

Adapted from Joel Beeke and William Boekestein’s Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on Christ’s Incarnation.

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/scandal-and-sweetness-john-316/?fbclid=IwAR3DzyYR54p-4V4z0POESEqssZ-CJBY7a17qiZud26fc8zUDjqeoPgz5L-Q