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Most Difficult Concept
- Thread starter JonC
- Start date
37818
Well-Known Member
@JonC
The notion of God being love is metaphor, 1 John 4:8. In the same way God is light is metaphor, 1 John 1:5. Even as the bread and the cup are metaphor of the body and Jesus' blood for the New Covenant in the rememberence. The same Greek verb is being used translated "is." In stead of being literal, being metaphor.
The notion of God being love is metaphor, 1 John 4:8. In the same way God is light is metaphor, 1 John 1:5. Even as the bread and the cup are metaphor of the body and Jesus' blood for the New Covenant in the rememberence. The same Greek verb is being used translated "is." In stead of being literal, being metaphor.
Perhaps. But a metaphor for...
37818
Well-Known Member
Love. Understanding in concept God is the infinitely good. Luke 18:19, ". . .none is good, save one, that is, God."
I have difficulty, as I expect most do, being able to wrap my head around the details of Jesus being both God and man. I 100% believe it, but I can't fathom how God, an infinite being, was able to shroud himself in mortal body.
37818
Well-Known Member
This goes to why God is solely one God, but was always more than one Person. Isaiah 6:, ". . . I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? . . ."
Was always both with God and God too, John 1:1-2.
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Being the monergist that I am, convinced that life absolutely must precede faith, I've been asked before what attribute a 'regenerate' person who has not yet come to faith might have. I'm convinced that quality would be agape.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 Jn 4
That's hard for me to answer, or decide. There's many concepts concerning God that I've simply concluded with 'I don't know', or, 'not sure', or, 'not a mountain I'm going to die on',
Love is an attribute, an attitude and an admonishment. God has characteristics we cannot reflect or mirror, like omnipresence, but God has other characteristics which we are to make our own, such as love. We are to love one another as Christ loved us.
John 15:12
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
How God is eternal, as we exist in linear time, and he does not!
thomas15
Well-Known Member
To state that God is all powerful and all knowing, in complete control over all creation, attentive to the smallest detail in a creation that is so big and so complex we cannot begin to comprehend it, this is a huge understatement. And yet all he wants is from us to simply trust and believe in Him, in Him only, with simple faith. For me this is hard to understand and easy to misunderstand.
canadyjd
Well-Known Member
The commandment from God that we love one another, love our enemies, etc…
How can “love” be generated toward someone you don’t even like?
peace to you
It’s called agape. The very essence of the religion of Jesus Christ.
Yep. It is amazing that Jesus loved us while we were still enemies. John 3:16 says He loved us by dying for us.
It is amazing, and I am not sure we can fully understand it.
canadyjd
Well-Known Member
I understand the concept. I suspect the indwelling Holy Spirit enables such love.
It’s still hard to comprehend “love” for those persecuting and even killing Christians.
peace to you
Did the Lord expect the saved jews to "love" Hitler?
Just wondering if we are defining love correctly from Gods perspective?
The real problem is for Bethren who try to keep God fully sovereign and yet have us keep full free will still!
I think we can definitively answer that question.
God said to love your enemies.
Hitler was evil. He committed horrid acts against people.
We were evil. We were enemies of God.
Was Hitler's sins against the Jews more evil than our sins against God?
I do not believe so. But if sinning against st God is he greater sin, we have to acknowledge that Gid still lived us (while we were enemies) by sending His Son to die for us.
canadyjd
Well-Known Member
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.”
Does that include Christians killed by dictators? Yes, I think so.
Like I said, it’s difficult.
peace to you
thomas15
Well-Known Member
A sovereign God can allocate free will of various degrees or no free will at all to his creation without a loss of sovereign as His ways are not our ways. It is actually in my view his prerogative as sovereign to do as he pleases not what posters on Baptist Board need him to do so that they can feel good about themselves. Same as our love freely given not forced doesn't impact our sovereign ness but it appears that some get a lot of pleasure defending the reputation of the Almighty by throwing rocks and calling people names.
Daniel, a well regarded OT prophet, appealed to a sovereign God asking Him to open his eyes to the plight and suffering of the disobedient and unbelieving Jews and desolate Jerusalem and to act for reason of His great names sake among the gentiles on something he had already said he would do and the prophet asked this as if the sovereign all powerful all knowing God needed to be reminded (Daniel 9:18).