Posted on 08/01/2005 8:16:45 PM PDT by buckeyesrule
Does God So Love the World?
by: John MacArthur
Love is the best known but least understood of all God's attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.
All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God's love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath. They envision God as a benign heavenly grandfather-tolerant, affable, lenient, permissive, devoid of any real displeasure over sin, who without consideration of His holiness will benignly pass over sin and accept people as they are.
Liberal thinking about God's love also permeates much of evangelicalism today. We have lost the reality of God's wrath. We have disregarded His hatred for sin. The God most evangelicals now describe is all-loving and not at all angry. We have forgotten that "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). We do not believe in that kind of God anymore.
We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God's righteous anger. We need to remember that God's wrath does burn against impenitent sinners (Psalm 38:1-3). That reality is the very thing that makes His love so amazing. Only those who see themselves as sinners in the hands of an angry God can fully appreciate the magnitude and wonder of His love.
In that regard, our generation is surely at a greater disadvantage than any previous age. We have been force-fed the doctrines of self-esteem for so long that most people don't really view themselves as sinners worthy of divine wrath. On top of that, religious liberalism, humanism, evangelical compromise, and ignorance of the Scriptures have all worked against a right understanding of who God is. Ironically, in an age that conceives of God as wholly loving, altogether devoid of wrath, few people really understand what God's love is all about.
How we address the misconception of the present age is crucial. We must not respond to an overemphasis on divine love by denying that God is love. Our generation's imbalanced view of God cannot be corrected by an equal imbalance in the opposite direction, a very real danger in some circles. I'm deeply concerned about a growing trend I've noticed-particularly among people committed to the biblical truth of God's sovereignty and divine election. Some of them flatly deny that God in any sense loves those whom He has not chosen for salvation.
I am troubled by the tendency of some-often young people newly infatuated with Reformed doctrine-who insist that God cannot possibly love those who never repent and believe. I encounter that view, it seems, with increasing frequency.
The argument inevitably goes like this: Psalm 7:11 tells us "God is angry with the wicked every day." It seems reasonable to assume that if God loved everyone, He would have chosen everyone unto salvation. Therefore, God does not love the non-elect. Those who hold this view often go to great lengths to argue that John 3:16 cannot really mean God loves the whole world.
Perhaps the best-known argument for this view is found the unabridged edition of an otherwise excellent book, The Sovereignty of God, by A. W. Pink. Pink wrote, "God loves whom He chooses. He does not love everybody." [1] He further argued that the word world in John 3:16 ("For God so loved the world…") "refers to the world of believers (God's elect), in contradistinction from 'the world of the ungodly.'"[2]
Pink was attempting to make the crucial point that God is sovereign in the exercise of His love. The gist of his argument is certainly valid: It is folly to think that God loves all alike, or that He is compelled by some rule of fairness to love everyone equally. Scripture teaches us that God loves because He chooses to love (Deuteronomy 7:6-7), because He is loving (God is love, 1 John 4:8), not because He is under some obligation to love everyone the same.
Nothing but God's own sovereign good pleasure compels Him to love sinners. Nothing but His own sovereign will governs His love. That has to be true, since there is certainly nothing in any sinner worthy of even the smallest degree of divine love.
Unfortunately, Pink took the corollary too far. The fact that some sinners are not elected to salvation is no proof that God's attitude toward them is utterly devoid of sincere love. We know from Scripture that God is compassionate, kind, generous, and good even to the most stubborn sinners. Who can deny that those mercies flow out of God's boundless love? It is evident that they are showered even on unrepentant sinners.
We must understand that it is God's very nature to love. The reason our Lord commanded us to love our enemies is "in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45). Jesus clearly characterized His Father as One who loves even those who purposefully set themselves at enmity against Him.
At this point, however, an important distinction must be made: God loves believers with a particular love. God's love for the elect is an infinite, eternal, saving love. We know from Scripture that this great love was the very cause of our election (Ephesians 2:4). Such love clearly is not directed toward all of mankind indiscriminately, but is bestowed uniquely and individually on those whom God chose in eternity past.
But from that, it does not follow that God's attitude toward those He did not elect must be unmitigated hatred. Surely His pleading with the lost, His offers of mercy to the reprobate, and the call of the gospel to all who hear are all sincere expressions of the heart of a loving God. Remember, He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but tenderly calls sinners to turn from their evil ways and live.
Reformed theology has historically been the branch of evangelicalism most strongly committed to the sovereignty of God. At the same time, the mainstream of Reformed theologians have always affirmed the love of God for all sinners. John Calvin himself wrote regarding John 3:16, "[Two] points are distinctly stated to us: namely, that faith in Christ brings life to all, and that Christ brought life, because the Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish." [3]
Calvin continues to explain the biblical balance that both the gospel invitation and "the world" that God loves are by no means limited to the elect alone. He also recognized that God's electing, saving love is uniquely bestowed on His chosen ones.
Those same truths, reflecting a biblical balance, have been vigorously defended by a host of Reformed stalwarts, including Thomas Boston, John Brown, Andrew Fuller, W. G. T. Shedd, R. L. Dabney, B. B. Warfield, John Murray, R. B. Kuiper, and many others. In no sense does belief in divine sovereignty rule out the love of God for all humanity.
We are seeing today, in some circles, an almost unprecedented interest in the doctrines of the Reformation and the Puritan eras. I'm very encouraged by that in most respects. A return to those historic truths is, I'm convinced, absolutely necessary if the church is to survive. Yet there is a danger when overzealous souls misuse a doctrine like divine sovereignty to deny God's sincere offer of mercy to all sinners.
We must maintain a carefully balanced perspective as we pursue our study of God's love. God's love cannot be isolated from His wrath and vice versa. Nor are His love and wrath in opposition to each other like some mystical yin-yang principle. Both attributes are constant, perfect, without ebb or flow. His wrath coexists with His love; therefore, the two never contradict. Such are the perfections of God that we can never begin to comprehend these things. Above all, we must not set them against one another, as if there were somehow a discrepancy in God.
Both God's wrath and His love work to the same ultimate end-His glory. God is glorified in the condemnation of the wicked; He is glorified in every expression of love for all people without exception; and He is glorified in the particular love He manifests in saving His people.
Expressions of wrath and expressions of love-all are necessary to display God's full glory. We must never ignore any aspect of His character, nor magnify one to the exclusion of another. When we commit those errors, we throw off the biblical balance, distort the true nature of God, and diminish His real glory.
Does God so love the world? Emphatically-yes! Proclaim that truth far and wide, and do so against the backdrop of God's perfect wrath that awaits everyone who does not repent and turn to Christ.
Does the love of God differ in the breadth and depth and manner of its expression? Yes it does. Praise Him for the many manifestations of His love, especially toward the non-elect, and rejoice in the particular manifestation of His saving love for you who believe. God has chosen to display in you the glory of His redeeming grace.
[1]Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1930), 29-30.
[2]Ibid., 314.
[3]John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, William Pringle, trans. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979 reprint), 123.
Adapted from The God Who Loves © 2001 by John MacArthur. All rights reserved.
• Grace to You (Thursday, July 21, 2005)
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Carry on.
Yes it is
kosmos {kos'-mos} TDNT Reference Root Word TDNT - 3:868,459 probably from the base of 2865 Part of Speech n m
Outline of Biblical Usage
1) an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government 2) ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. the arrangement of the stars, 'the heavenly hosts', as the ornament of the heavens. 1 Pet. 3:3 3) the world, the universe 4) the circle of the earth, the earth 5) the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family 6) the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ 7) world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly a) the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ 8) any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort a) the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews (Rom. 11:12 etc) b) of believers only, John 1:29; 3:16; 3:17; 6:33; 12:47 1 Cor. 4:9; 2 Cor. 5:19
Chapter 3 Read This Chapter 3:16 [ Greek Font Size: – / + | Toggle Font ] [ View in: BYZ / TR | Side-by-side | Greek Lexical Parser ] [ Personal Notes: Add ] For God so loved (5656) the world, that he gave (5656) his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth (5723) in him should not perish (5643) , but have (5725) everlasting life. Outwv gar hgaphsen (5656) o qeov ton kosmon, wste ton uion ton monogenh edwken, (5656) ina pav o pisteuwn (5723) eiv auton mh apolhtai (5643) all' exh (5725) zwhn aiwnion.
"Original Word Word Origin ko/smov probably from the base of (2865) Transliterated Word Phonetic Spelling Kosmos kos'-mos Parts of Speech TDNT Noun Masculine 3:868,459"
see post 301
Did not see it til after I posted
***Okay, what would you tell John MacArthur about the significance of that word in Mark 10?***
Well, after I asked for his autograph.... (kidding!) I would say that it was an example of some one that Jesus specifically loved and allowed to walk away.
***Do you believe that God loves "the world" in the same way as the five people you have mentioned? ***
We need to look at how God "loved" the world.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God's concrete act of loving is to give - give His Son. He did this for the "world" (large set) with the result that those who believe (subset) will not perish.
According to Paul, this is the ultimate act of loving - to lay down your life for your enemy (the world).
"...for scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Is that the same kind of love He showed the 5? Yes, I believe it is. Is their experience of that love the same? No - definitely not. To paraphrase, the measure (of your heart) you give effects the measure (of enjoying the blessedness of God's love) you receive.
Your thoughts?
Consider the definition of the word WORLD .
Your sword still does not have a Mac version ??
That's so true. I have a co-worker who one second is yapping about Jesus and then the next second is saying the most vainly selfish things.
***Consider the definition of the word WORLD . ***
What specifically do you mean RnMomof7?
(Always a pleasure to hear from you.)
Yea no mac ....
I remember writing them years ago and they were just not interested in mac folks
***I remember writing them years ago and they were just not interested in mac folks***
No suprise there - (being that mac users are mainly heathen anyway).
"Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated." A time will come when we can ask Him "How is it that you chose, yet we're still responsible!?" Being where we'll be, I doubt we'll care...
When the jews spoke of the "world" they were usually speaking of The gentile nations around them.
That's certainly not true. When they spoke of "the nations," that is true, but "world" was not used to show the non-Jew. kosmox was used in the LXX to represent "universe," "inhabited earth," and "humanity," 3 TDNT 867 at 882.
If Christ holds agape love for those he will condemn for an eternity of fire one might really be concerned what kind of love that is.
It might be theologically inconvenient, and not very neat, but it is what the text says, and as Protestants, we're supposed to subjugate our theology to the text, not vice versa. kosmos is never used to describe just the elect in any other verse; why would it be here?
Kinda like the disciples, huh?
If a thread has anything to do with Calvinism/Arminianism, it will have lots of posts. It's been a while, so expect this thread to hit 500 by Friday, if not more.
Got to take back control of the first posts page from out RC brothers and sisters. ;-)
***To be precise, I would say "renewed" is the better terminology***
You are correct, "reborn" as opposed to "refurbished"!
***...to meditate on the wonders of the Godhead.***
Sometimes I think about the fact that God has given us eternal life because it will take an eternity to scratch the surface of all the wonders He contains within His person.
I assume you’re focusing in on “you were unwilling” (v37) which would seemingly imply the scribes and the Pharisees had a “choice” and they chose to ignore their choice. I would refer back to 2 Chronicles for a similar statement.
God gives people legitimate choices in life. But man, unless regenerated, will always choose the wrong path bringing forth God’s wrath. Simply because man cannot turn from his ways does not make the calls of God to repent any less sincere.
But why God doesn’t change the hearts of the scribes, Pharisees, and everyone for that matter to make everyone willing come to God is unknown. It is wrong to say that He doesn’t wish to intrude on their “free will” as some would implied in Matt 23:37. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that He could display His glory and 4,000 years later we still are talking about the Passover and Pharaoh’s destruction. Undoubtedly God hardened the scribes and Pharisees hearts so that He could accomplish His will at the cross.
The Pharisees and scribes were unwilling to turn to our Lord Jesus because that is man’s nature and God chose to leave them that way to accomplish His will. I see “you were unwilling” not so much as a condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees failure to repent but rather a statement of fact about their nature.
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