What is the teaching of scripture on the love of God, and how does this relate to our own experience?
The God of scripture is the God of love. Love expresses an “essential attribute of God”1 John 4:8 and 16 tell us that “God is love”. In his final greetings in 2 Corinthians Paul refers to God as the “God of love”. This revelation is fulfilled in Christ, whose death and resurrection accomplishes everything the scriptures point to.
In John 3:16 we are told,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
In John 15 we are called by Jesus to abide in that love by keeping his commandments. In John 15: 12, Jesus says,
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
The perfect expression of God’s love is in the laying down of Jesus life for us. Paul, in Romans 5:8, teaches,
“…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 John 4: 18-19 adds to our understanding,
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”
The teaching of scripture is that Jesus’ sacrifice is the highest measure of love and that this perfect love rids us of the fear of condemnation.
But what is love?
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