The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Part 6)

In the book "The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God" (by Don Carson) we discovered that there are 5 kinds of the love of God found in the Bible. They are:

1) The special love the Father has for the Son, and the Son has for the Father
2) God has a 'common' love
3) God loves everyone and desires that they all be saved
4) God has a special love for His chosen people
5) There is a love from God that comes only through obedience

We have looked at four different kinds of the love of God. This time, we are looking at the fifth kind of the love of God, which is, a love from God that comes only through obedience.

This fifth kind of the love of God deals with those who are already saved and are already children of God.

This fifth kind of the love of God has nothing to do with keeping or losing our salvation. For example, parents may love their child very much, but there are times, when the child disobeys, when the parents are angry with the child and has to discipline him or her. When the child obeys, you can say that the child is "in" the love of the parents (because the child can sense the love). But when the child disobeys, you can say that the child is "out" of the love of the parents (because the child can't sense the love).

Here are some verses from the Bible that show that there is a kind of love that comes from God, to the children of God, when there is obedience:

JUDE 21

...keep yourselves in the love of God...

JOHN 15:9

Remain in My love.

JOHN 15:10

If you keep My commandments you will remain in My love...

EXODUS 20:6

...but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

When the children of God are obedient to God, they can feel and experience the close love of God. However, when the children of God are disobedient to God, they do not feel and experience the close love of God.

When Christians are not in the love of God (in this fifth sense), it does not mean that they will lose their salvation. It does not mean that God is kicking them out of the family of God. Being "in" or "out" of God's love, or "remaining" or "not remaining" in God's love, simply refers to the love that they experience from God.

This fifth kind of the love of God depends God's children being obedient, and therefore, it is different from the other kinds of the love of God.

Okay, we have studied the five different kinds of the love of God. Next time, I will give you a test. I will give you some verses from the Bible that refer to the love of God, and I want you to identify which kind of the love of God it is talking about.