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Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, be sureyou have named your sins privately to God the Father.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins)

(1Jn_1:9)

You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with God the Holy Spirit and ready

to learn Truth from the Word of God.

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth,"

(Joh_4:24)

THE MAGNIFICENCE OF

GODS LOVE

GOD IS LOVE. THE BIBLE DECLARES this concise

and profound Truth. But what is the Divine love of God?

Do you understand the absolute and perfect nature of

Divine love? Do you have any conception of the

simplicity and complexity of His love? What has the love

of God done for you? Are you cognizant of either the

components or the mechanics of His love? Is the love of

God a mystery to you? Unfailing love describes God. He

does not exist apart from love. You can only comprehendHim by comprehending His love. He deals with you in

love. His plan for you is based on His love. The love of

God is the most critical concept you will ever encounter.

If you understand the love of God, you also understand


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the basis for human love and have the capacity for

wonderful relationships with other people.

During the course of human history, Gods love is

revealed by the provision of Salvation for all mankind, byHis fellowship with and provisions for believers in time,

and by His bestowal of the surpassing riches of His

grace upon believers for all eternity.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great

love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in

our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (bygrace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him,

and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ

Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the

surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in

Christ Jesus. (Eph_2:4-7)

The unfailing love of God gives every believer in JesusChrist these surpassing riches that reflect Gods grace,

which cannot be compared to any human wealth or

success in life. In the New Covenant Church Age, these

riches include more Spiritual assets than have ever been

given in all human history. Every believer has access to a

unique Spiritual life, which was invented, tested, and

proved by the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ duringHis first advent. The unique Spiritual life of the New

Covenant Age has a precedent in the Old Testament,

(Pro_1:23) and will be duplicated in future dispensations.

When a believer utilizes this New Covenant Spiritual life,


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he will glorify God, receive maximum blessings in time,

and cope with all the vicissitudes of life.

And [To get] to know the love of Christ which[Always] surpasses [Human] knowledge, that you may be

filled up to [The completed Divine natureSpiritual

maturity; 2Pe_1:4) all the fullness of God.(Eph_3:19)

Knowledge of the magnificent Virtue love of God

engenders a response in a devoted Spiritual Virtue love

forGod. This reciprocal love results in a life of great

happiness and stability, Occupation with Jesus Christ, and

an elevated appreciation of the grace of God.

And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and

though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you

greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.

(1Pe_1:8)

The Virtue love of God, however, is frequently

distorted; and without the filling of God the Holy Spirit

and Divine Thinking, impossible to grasp! Because Gods

love is superior to human love, humans have no natural

ability to relate to Divine love.His love is self-motivated,

unconditional, infinite, and absolute;while human love is

object-motivated, conditional, finite, and relative. Peoplecan only confuse the Divine attribute of love with their

own deficient concepts of love unless they become

cognizant of Gods essential nature.


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No subject is more exalted to contemplate than the

person and essence of God.His limitless, perfect splendor

and majesty are truly unfathomable. (Rom_11:33)

Moses was confronted with the person of God at the

burning bush. He was commanded to take off his shoes,

(Manufactured by man) because he was standing on holy

ground. So awe-struck was Moses by this physical

presence of God that he hid his face and was afraid to

look. (Exo_3:5-6)

Believers, on the other hand, should not be afraid tolook. The revelation of Scripture allows every believer to

see the stunning essence of God and to understand His

essential nature. At no point does the believer feel his

limitations more than when confronted with the

overwhelming personage and unlimited ability of God as

revealed in His Word.

By definition, essence is the choicest or most essentialor most vital part of some idea or experience, the intrinsic

nature of something, that which underlies all outward

manifestations. The essence of anything is both

permanent and unchangeable, in contrast to that which is

accidental, ephemeral, or superficial. Derived from the

Greek noun, (Ousia)being, substance, or existence,essence means inner or intrinsic nature, true substance, a

persons qualities or attributes. These essential qualities

are invisible but manifested by a persons expressed

thoughts and actions.


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The essence of God equals His being or nature, Who

He IS. The individual qualities and perfections of Divine

essence are called attributes. They are the essential

characteristics of Gods being, which are eternal, absolute,and inherent in Him. Divine attributes never change, and

they can never be separated from the whole of His

essence.

God Reveals Himself

Although man can never completely define or grasp God,

He does reveal Himself so that man, in a limited way, can

comprehend His person and Divine nature. Man derives

true understanding of Him from His self-revelation in the

Bible. The Bible reveals that God is spirit [Pneuma]

(Joh_4:24) God is immaterial; His essential being is a

Spiritual entity. The Greek nounpneuma means breath,

and is something invisible but real. God is thereforeinvisible to us; but real.

Invisible God exists as three separate and distinct

Persons. The word Trinity is used to express three

Persons in One Godhead. In the Trinity, there are three

coequal, co-infinite, co-eternal Persons, with One

essence: the Father; (1Co_8:6; Eph_1:3) the Son;

(Psa_2:7; Col_2:9) and the Holy Spirit. (Exo_31:3;1Co_3:16)

The Bible states that God is One. (Deu_6:4) The

Oneness of God, called His glory, is the identical essence

in all three Persons of the Godhead. (Joh_10:30) In the


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unity of God, there is only one essence, one substance.

God is therefore One in essence, three in Persons. Each

member of the Godhead is a separate Person, individually

possessing identical, eternal attributes. (Mat_28:19;1Pe_1:2)

Existing eternally, God is un-sustained by Himself or

by any other source. He is the ultimate source with

infinite capacity. He is the source of sustaining, but does

not need to be sustained Himself. God has no beginning.

His Old Testament name, Yahweh, means the Self-

existent One. He is the cause of all existence outside

Himself, but He has no cause for Himself. Gods

existence is eternal and unalterable.

The finite human mind has great difficulty

contemplating and reflecting on the infinite and

immaterial. Mans limited frame of reference cannot fully

comprehend or even properly illustrate the invisible,infinite, perfect character of God.

While there is a parallel between the essence of God

and the essence of man, the parallel is limited. Gods

essence is real; mans essence is real. The nature of God is

unseen; the nature of man is unseen. Gods being has

invisible but real attributes; the soul of man has invisible

but real attributes such as mentality and volition. Beyondthese there is no parallel between Divine essence and the

essence of the human soul from which man can draw

understanding.

The only way to grasp the magnificence of Divine love


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is to examine the nature and characteristics of God

Himself. The Bible, the infallible Word of God, is the

only textbook, the single communiqu about God, His

Thoughts and His Divine love. In fact, the Bible definesGod in terms of attributes so that man can contemplate

and understand the character of God.

The attributes of God are sovereignty, righteousness,

justice, love, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence,

omnipresence, immutability, and veracity. All of these

Divine attributes are of equal value.No one attribute

overrides another; they work in complete coordination

and harmony without any compromise to His essence. All

the attributes of Divine essence are present in God, but

they are not always apparent at the same time.

The properties of light illustrate this concept. Every

color of the visible spectrum is resident in a ray of white

light, but the individual colors are only seen underdifferent circumstances of reflection and refraction.

Likewise, Gods essence may manifest certain attributes

in one situation but others in a different situation. In every

case, no matter which attribute is reflected, Gods total,

indivisible person is completely involved.

http://www.dictionaryofdoctrine.com/files/Essence_of_God.jpg

Three of these attributes have specific relevance to this

study. God determined that He would deal with sinful
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man through love, in coordination with His righteousness

and justice.

RIGHTEOUSNESS

God is absolute righteousness perfect in nature. Heis absolute good. The righteousness of God is the perfect

standard of His essence. All of His attitudes and actions

conform to this flawless standard. Therefore,

righteousness is the foundation of His character and the

very core of His being. If He did not have absolute

righteousness, God would not be God. God cannot

compromise His righteousness without destroying His

perfect character.

The LORD is righteous in all His ways [Thoughts]

And kind in all His deeds. [Actions] (Psa_145:17)

Since Gods righteousness is impregnable, He cannot

sin nor can He be tempted to sin. He can only condemn

sin. Neither is He free to disregard or forgive sin apartfrom the satisfaction or propitiation of His righteousness.

God cannot have a personal relationship with anything

less than the absolute standard of His own righteousness;

therefore, He must reject all sin and relative standards of

human old sin nature good. (Isa_64:6) Mankind can never

accomplish or achieve the approval of God through his

own efforts, human thoughts work, energy, or morality.But at the moment of faith alone in Christ alone Gods

Own righteousness is credited to every believer

(Rom_4:3; 2Co_5:21) making him acceptable to God in

time and eternity.


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JUSTICE

God is perfect justice absolute fairness. God treats

all His creatures alike, without bias or partiality. For the LORD your God is the God of gods [Angelic

rulers] and the Lord of lords, [Human rulers]the great,

the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show

partiality, nor take a bribe. (Deu_10:17)

He judges mankind with perfect fairness. He never makes

exceptions. He never overlooks even one sin. The justiceof God is the source of both judgment and blessing.

Divine justice always functions in accordance with the

absolute Standards found in His perfect righteousness.

The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways

[Standards Thoughts] are just; A God of faithfulness

and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

(Deu_32:4)The justice of God is portrayed in the most dramatic

way at the Cross. In order to reconcile sinful man to

Himself, the justice of God imputed all the personal sins

ever committed in the human race to the Lord Jesus Christ

on the cross and judged every one of them (Joh_3:16;

Rom_3:24-26) He became the substitute for all mankind.

And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross,so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for

by His wounds you were healed.(1Pe_2:24)


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Gods righteousness approves of the perfect sacrifice

of the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and is propitiated

or satisfied, by His work on the cross in payment for the

sins of mankind. When a person believes by faith alone inChrist alone for Salvation, he receives Gods

righteousness, and then he is justified. (1Co_1:30) Justice

blesses anyone who possesses this righteousness.

Gods justice and righteousness combine to form the

integrity and or holiness of God. Although not a separate

attribute, the integrity of God is the sum total of His

perfection the quintessence of His impeccable nature.

Gods integrity is the synchronized operation of His

righteousness and justice.Righteousness and justice work

together to prevent any compromise of His essence

(Psa_89:14)

Righteousness is thePrinciple of Gods integrity;

justice is thefunction of Gods integrity. What therighteousness of God demands, the justice of God

executes. What the righteousness of God accepts, the

justice of God blesses. What the righteousness of God

rejects or condemns, the justice of God judges.

Fortunately for mankind, Gods love never stands apart

from His

integrity. Gods integrity is inseparably united with Hislove; they are two sides of the same coin.

http://www.dictionaryofdoctrine.com/files/Integrity.jpg

LOVE
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God is love. His love is the absolute Virtue and

benevolence of His Thinking and actions. Love is what

God IS as well as what He does. His love along with

righteousness and justice is the cause of all His actions.Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with

passages ascribing love to God. In the Old Testament,

chesedis a Hebrew noun used to denote Divine love.

For the LORD is good;

His lovingkindness [Chesed] is everlasting, And His

faithfulness to all generations.(Psa_100:5)

Some other passages on God's love: (Exo_34:6; Deu_7:9;

1Ki_8:23; 1Ch_16:34; Psa_57:10; Psa_86:15; Luk_11:42;

Rom_5:5; Rom_8:39; Eph_2:4;

2Th_3:5; 1Jn_4:9)

For centuries scholars have debated over the precise

definition ofchesed,but by long study of its etymology

has given us a clear understanding of the meaning of thisword. The best translation ofchesedis not goodness or

lovingkindness but unfailing love.

In the New Testament, (1Jn_4:16) unequivocally

states,

God is love. [Agape] (1Jn_4:8; 1Jn_4:16)Love in

this verse is the qualitative Greek noun, agape. In thiscontext agape is a predicate nominative, meaning that

God and agape are equated. Therefore, the quality of love

is intrinsic to God, to His essential Being or nature. John

is also using agape, a noun of action, in an intransitive


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sense meaning Gods love does not require an object.

Gods attribute of love can exist independently of any

object.

We understand human love as an attitude that must beinspired by an object,but that kind of love is exactly what

God does notpossess. Gods love is an inherent quality of

absolute benevolence that does not require inspiration to

be gracious, generous, or merciful. He always possesses

love and gives of Himself whether there is an occasion or

an object. Even with such compassion Gods love is

always rational. His love always functions in an objective,

but kindly manner. Gods love is neither emotional nor is

it sentimental as is human love. His love is not

complicated by ignorance, silliness, or absurdities.

Love with Divine Attributes.

As part of His essence, the love of God can never be

isolated from His other characteristics. All of theattributes of God work in complete coordination and

continuity with no one attribute surpassing or overriding

another, each one remaining constant and harmonious

with the others. The love of God is a clear example of this

coordination and harmony.

Gods love is never independent of His sovereignty. He

never makes a Decision apart from His love. In fact, Hislove is totally compatible with all His Decisions. God is

perfect love in all His will and work.

Since God is eternal life, His love is eternal. His love

has always existed un-sustained by Himself or any other


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source. His Thoughts and love existed before the creation

of angels, the universe, or man; (Pro_8:22-36) before

anything existed apart from God Himself. There never

was or will be a time when God does not have perfectlove. (Psa_136:1-26) Therefore, He does not fall in love

or begin to love.

The omniscience of God has always known all about

the sins and failures of every human being, yet His love is

never disappointed, frustrated or diminished by such

knowledge. Neither is His love increased by His

knowledge of the old sin nature good deeds of any human

being. His infinite Mentality focuses on everything at

once, so that His love is not subject to changes made by

His creatures.

Because God is omnipotent, His love is all-powerful.

God has infinite energy and power with which to love. He

can do all things that are not contradictory to His Ownnature. Gods power can accomplish all things that do not

contradict the absolute Virtue and benevolence that is His

love.

Since God is omnipresent, His love is eternally, wholly,

and simultaneously present everywhere. There is no place

on earth where the love of God cannot reach mankind.

Therefore, nothing can stand between man and the love ofGod. The earth is full of the unfailing love of the

LORD. (Psa_33:5;corrected translation)

Gods immutability guarantees that the content and

capacity of His love never changes.No form of creature


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sinfulness, failure, vacillation, or rejection can disappoint,

frustrate, or diminish Gods unfailing love. His love is

infinite and eternal; it does not increase or decrease.

expand or diminish. Gods love is unfailing because Henever fails.

Gods Veracity, the absolute Truthfulness of His Word, is

the basis for the infinite capacity of His perfect love.

Divine love is revealed and integrated into every category

of Thought and every form of knowledge that resides in

His absolute Being.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your

throne; Lovingkindness and Truth go before You.

(Psa_89:14)

For the Word of the LORD is upright, And all His

work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and

justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the

LORD. (Psa_33:4-5)From this foundation of integrity rises the superstructure

of Gods love. Integrity is not love itself, but the power,

the stability behind love. Integrity makes love work.

Gods love is perfect because of His perfect integrity.

The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are

just;

A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteousand upright is He. (Deu_32:4)

The solidarity of Gods attributes is behind everything

He Thinks or does. Therefore, none of His attributes can


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be separated from or act independently of His total

essence His love can never be detached from His

righteousness and justice. He cannot compromise His

righteousness and justice in order to deal with imperfecthumanity strictly out of love. Gods integrity guards His

love in all that He does toward man.

THE LOVE OF GOD IS AT THE CENTER of one of

Satans greatest distortions in the angelic conflict. The

devil, as the ruler of this world, is dedicated to

perverting and twisting Gods love in the minds of man.(Jdg_16:14-21; Pro_7:18-23; Pro_14:20; Jer_5:31;

Mat_6:5; Mat_6:24; Luk_11:42)What do you

constantly hear? Dont go to war with the enemies of

freedom; dont execute the criminal who commits a

capital crime. After all, people say, What would Jesus

do? Love them! Quoting Scripture almost exactly they

say, Isnt God love? But quoting Scripture and

understanding the Truth of Divine love are two entirely

different things. The widely distorted concept of Divine

love, as understood by many, is not only contrary to

Scripture, but is responsible for much of the apostate

thinking within Christianity.

So what about this thing called love? If Satan isdetermined to

distort your thinking and deceive you, how then can you

come to

know the real love of God? What is the Truth about Gods


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love?

Without objective knowledge from the Bible, man

remains subjective in his thinking about God. Subjective

man equates Divine love with human love.He inevitablysays, We love, so God must love in the same way we

do. But, a description of human love does not heighten

your perception of Divine love. The Bible, the infallible

Word of God, is your only textbook, your single source of

cognition about God and His love.

For the time will come when they will not endureSound Doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled,

they will accumulate for themselves teachers in

accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their

ears from the Truth, and will turn aside to myths.

(2Ti_4:3-4)

God created man in His Own Image. (Gen_1:27)Unfortunately, man is returning the favor.Too many

people, including even seminary professors and pastors,

reduce theology to the humanization of God. Rather than

using the infallible Word of God as their textbook, they

redefine God from their own frames of reference. They

create a god with whom they can feel close and with

whom they can relate. This is a tragic reversal from aTheological to a humanistic perspective.

Dissatisfied with conventional images of an

authoritarian or paternalistic God, people are embracing

quirky, individualistic conceptions of God to suit their


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own Spiritual needs... Even many traditionalists

increasingly envision a God who is far more formless,

accessible, and above all 'down here'... Religious leaders

say perhaps the most direct cause is the anti-authoritarian,individualistic strain that has gradually worked its way

into the mainstream Divinity school curriculum. The

seminaries that train clergy are now dominated by baby

boomers who came of age in the 60s and are less wedded

to traditional orthodoxies. These gentler, almost mystical

forms of Theology have found a receptive audience in

todays affluent society... They are compiling a Spiritual

life from a variety of religious influences along with a

dash of yoga, psychotherapy, or whatever moves them.

Long on emotionalism and short on knowledge of

Divine Thinking, people are confused about Salvation,

about the Spiritual life, about God and His love. They

superimpose human affections and emotions on God,

reducing His love to sentimental nonsense. They try to

manipulate His love by weeping and wailing and

promising to do better. They try to buy Gods love with

money or bribe Him with good behavior. They hope that

in the name of love, God will somehow ignore sin and

evil and disregard His perfect standard of absoluterighteousness and His justice.

For man to restrict God by ascribing to Him human

characteristics and behavior that He does not possess is

blasphemous! This is humanizing God. When man


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humanizes God, in effect there is no God! God's Thoughts

and His love are infinitely superior to human descriptions,

human thinking and love. (Deu_7:9; Isa_55:8-9)

The believer in Jesus Christ must abolish allhumanistic, subjective, and emotional notions of Gods

Virtue love. God does not have human old sin nature

emotion.His Virtue love is never vacillating, inconsistent,

or temperamental. His love is not dependent on attraction,

rapport, or deeds as is human old sin nature love. His love

cannot be bribed, purchased, or influenced by any

category of human merit, works, or worthiness. How then

do you comprehend Divine love in unsentimental,

objective terms? You ONLY can comprehend it by means

of the Spiritual Thinking of the Word of God, revealed

through the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit!

CATEGORIES OF DIVINE LOVE

Gods Love for Himself

To begin comprehending Divine love you must first

understand Gods love for Himself. God loves His own

perfect essence He loves Who and What He IS. In His

infinite knowledge, He knows Himself to be beyond

comparison, worthy of admiration to an infinite degree.For this reason, He loves Himself to an infinite degree.

This is not arrogance because God is completely

deserving of all respect. This self-love is a reflection of

the absolute self-confidence, self-possession, and self-


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assurance that are eternally His.

Each member of the Godhead loves Who and What He

IS.Not only does Each love Himself, but all three

members of the Godhead possess the perfect Virtue andperfect capacity to love and be loved by the other

members of the Trinity. There never was a time that God

the Father did not love God the Son and God the Holy

Spirit; or that God the Son did not love God the Father

and God the Holy Spirit; or that God the Holy Spirit did

not love God the Father and God the Son. (Joh_17:24)

Divine love for the other members within the Godhead

has always existed. Their integrity, Their compatibility,

and capacity to love each other has never been less than

total. They enjoy the most magnificent, eternal

relationship and nothing can or will ever change that

relationship. Not even when God the Father had to judge

and forsake the humanity of Christ as He bore the sins ofthe world in His body, (Mar_15:34; 1Pe_2:24) did He

ever cease to love His Son.

Gods love for Himself and for the other members of

the Trinity does not compromise His essence in any way.

Why? The objects of His love are coequal, coeternal, and

possess perfect righteousness. God always loves His Own

perfect righteousness. All three possess the same perfectrighteousness that is loved by the other members of the

Trinity. However, God cannot love sinful mankind in the

same way He loves Himself and the other members of the

Trinity. Since His love is inseparably united with His


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integrity, His righteousness would be compromised if He

directed His perfect love toward an imperfect, sinful

object.

Scripture makes it clear however, that God does lovesinful mankind. In order to understand how He can love

sinful man, you must categorize His love into Divine

personal and Divine impersonal love. Gods absolute

righteousness is the criterion for both categories.

Gods Love for Mankind. Personal and Impersonal

Gods infinite, eternal, immutable, benevolent

Personal love is directed only toward perfect

righteousness. Divine personal love is therefore

conditional; it emphasizes the absolute virtue of the

object. To be the recipient of Divine personal love, the

object must possess perfect righteousness. There never

was or will be a time when God does not personally loveperfect righteousness, anywhere it is found, including in

man.

Such was not the case in the perfection of the Garden

of Eden. Since God created Adam perfect, he was a fitting

object for Divine Personal love. As perfect humanity

Adam was not equal with God nor did he have God's

nature or righteousness, but neither did he violate Godsrighteousness and justice. No conflict existed between

God and the first human in the perfection of the Garden.

In Personal love God provided Adam and the woman with

face-to-face revelation of Himself, so they could orient to


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Him as the basis for their Thinking and living. From this

personal love God provided everything they needed,

blessing them body, soul, and spirit. However, there was

one reference to the righteousness and justice of God inthe Garden: the prohibition against eating from the tree of

the knowledge of good and evil.

In spite of the prohibition, Adam and the woman chose

to sin by eating the fruit of the tree, and everything

suddenly and dramatically changed. The Standard of

Gods perfect righteousness had been violated, and they

were instantly condemned by the justice of God. Adam

and the woman were now the possessors of a sin nature,

they were Spiritually dead and no longer capable of

having a Spiritual relationship with God. Consequently,

God turned from Divine Personal love in the Garden to

Divine Impersonal love toward Spiritually dead Adam

outside the Garden, and subsequently all mankind.The Reality of Divine Love

Adam was the representative or federal head of the

human race. As such, his decision to sin was a decision

for every member of the human race. (Rom_5:12) As

descendants of Adam we are all condemned at birth, not

because of our personal sins, but because of Adamsoriginal transgression. Adams sin nature becomes our sin

nature through genetic transmission, and Adams original

sin becomes our sin by imputation. As a result, we are all

born hopelessly lost, Spiritually dead, and, like Adam


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immediately after the Fall, we cannot be the objects of

Gods Personal love, nor can we have a Spiritual

relationship with Him. Yet God still desires a Personal-

love relationship and provides the means for Spirituallydead mankind to have that relationship.

Being Spiritually dead, utterly separated from God,

and with only relative righteousness at best, (Psa_39:5)

we have nothing to commend us to Him or make us

worthy of His love. We do not have the ability to attract

His love; neither do our good old sin nature deeds inspire

Him to love us. Without possessing His perfect

righteousness, there is nothing that we can do to impress

God, to gain His favor, or to meet His perfect Standards.

But, that does not mean that God does not love us. The

solution for fallen man is found in His Impersonal love,

which at the Fall became Gods point of contact with

Spiritually dead mankind.Unlike Gods Personal love, HisImpersonal love is

unconditional. Divine Impersonal love does not depend

on the merit of the object, but on the integrity of the

Subject.God loves us because of Who and What He IS,

not because of who and what we are. His Impersonal love

for Spiritually dead mankind is based on Gods Own

perfect essence and His love for Himself. The Impersonallove of God, then, is the most powerful love that has ever

existed.

GODS PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL LOVE


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The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated the prevailing

power of this love by His attitude throughout His trials

and crucifixion.That attitude manifested itself on the

cross when He said, Father, forgive them; for they do notknow what they are doing. (Luk_23:34) In spite of the

fact that He was nailed to the cross, He could still

demonstrate Impersonal love. Divine Impersonal love

takes precedence over the flaws and sins of the human

race.

Gods gracious gift of His Son is the greatest possible

demonstration of Gods Impersonal love for all mankind.

This love is mankinds only hope for a family relationship

with God.

For God so loved the world, [With Impersonal love]

that He gave His Only begotten [Monogenes, uniquely

born] Son, that whoever believes in Him should not

perish, but have eternal life. (Joh_3:16)

The betrayal of Christ was the fulfillment of the original

promise given to Adam in the Garden after he fell. The

seed of the woman, the Savior, the Messiah, would be

bruised on (And or with) the heel. (Psa_41:9; Joh_13:18)

And I will put enmityBetween you [Satan] and the woman, And between your

seed and her Seed; He [Christ] shall bruise you [Satan] on

the head,


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And you [Satan] shall bruise him [Christ] on [And or

with] the heel. (Gen_3:15) cf. (Gal_3:16)

He would be born of a woman, would die, and wouldbreak the power of sin and Spiritual death with His own

substitutionary Spiritual death and judgment. On the cross

the justice of God the Father imputed all the sins of

human history to the humanity of Christ and JUDGED

HIM! (Isa_53:10-12) That judgment was the penalty for

sin; which was rightfully ours. By taking upon Himself

the penalty for all our sins, He satisfied once and for allthe righteousness and justice of God. He removed the

barrier between the absolute righteousness of God and the

relative righteousness of man.

Because Jesus Christ voluntarily became sin on our

behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in

Him, the justice of God is free to credit His

righteousness to you at the moment of Salvation withoutany compromise of His essence. (2Co_5:21)As a believer

in Jesus Christ, you are now justified, acceptable to

God, because you possess His righteousness. (Rom_3:21-

22; Rom_4:1-10; Rom_4:20-25; Gal_2:16) Your relative

human righteousness is no longer an issue. Justification

guarantees your eternal relationship with God. Godpersonally loves His Own righteousness, which He

credited to you. By this act of His justice, you become the

object of Gods unfailing Personal love. You now have a

personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.


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THE EXPRESSION OF THE UNFAILING LOVE OF

GOD GRACE

Grace is the magnificent expression of Gods unfailinglove His policy of unmerited favor bestowed on fallen,

sinful humanity. Grace is freely given by God and

undeserved by the recipient. Mankind can do nothing to

earn or be worthy of grace. Grace is all that God is free to

do for mankind based on the saving work of Jesus Christ

on the cross.

Antecedent Grace

Since Gods unfailing Virtue love is eternal, grace as

the expression of that love existed in eternity past. I call

this antecedent grace. This grace preceded all human

life, all function of human volition, and all the works of

mankind. Since antecedent grace existed prior to mans

creation, mans existence cannot influence grace,antecedent grace is grace that comes first. It precedes all

human decision and endeavor. Grace always means that it

is God who takes the initiative and implies the priority of

Gods action on behalf of needy sinners. That is the whole

point of grace: it does not start with us, it starts with God;

it is not earned or merited by us, it is freely and lovinglygiven to us who have no resources or deservings of our

own... God took action, moreover, when we were

helpless, (Rom_5:6)without any ability to help ourselves

or to make any contribution toward our Salvation. The


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sinners state is one of Spiritual death, that is to say, of

total inability, and his only hope is the miracle of new

birth from above. (Joh_3:3) That is why the apostle

reminds the Ephesian believers that Salvation came tothem when they were dead in sins, from which there

follows only one conclusion, namely, that it is by grace

that they were saved. Both now and for all eternity the

Christian will be indebted to the immeasurable riches of

Gods grace displayed in His kindness toward us in Christ

Jesus... But for the antecedent, or priority, of Divine

grace, all would be lost.

This Divine Concept of antecedent grace is to include

not only grace that preexisted man and his Salvation, but

also post Salvation and eschatological grace, (The grace

of the eternal state) the entire scope of Gods infinite

grace.

Antecedent grace is, therefore, the expression of Godslove from eternity past that offers a relationship to

mankind in time and eternity, apart from human merit,

human works, or any other human resources. Antecedent

grace emphasizes that from eternity past the unfailing

love of God designed the Divine solutions for every

situation man will ever face in this life without

exception! Unfailing love and antecedent grace, as part ofthe Divine decree, are the beginnings of the plan of God

for man.

THE DIVINE BEGINNING FOR TIME


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From antecedent grace comes the Divine beginning for

time. The grace of God provides for mankind from birth

through death. This temporal grace includes: common,

(God the Holy Spirit making the Gospel understandablefor the Spiritually dead unbeliever) efficacious, (God the

Holy Spirit making the unbelievers faith effective for

Salvation) logistical, (God provisions for the believer to

reach Spiritual maturity) and dying grace. (The Spiritual

believers' transfer from time to eternity)

And my God shall supply all your needs according to[On the basis of] His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

(Php_4:19)

Common grace is the convicting or convincing

ministry of God the Holy Spirit, to the world regarding

sin, righteousness, and judgment; (Joh_16:8-11) that is,

the pre-Salvation clarification of the Gospel. In Hisministry of common grace, God the Holy Spirit acts as the

missing human spirit so that Spiritual information is

comprehensible to the unbeliever. (1Co_2:13-14)

When the unbeliever responds to the Gospel with

nonmeritorious faith alone in Christ alone, the Holy

Spirit, through His ministry of efficacious grace,

acknowledges that faith and makes it effective forSalvation (Eph_2:8) The function of mans positive

volition alone could never result in eternal life without the

gracious work of God the Holy Spirit providing the power

to produce the intended result of Salvation.


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Logistical grace is Gods complete provision for the

believers every physical and Spiritual need. Whether

carnal or Spiritual, every believer is qualified to receive

logistical grace support and blessing because of Godsimputed righteousness. (Psa_37:25; Php_4:19) Logistical

grace keeps believers alive; (Psa_68:19-20) supplies basic

life support such as air, food, shelter, clothing,

transportation; (Mat_6:25) protects us in the devils

world; (Psa_4:8; Heb_1:14) and provides equal

opportunity and privilege to rebound, learn the Word ofTruth, and grow Spiritually. (Mat_4:4) Wherever the

believer goes and whatever he does, he will always be

supported by the matchless grace and Personal love of

God.

Do not be anxious then, saying, What shall we eat?

or What shall we drink? or With what shall we clotheourselves? For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek;

for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these

things. (Mat_6:31-32)

Dying grace is the special provision of the love of God

in which the mature believer experiences great blessing

and happiness in dying, even though he may be enduring

tremendous pain and suffering. (Php_1:21) His dying

moments are Gods final opportunity to vindicate the

Divine Thinking in his soul.


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Precious in the sight of the LORDIs the death of

His godly ones. (Psa_116:15)

THE DIVINE BEGINNING FOR ETERNITYFrom antecedent grace also comes the Divine

beginning for eternity. This initiative for eternity includes

the provision of your resurrection and residence in

heaven. Once you depart from this life, Gods

eschatological grace is expressed in several ways.

Whether you die as a winner or loser in the Spiritual life

there is identical victory residing in heaven face to face

with the Lord, (2Co_5:8)in a place of no more sorrow, no

more tears, no more pain, no more death, the first things

have passed away. (Rev_21:4)

Not all believers will receive the same awards and

distribution of escrow blessings in eternity. There is no

equality of rewards in heaven. Escrow blessings will bedistributed based on the construction of the Spiritual life

in time and its accompanying production. (1Co_3:10-15)

If the believer fails to execute the Spiritual life, his

escrow blessings will remain on deposit forever as a

memorial to lost opportunity. Yet the love and grace of

God have provided every believer an equal opportunity in

time to receive full distribution of his escrow blessings ineternity as well as the means through which to execute the

Spiritual life.

Antecedent grace in eternity past, then, is the

expression of Gods unfailing love in providing the


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redemption solution foreveryperson who will ever live,

temporal solutions for the problem every believer will

ever face in this life, and eternal rewards beyond anything

imaginable. These grace initiatives are the manifestationsof Gods personal love from eternity past for every

believer. God also determined in eternity past to

demonstrate His Impersonal love for the unbeliever at

birth, at the cross, at God-consciousness, and at the Last

Judgment.

GODS UNFAILING IMPERSONAL LOVE FOR ALL

MANKIND MANS OPPORTUNITY

GOD CAN NEVER COMPROMISE His Own perfect

essence. The justice of God stands guard over the essence

of God. When Gods absolute righteousness was violated

at the Fall, the justice of God had to condemn sinful man

so that His essence would not be compromised. Justicecondemned all mankind but Impersonal love offers the

redemption solution.

God's Impersonal love is demonstrated to every

unbeliever throughout his life. In fact, the Impersonal love

of God never fails the unbeliever. God offers throughout

the life of every human being a personal relationshipthrough His Impersonal love as expressed by His policy

of grace. Because of Gods unfailing Impersonal love,

everyone has an opportunity for that personal relationship

with God though faith alone in Christ alone.


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The focus of this chapter is how Gods unfailing

Impersonal love is demonstrated toward mankind. This

study will detail the five critical points when God

coordinates His impersonal love with His Divineattributes of omniscience, righteousness, and justice, to

provide every aspect of the redemption solution for

mankinds sin problem.

Gods first point of contact demonstrates His unfailing

Impersonal love that took place in eternity past when He

decreed the plan of Salvation for Spiritually dead

mankind. He makes contact a second time at birth when

soul life is imputed to biological life, thereby creating

human life. When the baby emerges from the womb and

takes that first breath, Gods Impersonal love has made

contact. Gods third point of contact was at the cross

where He judged every sin in human history, past,

present, and future, and provided the redemption solution.His fourth contact with the unbeliever occurs when

positive volition is expressed at the moment of God-

consciousness, which impels God to provide a

presentation of the Gospel. The objective of these points

of contact is regeneration through faith alone in Christ

alone. These points demonstrate Gods unfailing

Impersonal love that is in constant contact with theunbeliever throughout his lifetime, and leave him without

excuse for rejecting the Gospel and or God's Word.

(Rom_1:20) When a person dies in unbelief, his name is

blotted out of the book of life, and the final point of


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contact will be at the Last Judgment. (Psa_69:28;

Rev_20:15) These five points of contact embody the

absolute fairness that is the justice of God and

demonstrate His impersonal love.

GODS FIRST POINT OF CONTACT: IN ETERNITY

PAST

When God created the universe in eternity past, He

created a vast angelic host. (Col_1:16) In His omniscience

He knew the destiny of these super-beings even before He

created them. Since nothing is hidden from the

omniscience of God, there never was a time when He did

not know all about these creatures. He perfectly

understood what was to unfold for them.

The angels were created perfect, without sin, and were

totally acceptable to Gods absolute righteousness. He

created them rational beings and gave them free will. Themost exalted of all these angels, the anointed cherub,

Lucifer, the star of the morning, was appointed by God

to guard His throne. (Isa_14:12; Eze_28:14) But Lucifer

became arrogant, rebelled against God, and persuaded

one-third of all the angels to join his revolution.

(Rev_12:4) This revolt inaugurated the prehistoric angelicconflict. With earth as the central battlefield, a state of

war existed.

The words ascribed to Lucifer after his fall devil

and Satan meaning adversary or accuser are not


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names, but titles. (Job_1:6-12; Job_2:1-5; Zec_3:1-2;

Rev_12:10) These titles infer that God held a trial for the

revolutionaries. God was the prosecutor and judge; Satan

acted as his own defense attorney. The righteousness ofGod considered all the evidence and pronounced a guilty

verdict. Gods perfect justice sentenced Satan and all the

fallen angels to spend eternity in the lake of fire.

(Mat_25:41; Rev_20:10) But why has this judgment not

yet been executed? (Job_1:7) Since Satan and his angels

have been sentenced, but have not yet been cast into the

lake of fire, a conclusion can be drawn. Satan objected to

Gods sentence as unfair: How can a loving God cast His

creatures into the lake of fire? And if we have freewill

why must we think with God's Thoughts. Satan

impugned the Virtue love of God.

Yet, even before the events unfolded, Gods antecedent

grace had formulated the solution to this angelic conflict.He had devised a plan to resolve Satans appeal, revealing

His perfect love to the angelic hosts, both fallen and elect.

The revelation and demonstration of His eternal,

immutable, unfailing love is found in His Divine decree.

To put this demonstration of His love into motion, God

brought a new type of creature on the scene. Created

lower than the angels (Psa_8:3-5; cf. Heb_2:7) but stillrational and endowed with free will, mankind would be a

witness for the prosecution against Satans appeal.

(Job_1:6-8; Job_2:1-3; 1Co_4:9) The same circumstances

and options that belonged to prehistoric angelic history


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would exist in human history. Like angels, mankind

would possess freedom to choose for or against God and

His Standards. The resolution of the angelic conflict lay in

mans exercise of volition for or against the plan ofSalvation found in the decree of God.

The Divine Decree

Before mankind existed Gods omniscience knew

every fact about creation and every circumstance that

would take place in human history. He had complete

knowledge in eternity past of every person who would

ever live, including how each individual would exercise

his volition. God knew every event, every thought, and

every decision in the life of every person. He also knew

who would believe in Christ and who would reject Him.

(2Th_2:13) Everything in the life of every human being is

part of Gods decree in eternity past.The Divine decreeexpresses Gods eternal, infinite, unchangeable will

toward man and His complete authority over creation. The

decree is Gods antecedent-grace plan.

The sovereign decree of God guarantees the futurition

of all events, but does not directly cause those events.The

decree merely establishes what will be caused. The fact

that a thought or action on your part is in the decree doesnot mean that God caused that thought or action. The

cause is your free will.The decree acknowledges your

free decisions, then makes them certain to occur. God

does not interfere with your free will. In fact, God is the


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One who determined that you would have free will. God

has therefore decreed that both His sovereignty and the

free will of man will coexist in human history. (Joh_7:17;

Php_2:13; 2Pe_3:9)Therefore, when God factored in all the thoughts,

decisions, and actions of every human being who would

ever live, He was fully aware that man would choose the

route of Satan. Man would choose to revolt against God

just as Satan had revolted. Man would sin by choosing to

disobey God.

Although God despises the very notion of sin, He still

enters all of mans sins into the decree because His

omniscience knew that given free will, man would

commit them. Thus, the decree does render sinful acts as

certain sins will occur not because they have been

decreed, but because man chose to commit them. The

very fact that sin and evil, (Satan's thinking) are certifiedin the decree is proof that mans volition is truly free. God

decreed that all of mans decisions, even those that are

contrary to His will, would certainly take place so that the

course of history is just as man thinks it, wills it, and does

it.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. Youknow when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand

my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my

lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my


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ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold,

O LORD, You know it all. (Psa_139:1-4)

Even though in His omniscience God knew every sinand act of wrongdoing we would ever commit and every

failure and flaw we would ever have, (Pro_15:3;

Heb_4:13) Gods love for us never diminished, never

wavered, never changed. Instead, from His Impersonal

love and antecedent grace He decreed that each of us

would have an opportunity to be reconciled to Him by

being born into His family through His grace, (Eph_2:8-9) and have a Personal-love relationship with Him

through the Lord Jesus Christ.

In summary, Gods first point of contact with us was in

eternity past when, from the source of His absolute

knowledge of mankind, He sovereignly decreed to deal

with us on the basis of Impersonal love. Once He

commits Himself to us in love, it never changes, and Hehas committed to love us in the Divine decrees.

GODS SECOND POINT OF CONTACT: AT BIRTH

The second point of contact occurs at the birth of each

human being. At that moment, a demonstration of Divine

Impersonal love and antecedent grace is accomplishedthrough two imputations. First, God creates soul life and

His justice imputes it to the biological life of the fetus

when it emerges from the womb. Through this imputation

God creates human life in the newborn. The simultaneous


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creation of soul life by God and its imputation to

biological life is the cause of mans being born physically

alive.

The second imputation the imputation of Adams

original sin to the genetically formed sin nature in the

body of the infant occurs jointly with the first. This

results in Spiritual death, which makes every person

totally unacceptable to God and utterly separated from

Him. Because of Gods perfect righteousness, and Adams

choice to disobey, Gods justice must condemn all ofAdams progeny. Consequently, all are born physically

alive, but Spiritually dead a hopeless situation for man.

At first the imputation of Adams sin to every person at

birth may seem unfair. In fact, this imputation represents

the genius of Gods grace plan, condemnation must

precede Salvation. Being born Spiritually dead makes

every person a candidate for Gods saving grace.

(Rom_6:23; 1Co_15:21-22) While Gods righteousness

and justice must condemn everyone at birth, His

Impersonal love provides the means to become born again

Spiritually alive. At the right time in human history,

the judgment of sin demanded by Gods righteousnesswas executed by His justice at the cross. (Rom_5:6;

2Co_6:2; Gal_4:4-5) Gods grace and Impersonal love

provide equal opportunity for every condemned person in

all of history to be saved from his hopelessly lost


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condition. Therefore, the second point of contact, the two

imputations at birth, gives each person the potential of

Salvation from Spiritual death.

GODS THIRD POINT OF CONTACT: AT THE CROSS

The Cross is the greatest demonstration of Gods love

and grace in all of history.On the Cross God the Father

imputed all the sins of all mankind to His beloved Son,

Jesus Christ, and judged Him. This imputation and

judgment by God is the third point of contact of His

justice and Impersonal love with Spiritually dead

mankind and is the basis of our so-great Salvation. Justice

must always condemn sin; grace as the expression of

Impersonal love offers the Cross. To those who accept

this redemption solution, justice imputes Gods perfect

righteousness.

Christ is Gods grace gift to mankind. God the Fatherloved the world so much, (And in this manner) that He

sent His Son to take upon Himself the penalty of sin that

rightfully belonged to all men. (Joh_3:16) Because of

God the Fathers Impersonal love for all mankind, He

made the Lord Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be sin for

us. (2Co_5:21)Jesus Christ became our substitute.

But God demonstrates His own [Impersonal] love toward

us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[Huper, as a substitute for, plus the genitive plural of,

ego, us] (Rom_5:8)


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In order to be the Savior, the undiminished Deity of

God the Son took on true humanity. (Php_2:6-8;

Heb_10:5) Christ did not have a sin nature nor did He

receive the imputation of Adams original sin because ofthe virgin pregnancy. Consequently, Jesus Christ was born

acceptable to the righteousness of God. During His thirty-

three years on the earth, Jesus Christ was tempted in all

things, even directly by Satan himself, yet He remained

impeccable, without personal sin. (Mat_4:1-11;

Heb_4:15) He alone perfectly fulfilled every demand of

the Mosaic Law. He was the only possible sacrifice for sin

the [Sacrificial] Lamb of God who takes away the sin

of the world! (Joh_1:29)

Jesus Christ endured the cross, despising the shame.

[Disregarding Thinking very little of the same

involved] (Heb_12:2) He had been insulted, abused, and

virtually skinned alive. His back was a mass of lacerationsand exposed nerve endings. His face was barely

recognizable. (Isa_52:14) His great physical strength was

so debilitated that while carrying the cross to Golgotha,

He staggered on the road. When nailed to the cross, He

had to force His feet and wrists against the spikes to

relieve the weight on His lungs, so that He could breathe.From the time of His arrest through the long hours of

mental abuse and physical torture, never once did He cry

out from the pain. (Isa_53:7; Act_8:32-35) Yet, when the

Lord Jesus Christ came into contact with every sin


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committed by the human race and was separated from

God the Father, He screamed out again and again,

ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI? which istranslated, MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU

FORSAKEN ME?

(Mar_15:34)

Jesus Christ knew exactly why He was forsaken! Since

the righteousness of God the Father could have nothing to

do with sin, He had to separate Himself from the

humanity of Christ while those sins were imputed and

judged on the cross. Jesus Christs separation from God

the Father His Spiritual death and judgment, is the

most excruciating pain that will ever occur in all of

human history this was the judgment for sin, the cost

of atonement.

Our Lords question on the cross, Why have Youforsaken Me? was uttered entirely for our benefit He

understood the answer; we did not. This question was a

dramatic statement that communicated His sacrificial

suffering and judgment for our sins. The words of the

scream were deliberate in order to fulfill the prophecy of,

(Psa_22:1-31) that henceforth all might know that on the

cross, Jesus Christ provided eternal Salvation bybecoming an efficacious sacrifice for our sin.

While Jesus Christ hung on the cross, the Fathers and

the Spirits Personal love for the Son never dimmed,

never flickered, never went out; Their love for the Son


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remained infinitely bright. How could this be when the

Father turned His back on His Son? The humanity of

Christ remained perfect while being judged for our sins.

The cross is the only time in history when Spiritual deathoccurred and perfection continued. His impeccability was

perpetuated during those three hours while He was being

judged for sin.

For once and for all Christ died for sins, the

Righteous One as a substitute for the unrighteous ones, in

order that He might bring us to God, having been put todeath in the flesh [Substitutionary Spiritual death] but

made alive in the spirit. (1Pe_3:18; corrected

translation)

For this reason, the impeccable humanity of the Lord

Jesus Christ was totally acceptable to Divine

righteousness and remained the object of Gods Personallove. God the Father continued to love the Son, even as

He imputed the sins of the entire human race to Him. He

covered Golgotha in a blanket of supernatural darkness so

that neither man nor angel could observe the Lords

ordeal. (Luk_23:44)

Yet in demonstrating His love for us, in providing our

so-great Salvation, the Fathers righteousness demandedthat His justice pour out upon Jesus Christ all the sins of

the human race and judge Him in our place. Divine love is

never stripped of righteousness and justice when God


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deals with sin, but neither are righteousness and justice

stripped of Divine love.

In humbling Himself by becoming obedient to thepoint of death, even death on a cross, (Php_2:8) Jesus

Christ demonstrated His own Personal love for God the

Father. Despite the pain of His sacrifice, His Personal

love never wavered toward the Father. The Lord remained

faithful to the Fathers plan of redemption, reconciliation,

propitiation, and unlimited atonement. (Luk_22:42) In

accepting the imputation of all sins and the substitutionaryjudgment for them, Jesus Christ demonstrated the infinite

scope of His Impersonal love for all mankind.

How much more will the blood of Christ,

[Substitutionary Spiritual death] who through the eternal

Spirit [Filling of God the Holy Spirit offered Himself

without blemish [Impeccable] to God, cleanse yourconscience from dead works (Ritual without Reality) to

serve the living God? (Heb_9:14)

God the Holy Spirit took part in that love by sustaining

the humanity of Christ during the Incarnation and in those

terrible, final hours when He was being judged for the

sins of the entire world. The Lord accomplished the entirework of Salvation in the power of the filling of God the

Holy Spirit.

The substitutionary Spiritual death of Christ redeemed


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all humanity from the slave market of sin. (Eph_1:7;

1Pe_1:18-19)

Who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimonygiven at the proper time. (1Ti_2:6)

Christs substitutionary death reconciled the enmity

between sinful man and God. (Rom_5:11-15;Eph_2:15-

16)

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us

to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry ofreconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling

the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against

them, and He has committed to us the word of

reconciliation. (2Co_5:18-19)

The righteousness and justice of God were propitiated by

Christs work on the cross. (Rom_3:25-26)

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and

not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

(1Jn_2:2)

This is the Doctrine of unlimited atonement Christ

died as a substit ute for all mankind. (Joh_3:17; Tit_2:11)

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded

this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died

for all, that they who live should no longer live for


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themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their

behalf. (2Co_5:14-15)

When Jesus Christ spoke the word, tetelestai on thecross, He had accomplished the work of Salvation.

(Joh_19:30) In the intensive perfect tense, tetelestai

means finished now with results that go on forever. The

work of propitiation, redemption, reconciliation, and

unlimited atonement has eternal results. The finished

work of Christ on the cross makes Salvation available to

all, but it does not assure the Salvation of anyone.

But the free gift [The substitutionary work of Christ on

the cross] is not like the transgression. [Adams original

sin] For if by the transgression of the one [Adam] the

many, [The human race] died [Spiritual death] much

more did the grace of God and the gift [Of Salvation] by

the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to themany. (Rom_5:15)

No one can do anything to earn or deserve this grace

and Impersonal love from God. No one can be saved by

his own works, such as making Christ Lord, inviting

Christ into his heart, walking an aisle, weeping tears of

self-reproach at the altar, living a good or moral life,promising God to do better. No one can add anything to

the Salvation work of Christ on the cross. The Scripture is

explicit.


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For by grace you have been saved through faith; and

that [Salvation] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not

as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Eph_2:8-

9)

Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone!

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved...

(Act_16:31)

This is the gospel message, the good news. (Act_8:12)

God the Father offers eternal life through the person andwork of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the Truth, and

the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

(Joh_14:6)

And there is Salvation in no one else; for there is no

other name under heaven that has been given among

men, by which we must be saved. (Act_4:12)

Gods unfailing Impersonal love coordinates with His

integrity through His grace to give every member of the

human race an equal opportunity to believe in Christ. The

Cross is the greatest demonstration of Gods love for allmankind.

GODS FOURTH POINT OF CONTACT: AT GOD-

CONSCIOUSNESS


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At the moment a person reaches God-consciousness,

the justice and unfailing Impersonal love of God make

their fourth point of contact with Spiritually dead

mankind. At the point of God-consciousness, also termedthe age of accountability, an individual is capable of

recognizing the existence of a Supreme Being,

(Rom_1:19-20) and is able to understand the Gospel,

(1Co_15:3-4) and becomes responsible for his own

positive or negative volition toward God. Upon reaching

God-consciousness, man has a choice: Does he desire

further knowledge of God or not? He is responsible for

his own decision. If his volition is negative toward

knowing God, then God is not obliged to provide gospel

information. If he has positive volition, then this response

calls for action from God the Holy Spirit to reveal the

Gospel, and the means by which he can be saved. Every

human being has equal privilege and equal opportunity toreap the results of Impersonal love. Each individual is

responsible for his own decision; no one has an excuse.

For since the creation of the world His invisible

attributes, His eternal power and Divine nature, have

been clearly seen, being understood through what has

been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom_1:20)What about those who have never had a chance to hear

the Gospel? What about those who live in a remote

geographical area or speak an obscure language? If they

have never heard of Jesus Christ or the cross, how does


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Gods justice and Impersonal love apply to them?

No geographical isolation, linguistic barrier, or any

other factor prevents the love and grace of God from

providing the Gospel to anyone with positive volition.When God the Father provided Salvation through the

sacrifice of Christ on the cross, He declared that no

person will be denied the opportunity to possess eternal

life. (Psa_19:1-6) cf. (Rom_10:8; Rom_10:18)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing

Salvation to all men. (Tit_2:11)

What about children who die at a young age? What

about those who do not have the mental capability to

understand the Gospel? Holding them accountable for

their decisions, when they lack the mental faculties to

reach God-consciousness; this would be unfair; however,

God is absolute justice and is incapable of being unfair.Since every member of the human race is condemned at

birth and Jesus Christ died as a substitute for the entire

human race, God is free to secure in heaven the eternal

future of those who never reach God- consciousness.

(2Sa_12:15; 2Sa_12:23) Any member of the human race,

then, who dies before reaching accountability is

automatically saved and his name remains in the Book ofLife upon his death.

The unfailing, Impersonal love and justice of God stay

in contact with the unbeliever to his dying breath. If he

chooses to reject the love of God, that is his own decision.


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God has no desire to cast His creatures into the Lake of

Fire.

Who desires all men to be saved and to come to theknowledge of the Truth. (1Ti_2:4)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but for

obtaining Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1Th_5:9)

Nonetheless, He decreed to leave in just condemnation

anyone who rejects Jesus Christ as Savior. (Joh_3:18)Upon his death, the unbeliever will enter Hades to await

resurrection to judgment.

GODS FINAL POINT OF CONTACT:

AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

All unbelievers, the great and the small, from themighty to the lowly, will be resurrected at the end of the

Millennium to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, the

Judge at the Great White Throne. The Great White Throne

Judgment is justice and Divine Impersonal loves fifth and

final point of contact with unbelieving mankind. The

unbeliever finds himself being judged because he has not

believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.(Joh_3:18)At this judgment the eyes of the unbeliever

will be opened to what Christ accomplished for him on

the cross, and the love he rejected by choosing not to

accept the work of Salvation on his behalf.The


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unbelievers punishment is separation from God for all

eternity in the Lake of Fire.

And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat uponit, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and

no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the

great and the small, standing before the throne, and books

were opened; and another book was opened, which is the

book of life; and the dead [Unbelievers] were judged

from the things which were written in the books,

according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the deadwhich were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead

which were in them; and they were judged, every one of

them according to their deeds. [Erga, human old sin

nature works] (Rev_20:11-13)

Notice, the sins of the unbeliever are nevermentioned

at the Great White Throne Judgment. All sins were judgedon the cross and once judged, they can never be judged

again. Double jeopardy is a violation of the justice of

God.

Instead, two sets of books are opened. In the first, the

Book of Life, the name of the unbeliever has been blotted

out. The second set, the Book of Works, contains the

record of all the good works of the dead. It is fromthese books that the unbeliever is judged.

In Gods final courtroom the unbeliever says, in effect,

that he prefers to stand on his own good works rather than


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on the work of Christ for his Salvation. But what does

God think of mans good works?

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment...

(Isa_64:6)

Nothing man can do through his own efforts, works,

energy, or morality will gain the approbation or favor of

God. What matters is Gods grace the expression of

His unfailing Impersonal love.

When God examines the books and measures the

unbelievers deeds against the perfect standard of Divine

righteousness, He can only reject them. All the good

deeds of the unbeliever, whatever the number, add up to

unrighteousness and unrighteousness cannot have a

relationship with the righteousness of God. What His

righteousness condemns, His justice must judge.

And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyones

name was not found written in the book of life, he was

thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev_20:14-15)

The first death is the physical death of the unbeliever,the second death is the Lake of Fire. The resurrected

unbeliever is cast into the Lake of Fire where he will

reside forever.


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Then He will also say to those on His left, Depart

from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has

been prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mat_25:41)

God still has Impersonal love for those He sentences to

the lake of fire, but Gods righteousness and justice

cannot disregard the unbelievers rejection of His gracious

provision of Salvation. Gods plan of grace is directed

toward the entire human race. Even if a person does not

believe in Jesus Christ, it does not change the Impersonal

love of God for that person.

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does

not believe has been judged already, because he has not

believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

(Joh_3:18)

In the final analysis, the love of God does not fail the

unbeliever; the unbeliever fails to accept the Impersonallove and grace of God by rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior.

As Satans appeal unfolds in human history, the

unfailing love of God and the perfect justice of His

verdict is proven again and again. (Eph_3:10-11) Satan

loses his appeal trial when One Person submits to God the

Father to the point of death! This is what God the SonDID in a human body! (Php_2:8)

The passage of human history demonstrates that no

person or angel goes to the lake of fire except by his own

negative volition. (Joh_3:18; Joh_3:36; Rev_14:6-12)


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God's decision to sentence Satan and all the fallen angels

to the lake of fire is demonstrated to be perfectly just and

right, consistent with all of His attributes even His

love.

GODS UNFAILING PERSONAL

LOVE FOR THE BELIEVER

WHEN YOU BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,

God establishes a permanent relationship that can never

be changed. (By God but can be changed by us;

Jer_17:13; Psa_73:27; Heb_2:1-3; Heb_10:25-31) cf.

(Nah_1:2) You become the beneficiary of Gods Personal

love, a member of Gods royal family forever, and receive

equal benefits from the grace of God. As a member of His

royal family, you acquire your very own portfolio of

invisible assets. This portfolio includes great blessings intime and in eternity: a unique Spiritual life with the

Divine assets necessary for growing in grace and

executing that Spiritual life, as well as Divine assets that

will carry you through dying and into eternity where your

escrow blessings await. This is a demonstration of Gods

unfailing, Personal love.

ETERNAL LIFE

At the moment of faith alone in Christ alone, God

imputes His very Own eternal life to you. (Joh_3:16;

Joh_3:36; Joh_6:47; Joh_20:31)


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And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal

life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has

the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not

have the life. (1Jn_5:11-12)

And I give eternal life to them, and they shall never

perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

(Joh_10:28)

The anthropomorphism in, (Joh_10:28) says that you

are in the grip of the Lords hand forever, and He never

lets go.

For those of you who have accepted Jesus Christ as

Savior, you are now the recipients of Gods unfailing

Personallove, because at the moment of your Salvation

God also imputed His very Own righteousness. Once He

has justified you, nothing can ever separate you from His

unfailing love!For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor

angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things

to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other

created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of

God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom_8:38-39)

Because you are justified by faith, you have peace,you are reconciled with God. You are certain therefore of

His Personal love, because you possess His righteousness.

You stand in His grace provision, not in your merit.


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Therefore having been justified by faith, we have

peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through

whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith

into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope[Confidence] of the glory of God. (Rom_5:1-2)

The imputed righteousness of God is also the target for

blessings received by the believer from God. What the

righteousness of God approves, the justice of God blesses,

through the love of God as expressed by the grace of God.

God always seeks the highest and best for the recipientsof His Personal love, It is impossible for anyone who has

imputed Divine righteousness to lack anything because

through His grace, God sends life support and blessing to

all believers.

And my God shall supply all your needs according to

His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Php_4:19) Gods Personal love, grace, and integrity have

provided everything needed to sustain you in this life,

from temporal support to Spiritual riches, so that you

might fulfill His will, purpose, and plan for your life!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

and to make you stand in the presence of His gloryblameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior,

through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,

dominion and authority, before all time and now and

forever. Amen. (Jud_1:24-25)


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(Jud_1:24) says that God has the ability to maintain the

relationship, which He started. You do not keep yourself

secure; God does that as a matter of grace and love.

(Psa_37:24)

The Unique Spiritual Life of the New Covenant Age

The unfailing, Personal love of God has given more

Spiritual assets to the New Covenant Church Age

believers than to believers in any other dispensation in

history past. In eternity past, His antecedent grace

provided infinite wealth in His decree, a wealth that is

permanent and eternal and cannot be destroyed. He

provided every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

advantages, privileges, and capacity for happiness

beyond your imagination. (Eph_1:3; cf. Eph_2:7) He

provided a unique Spiritual life, and the specific assets

necessary for its operation and fulfillment. He provided aprivate escrow account into which He deposited special

blessings for both time and eternity. His desire, His will

for your life, is to fulfill the conditions of the escrow by

executing the Spiritual life, and thereby receive the

escrow blessings through which you glorify Him.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom andknowledge of God! (Rom_11:33)

The depth of Gods wealth is in Spiritual knowledge, the

perception of the Word of Truth, and in Spiritual wisdom;

the application and or Thinking with Truth.


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I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,

so that you may know what is the hope of His calling,

what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the

saints. (Eph_1:18)

That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit

together in love, [Virtue love] and attaining to all the

wealth that comes from the full assurance of

[Spiritual]understanding, resulting in a true knowledge

[Spiritual Thinking] of Gods mystery, [God's advanced

Thinking for the mature believer]that is, Christ Himself.(Col_2:2)

Epignosis is metabolized Truth in the right lobe of the

soul. From the Greek words, (Epi)over, beyond, and,

(Nosis) knowledge, this over or beyond knowledge is

Bible Thinking that the Christian understands and

believes; Truth available in his soul for immediate,accurate application to life. (Eph_4:13; 2Pe_1:8-11)

Only the true or full Spiritual knowledge ofGod's

Thinkinghas value, and this ONLY can be applied as

Spiritual wisdom and Spiritual common sense, that can be

applied to the circumstances of our life. If we do not have

an epignosis, (Spiritual) understanding of Gods Word in

the mentality of your soul, in your stream ofconsciousness, we will never be able to use the infinite,

eternal wealth that God has provided for us in this life.

Though this wealth cannot in any way be destroyed, it is

unavailable to us if we are ignorant of this wonderful gift


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from Gods antecedent grace. Our ONLY means to exploit

this infinite wealth is through the perception and

application of Truth.

That He would grant you, according to the riches of

His glory, [Divine assets and resources from His love] to

be strengthened with power through His Spirit [The

filling of God the Holy Spirit] in the inner man; [The new

Divine nature] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts

[Right lobe] through faith;[Truth metabolized through

Operation Z] and that you, being rooted and grounded inlove, [Virtue love] may be able to comprehend with all the

saints what is the breadth and length and height and

depth, [The completed Mind of Christ] and to know the

love of Christ which surpasses [Human] knowledge, that

you may be filled up to all the fullness [Pleroma

Spiritual maturity] of God. (Eph_3:16-19)

You are strengthened with power by means of the

filling of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit

empowers and teaches us as our mentor, so that you may

advance to Spiritual maturity and capitalize on the infinite

wealth of Gods grace. The result of your advance is that

Christ dwells, or is at home, in your hearts. (Eph_3:17)

To have Christ at home in your heart means the Thinkingof Christ is circulating in the stream of consciousness of

the right lobe of your soul.The Thinking of Christ is the

Bible Truth by which you come to know Him and His

plan for you. With that flow of Truth through your stream


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of consciousness, you are firmly rooted and grounded in

[His] lovethe result is you respond with Personal love

for God and are Occupied with Christ.

To love someone Personally, you have to know theirThinking. Likewise, you will never love God until you

know His Thinking. You must possess the Mind of

Christ! (1Co_2:16) How do you know you have the

Thoughts of God? When Divine Viewpoint influences

your Thoughts and actions through perceiving,

metabolizing, and Thinking with Truth.The more you

grow Spiritually, the more you Think with the Mind of

Christ. His Thinking, the basis for living the Spiritual life,

is the greatest asset you can possess!

To describe the scope of the Spiritual life, the Apostle

Paul draws on architectural and engineering terms. During

his missionary journeys, Paul had the opportunity to see

numerous Greek architectural and engineeringaccomplishments. Undoubtedly when Paul visited Athens,

he viewed the most readily identifiable edifice in all of the

Greek world, (Act_17:16; Act_17:19) the Parthenon, the

chief temple of Athena on the Acropolis. (Constructed

between 447 432 B.C.) Greek architects so

ingeniously conceived the dimensions of the building that

visual distortions were eliminated. Likewise, God in Hisgrace designed the dimensions of the Spiritual life so that

distortions in the soul are eliminated, and His flawless

plan can be seen in all its glory.

The four Spiritual dimensions of, (Eph_3:18) breadth


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and length and height and depth, represent the provisions

from Gods love that equip every believer with the means

to advance in His plan. The grammatical structure of the

verse helps us to better understand these dimensions ofthe Spiritual life. The noun breadth is preceded by the

article,(To)the, but the article is not repeated with

length, height, or depth. However, length, height,

and depth are all connected by the Greek conjunction,

(kai)and. This particular Greek construction requires

that all four dimensions be viewed as a unified whole;they all refer to the same subject, the limit

The_Unfailing_Love_of_God.rtf.

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