Is God Love? Does God Love his Enemies?

By Mark Farquharson

Is God Love?

God Is Love

1 John 4:8 He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love. {CLV}

1 John 4:16 And we know and believe the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who is remaining in love is remaining in God, and God is remaining in him. {CLV}

Or is he?

Does God love his enemies?

Did not Jesus Christ not tell us to love one another? Yes he did, and he meant fellow believers.

Did Jesus not tell us to Love our associate? Yes he did.

Did Jesus not tell us to Love our enemies? Yes he told us to Love our enemies.

Matthew 5:43 "You hear that it was declared, 'You shall be loving your associate' and you shall be hating your enemy.

44 Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you,

45 so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust. {CLV}

Surely a god who will annihilate his enemies or send them to a fiery hell does not love his enemies, surely he HATES them. Are we to love more than God? Does the lord require us to have greater love than God?, As the judge of the living and the dead, does the lord require us to have greater love than he does?

How can we have greater love than God? We can not have more love than God, this is impossible.

This is however what the majority of churches teach, an impossibility.

Luke 6:35 Moreover, be loving your enemies, and be doing good, and be lending, expecting nothing from them, and your wages will be vast in the heavens, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. {CLV}

The Most High, God, is kind to the ungrateful and wicked, he is not unkind, and he does not HATE them. Annihilating them or sending them to the inferno, Hell, is being unkind, is hating them, is torturing them.

Love comes from God, God is Love. God loves everybody, no matter what they have done. He loves all the brothers in Christ. God loves all his enemies, just as his son instructed us to do.

John 3:16 For thus God loves the world {CLV}

That means everybody, not just those who believe.

The lord told us to love One another, and our associates and our enemies.

Love, this is the Lord’s precept: that you be loving one another, according as I love you.

Passages:

John 13

34 "A new precept am I giving to you, that you be loving one another; according as I love you, that you also be loving one another.

35 By this all shall be knowing that you are My disciples, if you should be having love for one another."

John 15

7 If ever you should be remaining in Me and My declarations should be remaining in you, whatever you should be wanting, request, and it will be occurring to you.

8 In this is My Father glorified, that you may be bringing forth much fruit, and you shall become My disciples.

9 "According as the Father loves Me, I, also, love you. Remain in My love.

10 If ever you should be keeping My precepts, you will be remaining in My love, according as I have kept the precepts of My Father and am remaining in His love.

11 These things have I spoken to you, that My joy should be remaining in you, and your joy may be filled.

12 "This is My precept, that you be loving one another, according as I love you.

13 Greater love than this has no one, that anyone may be laying down his soul for his friends.

14 You are My friends, if you should be doing whatever I am directing you.

15 "No longer am I terming you slaves, for the slave is not aware what his lord is doing. Yet I have declared you friends, for all that I hear from My Father I make known to you.

16 Not you choose Me, but I choose you, and I appoint you, that you may be going away and be bringing forth much fruit, and your fruit may be remaining, that anything whichsoever you should be requesting the Father in My name, He will be giving it to you.

17 "In these things I am directing you, that you may be loving one another.

1 John 4 8 He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God among us, that God has dispatched His only-begotten Son into the world that we should be living through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loves us, and dispatches His son, a propitiatory shelter concerned with our sins.

1 John 4:

14 And we have gazed upon Him, and are testifying that the Father has dispatched the Son, the Saviour of the world.

15 Whoever should be avowing that Jesus is the Son of God, God is remaining in him, and he in God.

16 And we know and believe the love which God has in us. God is love, and he who is remaining in love is remaining in God, and God is remaining in him.

Matthew 5:43 "You hear that it was declared, 'You shall be loving your associate' and you shall be hating your enemy.

44 Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you,

45 so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if ever you should love those who are loving you, what wages have you? Are not the tribute collectors also doing the same?

47 And if ever you should greet your brothers only, what are you doing that is excessive? Are not those of the nations also doing the same?

48 You, then, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Luke 6:27 "But to you, who are hearing, am I saying: Love your enemies. Be doing ideally to those who are hating you.

28 Bless those who are cursing you. Pray concerning those who are traducing you.

29 To him who is beating you on the cheek, be tendering the other also. And you should not be preventing him who is taking away your cloak from taking your tunic also.

30 Now you, be giving to everyone who is requesting, and from him who is taking away what is yours be not demanding it.

31 And, according as you are wanting that men may be doing to you, you also be doing to them likewise.

32 "And if you are loving those loving you, what thanks is it to you? For sinners also are loving those loving them.

33 And if you should be doing good to those doing good to you, what thanks is it to you? For sinners also are doing the same.

34 And if you should ever be lending to those from whom you are expecting to get back, what thanks is it to you? For sinners also are lending to sinners, that they may get back the equivalent.

35 Moreover, be loving your enemies, and be doing good, and be lending, expecting nothing from them, and your wages will be vast in the heavens, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

{Passages: All from CLV}

Copyright © M J Farquharson 2008

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