THE LOVE OF GOD

"Our Heavenly Father bestowed all Heaven in one gift,--that of his dear Son." (Review and Herald, Aug.26, 1890, pgr.13)

The love of God is a great and deep subject that will fill the minds of the redeemed for eternal ages to come. Oh, the mystery of redemption! The love of God for a world that did not love Him! A love so complete that God sent His dearly beloved Son, His only begotten Son, into this world of sin, to make an infinite sacrifice, so that we sinners may have life through Him.

Romans 5:8 ...'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'

Dear reader. Have you really contemplated the love of God? This is a love that cannot be matched. The sacrifice made for us is of so great a value, and yet the majority of the world either reject it, or just take it for granted. Satan has so misrepresented the character of God, that many have a false view of God. But do you realize what was done for you?

John 3:16 ...'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'

"Giving Christ, God has given everything. Nothing greater, nothing more costly, could He bestow. IN GIVING HIS SON, HE GAVE ALL HEAVEN, not because of any goodness or righteousness that we possess, but because He loved us." (Manuscript Releases, Vol.18, 337)

We are told in the Bible that God gave His only begotten Son. Now for God the Father to be able to 'GIVE His Son', what did He need to HAVE in the first place to 'GIVE and send'? A SON! That's right friend, God didn't just send His 'co-God', or His 'pretend Son', He sent His very own beloved Son ... Romans 8:3 ...'For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending HIS OWN Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.' It is amazing to think that many in the churches today do not believe God sent His very own Son. This is due to the false trinity god doctrine.

Does this sound right? ... "For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His co-God."? Or how about ... "For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His pretend Son."? No! That is not love. The TRUTH is ... "For God SO LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) THAT is love - God giving HIS VERY OWN Son - Romans 8:3.

Do you believe in the Son of God? Sadly, the trinity god teaching in the churches today reject this beautiful truth of God the Father sending His very own Son. If you do not believe that Jesus is God's literal Son, then please take a look at our page IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD?

"The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, TORE FROM HIS BOSOM Him who was made in the express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how greatly he loved mankind. He is willing to do more, 'more than we can ask or think.' An inspired writer asks a question WHICH SHOULD SINK DEEP INTO EVERY HEART: 'He that spared not HIS OWN SON, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?' Shall not every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ say, 'Since God has done so much for us, how shall we not, for Christ's sake, show our love to him by obedience to his commandments, by being doers of his word, by unreservedly consecrating ourselves to his service?" (Review and Herald, July 9, 1895)

Just imagine having to send your child to a place where you knew he or she would be rejected, mocked and beaten. And you had to stand back and watch all of this take place without intervening. Then you had to lay all the sins of those unworthy people upon your child, turn away from your child and allow him to be killed in a most cruel way. That is what God did for you! The creator of the universe could have just simply destroyed everyone, but because of His great love for His creation, He allowed His beloved Son to be afflicted for our sins and take the punishment that we deserve. And Christ agreed to make this sacrifice for us. What love!

Please also see our page IN THE DARKNESS AT CALVARY, GOD THE FATHER WAS WITH HIS SON

Isaiah 53:3-7 ...'He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.'

1 John 3:1 ...'Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.'

God could have simply wiped out anyone who was disobedient to His law and government. But God does not want a creation that serves Him through fear. He is a God of love, and wants His creation to serve Him in love. This is why God did not destroy Lucifer when he originally rebelled. Instead, God chose to let sin manifest itself, so that all the universe could see the nature and result of sin, and also see the love and character of God in His dealing with sin, by giving His own beloved Son as a ransom, to redeem mankind.

Acts 4:12 ...'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'

"In order to fully realize the value of redemption, it is necessary to understand what it cost ... There are many whose hearts are no more deeply stirred by the humiliation and death of Christ than by the death of the martyrs of Jesus. Many have suffered death by slow tortures, and some by crucifixion. In what does the death of God's dear Son differ from these? ... bodily pain was only a small part of the agony of the beloved Son of God as he hung upon the cross. The sins of the world were upon him, and also the sense of his Father's wrath against the sinner, as he suffered the penalty of the law. It was these that crushed his divine soul. It was the hiding of his Father's face, a feeling that his own dear Father had forsaken him as he drank the cup which the sinner so richly merited, that brought despair to his soul. The separation that sin makes between God and man was fully realized and keenly felt by the innocent, suffering Man of Calvary. He was oppressed by the powers of darkness, and had not one ray of light to brighten the future. His mental agony on this account was so great that man can have but a faint conception of it ... It was in this terrible hour of darkness, the face of his Father hidden, legions of evil angels enshrouding him, the sins of the world upon him, that from his pale lips were wrenched the words, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Bible Echo, Jan.1 1887)

Oh! If we could appreciate what has been done for us! If we could love God as He loves us, our lives would be forever changed! Just think what it took for Christ just to become a man - The Prince of the universe and Son of the King of the universe. The Creator of all things, became A MAN IN FALLEN FLESH! Just that alone is a big enough sacrifice!

Philippians 2:8 ...'And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.'

Now there is a false teaching in the churches, due to this false trinity god doctrine, that Jesus didn't fully die. Many believe that only the human body of Jesus died. HOW IS THAT A SACRIFICE?! Many don't even believe that Jesus is still a man now. The trinity doctrine has truly destroyed the gospel message in so many people's minds! But we know that Jesus FULLY died for us, because there had to be a COMPLETE sacrifice in order to pay for our sins and therefore God's dear Son had to DIE. Just look at the prophecy in Psalms and what Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemene:

Psalm 22:14 ...'I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.'

Matthew 26:38,39,42 ...'Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt ... He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.'

Luke 22:44 ...'And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.'

Does this paint a picture of Jesus knowing it was just His human body that was going to die? Never! Jesus would never have gone through this much mental agony if He knew it was only His human body that was going to die. No, He knew that He was going to die fully, taking the sins of the world upon Him and being separated COMPLETELY from His Father for the first time in eternity. Jesus truly died for us! But the sacrifice doesn't just end there.

Do you realize that the sacrifice made was not just a temporary sacrifice, but an eternal one? The majority of people just focus on Jesus being in the tomb for 3 days and think that this was the sacrifice made. But no, there was an even greater sacrifice made by the Son of God for us. Was Calvary Christ's only suffering? Oh no! Look:

Isaiah 63:9-10 ...'In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.'

Wow, this gives a whole new meaning to the verse, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). So for 4000 years before Calvary, the Son of God was afflicted with His people. And that word 'vexed' where it says above that His Spirit was 'vexed,' it means to be hurt and grieved. So Christ didn't just give Himself for 33 years and suffer only at Calvary. He gave Himself, poured out Himself and was afflicted for 4000 years before Calvary! What LOVE!

Just take that in! Christ has been afflicted and has poured out His life for the past 6000 years for us!

Isaiah 53:4 ...'Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.'

But it doesn't even end there! As not only is Jesus continuing to pour out His life for His people today, being afflicted with us, He did something else which is just an amazing sacrifice.

What was Christ before He came to earth? He was 100 percent a pure divine being, the Son of God, in the express image of His Father (Hebrews 1:3). He was a fully and completely divine being. So when Christ came to earth, He gave up His first estate as a purely divine being, and became a human. Look at what the apostle Paul said:

Philippians 2:5-7 ...'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.'

Just take that in. Christ was in the form of God, His Father. But became human like one of us. But did Christ become a human for only 33 years? No, look at what Christ said after His resurrection:

Luke 24:39 ...'Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.'

John 20:24-27 ...'But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.'

1 Timothy 2:5 ...'For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.'

"By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man; but in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son.' John 3:16. He gave Him not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the fallen race. To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave His only-begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain His human nature." (Desire of Ages, p.25)

Jesus is revealing to the disciples that He STILL has the human nature, after His resurrection. So Christ now has the human nature for all eternity. He is still the divine Son of God, but the fact that He became one of us and retained His human nature, means that Christ ETERNALLY 'died' to His first estate. The full extent of this is a mystery to us and we cannot comperehend fully what Christ did until we learn of it in heaven with Jesus:

Ephesians 2:7 ...'That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.'

But we know that a truly infinite sacrifice has been made. What love has been shown towards us! This puts new light on God GIVING His only begotten Son to the human race. The Father GAVE us His Son. Again, not just for 33 years, but for all eternity!

John 3:16 ...'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'

1 John 4:8-10 ...'He that loveth not knoweth not God; for GOD IS LOVE. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'

"We are living in a special period of this earth's history. A great work must be done in a very short time, and every Christian is to act a part in sustaining this work. God is calling for men who will consecrate themselves to the work of soulsaving. When we begin to comprehend what a sacrifice Christ made in order to save a perishing world, there will be seen a mighty wrestling to save souls. Oh, that all our churches might see and realize the infinite sacrifice of Christ!" (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9. p.125)

Dear reader. A great sacrifice has been made for you and all mankind. God has shown us His love through Jesus Christ His Son. And there awaits an eternal life of indescribable joy for all those who accept this great gift of love - a gift that is FREE! God has not forsaken you, but has given His only begotten Son to pay for your sins. But Christ did not stay in the grave. No, His victorious life and sacrifice brought about His resurrection from the grave. And Christ now intercedes on our behalf with God the Father in heaven. Even though you may have been rejecting Christ all your life, He is still sending rays of hope, through His divine Spirit into your life, so that you may turn to Him and be saved.

Isaiah 49:15-16 ...'Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.'

Romans 8:32-39 ...'He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? ... It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Jesus is standing at the door of our heart, knocking and asking us to let Him in ... Revelation 3:20 ...'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' ... Will you let Jesus in today?

Will you accept God's love today? Will you surrender your life to the only one who can save you? Please don't delay. Give your life to Jesus Christ today! If you are willing to give your life to Jesus Christ, but you are not sure how to do it, then please see our page WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? And if you are wondering why God continues to allow suffering in this world, then please see our page WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING? Also, please feel free to email us via info@end-times-prophecy.org if you have any questions.

"Oh! matchless love and condescension! How great the cost of human salvation! How infinite the sacrifice, and how vast the labour of love expended upon so vile and sinful a creature! And what return do we make? How is this costly salvation, proffered to our race, esteemed? How his love, so amazing, so divine, reciprocated? How was the Prince of salvation received, and how have his most devoted followers been treated? How has this costly salvation been slighted by the majority of our race? But let us come a little closer. What return has been made by those who have coveted this great salvation so dearly purchased? How loth, even, to leave their sins! And instead of inquiring, How can I reciprocate such matchless love? - by what labour and sacrifice can I show how highly I value the immense labour and sacrifice that this salvation has cost? - the inquiry has rather been, how little may I do, and yet share in the fruits of all this labour and sacrifice? and how far may I follow my sinful propensities, my carnal appetites and pleasures, and yet not miss of this salvation which cost so much? "Is this the kind return? Are these the thanks we owe?" Thus to abuse such wondrous love, and slight the sacrifice of the Son of God, his untold agony and immense labour of love? Shame shame!! to that person who halts at duty, and inquires, is this a saving ordinance? May I not omit this duty and still be saved? Can such a one share in this costly salvation? "0 God! my inmost soul convert." Let me feel it a precious gift, not only to believe on his name, but to suffer for his sake. Let me share in the labour, and partake of the sufferings of Christ, and of those who shall be heirs of eternal glory. Bring me not into the society of Jesus, angels, and martyrs, till I have, in some degree, appreciated this divine love, and shown by my works that I value the great salvation, which has cost such immense labour, suffering, and sacrifice." (R.F.Cottrell, The Present Truth, February 16, 1888, Vol.4, No.4)

1 Corinthians 2:9 ...'But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.'

So what will your response be to such wonderous love?

"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, MY ALL."