The Love of God with R. C. Sproul, “God’s Eternal Love” 2

The Bible does not say that pride goes before the fall. What the Bible says is pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall.

And I should be aware of that because one of the games we play at Ligonier is we play trivia whenever we warm up for these lectures.

It's usually baseball trivia, but sometimes we'll do other things from the past. And my pride was sorely wounded because in the first lecture

I made a serious mistake about Elmer Gantry. I attributed the role of Sister Sharon Falconer to Shirley Jones when in fact it was played by Gene Simmons.

I don't know how I did that, but I can – there's the only way I can correct it is to apologize now in this lecture for what

I did in the last one. With that done now, and I pick myself up from destruction and from the fall, let's continue with our study now of the love of God, whose great love is such that even

His tender mercies covers my errors like that. I said in the first lecture that it's very important that we understand the love of God in conjunction with the other attributes of God, and I mentioned briefly the holiness of God and that God's love is holy love.

The next attribute that I want to speak of with respect to the love of God is that God's love as God Himself is, is eternal.

When we talk about God's being eternal, we're talking about something greater than the simple duration of His existence.

When we say that God is eternal, we are saying with that that God is self -existent.

That is that God has no beginning. He derives His existence or His being from no other source, but rather He has the power to be in and of Himself, and I've said many times that my favorite theological term, my favorite technical term in theology is the word aseity, and I've said that this word sends chills up and down my spine when

I contemplate the nature of God, and this simply means that God is self -existent, that He has

His being in and of Himself. He's not dependent upon anything outside of Himself for His own life or being.

Now, so what we're saying is this long, all the way, there was never a time when

God did not exist. There is no point at which God begins. We read the opening page of Scripture and it says, in the beginning,

God. There's an enormous contrast right there between us, the world, and the

Creator, because when it says in the beginning, what it is saying is that this world is not eternal.

This world has a beginning. We have a beginning, because having a beginning is the sign of the creature.

But it doesn't say, in the beginning, God began. But it says, in the beginning,

God created, which means that before anything was created, God was already there.

This calls attention to His eternal self -existence. But before God ever made a world,

He already existed. And what the Scriptures make clear is that as He existed from all eternity, there was already in His nature from all eternity the attribute of love.

So that God didn't become a God of love at the time of creation, but He has always been a

God of love. Well, if that's the case, and if there was nothing else besides God from all eternity and before the world was made, we'd have to ask the question, what then was the object of the divine love?

What was the object of God's affection from all eternity? And that's a very complicated question, and it has something of a complex answer.

Because when we think of creation, we make a distinction in the Bible between creation and redemption.

God creates His world in a state of goodness. The world is plunged into ruin through the fall of the human race.

And then the rest of Scripture, after the third chapter of Genesis, chronicles for us

God's work of redemption by which He is salvaging His people from this enormous collapse of the fall.

But before there was a creation, before there was redemption, there was

God. And God before the creation knew about the fall, and He knew that He was going to execute a plan of redemption.

So from all eternity, God has had a plan of redemption, and that plan of redemption included within it

God's understanding of His triune character and of the work of redemption that would be carried out among all three members of the

Godhead. And so in theology, we talk about the covenant of redemption, which refers to a covenant that God makes not with us, but the covenant that God makes, which

God the Father makes with God the Son and with God the Holy Spirit from all eternity.

We read that it is the Father who sends the Son into the world.

But when He sends the Son into the world, He sends the Son into the world because the

Son has agreed from all eternity to come into the world.

It's not like that the second person of the Trinity was reluctant to enter into our fallenness to effect our redemption.

But from all eternity, He was pleased to do the will of the

Father. And so this agreement reaches back before creation between the Father and the

Son, that the Father would send the Son, and the Son would willingly descend from heaven and take upon Himself the cloak of a human nature, subject

Himself to humiliation, become a servant obedient even unto death in order to redeem

His people. And so His role in redemption was to accomplish the task that the

Father sets before Him. And then the role of the Holy Spirit from all eternity, the

Spirit agrees with the Father and the Son to apply the work of Christ to God's people.

So that the work of redemption is not simply the work of the Father, or simply the work of the

Son, or simply the work of the Holy Ghost. It is a Trinitarian work, just as the work of creation is a

Trinitarian work. The Bible tells us that God creates the heaven and the earth, but He does it through the eternal

Son, who is the firstborn of all creation. And even in the account of creation, we see that it is the

Spirit who hovers over the water and brings the light out of the darkness.

And so creation and redemption are both works brought to pass by the divine

Trinity. And the point is that they are in agreement about this from all eternity.

Now, the Bible tells us also that one of the things that motivates

God from all eternity to implement a plan of redemption is

His love for His creation. It's because God so loves the world that He gives

His only begotten Son. It is out of His eternal love that the plan of redemption is born.

But we would be mistaken if we thought that the primary or the exclusive object of the love of God were the world or were the people whom

He is pleased to redeem. It's certainly true that God loves us, and it's through His love that He has sent

Christ, as John told us, to be a propitiation for our sin. But the primary object of the

Father's affection is the Son. And that's something that is often overlooked in our study of the

Scriptures. And we need to draw our attention back to the many times that the

New Testament speaks of the love of the Father for the Son. Because though it's absolutely true that God loves us, we need to remember that He loves us in the

Son. We are included in Christ, and that the whole work of redemption is a work in which we are seen by the

Father as belonging to the Son. And it's because of His great love for His Son that we are included in redemption.

Let's look for a moment now at the second letter of the Apostle Peter in the first chapter beginning at verse 16, where here's what

Peter said, "'For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

For He received from God the Father honor and glory.

When such a voice came to Him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved

Son, in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.'"

Now, there's no doubt about what Peter is remembering here when he writes to his friends.

He's referring back to the episode in the life of Jesus that took place very near the end of His earthly ministry, where He had withdrawn from Jerusalem, had traveled north with His disciples, and after the

Caesarea Philippi confession and just a few days later, He was transfigured on the

Mount of Transfiguration in the very presence of Peter, James, and John, who were eyewitnesses of the appearance of Elijah and Moses with Him, as the garments of Christ were transformed into this glowing, brilliant light that was lighter than the noonday sun, and the very appearance of Christ changed, and Peter wanted to build a booth and stay there forever, and they were overwhelmed with the sense of the glory and the majesty of Christ, where, as it were, the brilliance of His divine nature broke through the cloak of His human nature and was revealed before the eyes of His close disciples.

And they heard the voice audibly from heaven, where God was saying, this is my

Beloved. This is my Beloved Son, the same voice that had spoken out loud at the time of the baptism of Jesus in the

Jordan River, when the dove descended visibly from heaven as a sign or symbol of the descent of the

Holy Ghost to anoint Christ for His earthly ministry. Again, the heavens opened, and the voice of God spoke audibly, this is my

Beloved Son. So, we see in the

New Testament the recurring theme of Jesus as the one who is

Beloved of the Father. In fact, the Apostles see this as a natural consequence of the intimate relationship in the

Godhead between the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and yet at the same time in the

Scriptures speak of God's love for us, an eternal love for us that is rooted and grounded in the

Father's love for the Son. This is not so clearly self -evident as the love of the

Father is for the Son. And in fact, this love for us evokes apostolic astonishment by those in the

New Testament who contemplate it. We see that again if we return to the first epistle of John, where we heard the word that God is love.

Earlier in the text, in the third chapter, the third chapter of 1

John begins with these words, Behold, what manner of love the

Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God.

Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be.

But we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

You notice the tone of astonishment, of amazement that John expresses here when he says,

Beloved, what manner of love is this? What kind of love is this that we should be called the children of God?

He can't get over it. It's not something that he just takes for granted, that anybody who's a creature by the

Creator is automatically a child of God. He understands that to be counted a member of the family of God is a privilege that is granted by grace and by grace alone, and it is the greatest privilege that any mortal could ever experience.

And again, the New Testament labors the point that our being called the children of God as an expression of the amazing and incredible love of God is rooted and grounded in our adoption.

We are not by nature children of God. The Scripture labors the point that by nature we are children of wrath.

By nature we are children of Satan, but it's by adoption that we are then regarded the children of God.

I think the greatest passage that articulates this is found in Paul's letter to the

Romans in chapter 8, beginning in verse 9.

In chapter 8 of Romans, beginning in verse 9, Paul says this, You are not in the flesh but in the

Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now notice that what

Paul has said earlier, that by nature we are flesh. We have none of the

Spirit of God in us by our biological birth. But you are not, he says to the believers in Rome, in the flesh but in the

Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the

Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the

Spirit is life because of righteousness. But the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.

And He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Now here it comes.

Therefore brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the

Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the

Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. To be a son of God is not natural.

To be a son of God is supernatural. And no one who is unregenerate, no one who lacks the presence of the

Holy Ghost in his soul is accorded the privilege of being a son of God. But all who are indwelt by the

Spirit of God are numbered in the family of God. And he goes on to say this, for as many as are led by the

Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, for you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the

Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.

And the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God, join heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament that I think powerfully illustrates this principle of adoption has to do with the story of Mephibosheth.

If you remember Mephibosheth, he was the lame son of Jonathan, who was lame in both legs.

We remember the uncommon love that David had for Jonathan, and Jonathan had for David.

Jonathan's love for David was so great that Jonathan was willing to give up his natural dynastic claim to the throne of his father

Saul, that David might be anointed king. And when

Saul pursued the life of David, Jonathan helped David escape.

So great was their bond of love between them. And then we read of that fateful battle where Saul is killed, and not only is

Saul killed, but Jonathan is killed as well. And the message is brought back to David, and David cries, oh, how the mighty are fallen.

And he says, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in Eschalon, lest the people of the enemies would rejoice in this destruction of his beloved friend.

And then the generals of David were so zealous to protect David from any interference of his enemies coming to the throne that they slayed all of the relatives of the family of Saul to make sure there were no pretenders to the throne left.

And in the midst of that, this lame son of Mephibosheth escaped. His nurse carried him off.

And David then sent out a decree asking the question, is anyone left from the house of Saul?

Anyone left from the family of Jonathan? And he had his guards go through the nation, searching every nook and cranny, and they found the child,

Mephibosheth, and brought him to the palace, and Mephibosheth was terrified because he thought he was being brought to David to be executed.

And what did David do? He said to Mephibosheth, you are a part of my household.

You will eat at the king's table every day.

And he elevates Mephibosheth basically to royal status in his own empire.

Why? Not because David had any love for Mephibosheth.

He didn't even know Mephibosheth. But he honored Mephibosheth, and he rescued

Mephibosheth, and he showered blessing upon blessing upon Mephibosheth. Why? Because of his love for Jonathan.

Because David loved Jonathan, he virtually adopted Mephibosheth to be a part of his house.

And that's what God has done for us, because of his love for Christ.

He has adopted us into the royal family, and has made us heirs with Christ, joint heirs with Christ, as God loves us because of Jesus.

We are beloved of the Father because He's beloved of the Father, and we ought never to forget that.

He is the one who is the apple of the Father's eye. And for His great love that the

Father has for the Son, He gives gifts to His Son, which are you and me, who are adopted into His family.