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BY
DR. JOHN
SULLIVAN
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR-TREASURER
FLORIDA
BAPTIST
CONVENTION
DOCTRINE
OF GOD
(fourth
in a series)
God’s
love and
wrath
reveal
his redemptive
plan
To understand
the Doctrine
of God,
one must
examine
His love
and wrath.
God’s
love and
wrath
are different
sides
of the
same coin.
His wrath
is one
aspect
of his
divine
love.
Those
who reject
His love
experience
God’s
wrath.
God’s
love is
consuming
fire.
His wrath
may be
described
as the
underside
of agape
love.
THE
LOVE OF
GOD
•
All of
Christian
doctrine
is an
exposition
of the
love of
God. His
creation
is an
extension
of His
love.
His power
and presence
are outgrowths
of His
love.
His holy
and righteousness
characterize
His love.
God creates
out of
and for
love.
Even creation
is an
exposition
of the
love of
God.
•
The love
of God
is the
central
quality
in God’s
nature.
His loving
nature
eternally
moves
Him to
self-communication
and self-giving
for the
redemption
of all
mankind.
The love
of God
is so
complete
that one
could
say that
God gives
Himself
away,
especially
in the
light
of his
Son, Jesus
Christ.
•
The love
of God
in the
New Testament
is “agape”
or unconditional.
It is
spontaneous,
free and
outgoing.
It is
not motivated
by the
desire
of the
object
or the
one being
loved.
God loves
us as
a free
expression
of His
nature.
It is
not motivated
by us.
God is
love.
His personal
nature
is love.
Read:
John 3:16;
Romans
5:8; 1
John 4:10;
1 John
4:8.
•
The love
of God
in theological
interpretation
must be
anchored
concretely,
personally
and historically
in Jesus.
•
The love
of God
is a suffering
love.
In the
sense
of God
as a personal
being,
His love
is a suffering
love.
Our sin
breaks
His heart.
•
God’s
love demands
our all.
Theologian
William
Temple,
Archbishop
of Cantebury,
told this
story:
While
speaking
to a group
of young
people
he listened
as they
sang,
“When
I Survey
the Wondrous
Cross.”
He interrupted
and asked
them to
think
of these
words
as they
sang them
softly.
At that
moment,
2,000
young
people
whispered
“Love
so amazing…demands
my life…”
The love
of God
truly
is amazing
and demands
our all.
THE
WRATH
OF GOD
•
In the
Old Testament,
the wrath
of God
is depicted
by the
word “aph.”
The root
means
to snort
or be
angry.
In the
New Testament,
wrath
is found
in the
words
“thumos,”
meaning
to breathe
violently
and heavily,
and “orga”
meaning
to be
ripe or
swelled
with juice.”
Thumos
is used
of man’s
wrath
ordinarily
in the
New Testament.
•
The wrath
of God
cannot
be illustrated
by the
words
of man.
The wrath
of God
has no
exact
counterpart
in man’s
experience.
The wrath
of God
is as
much elevated
over the
anger
of man
as “agape”
(unconditional)
is over
“eros”
(gratifying)
love.
•
The New
Testament
avoids
making
God the
subject
of the
verb “to
be angry.”
Sometimes
the New
Testament
just avoids
speaking
of God’s
wrath.
Consider
these
verses:
John 3:16;
Matthew
3:7; Luke
3:7; Luke
21:34;
Ephesians
2:3; and
1 Thessalonians
5:9.
The New
Testament
portrays
wrath
as judgment
more than
His inner
nature.
New Testament
scholar
C. H.
Dodd describes
wrath
as the
inevitable
process
of cause
and effect
in a moral
universe.
Theologian
James
Stewart
said that
wrath
is everything
that man’s
rebellion
against
the moral
order
brings
upon Him,
not a
direct
penal
act.
•
The wrath
of God
in the
New Testament
is not
just the
working
out of
moral
consequences.
God’s
wrath
is indeed
His wrath
and may
be described
as the
immediate
continuing
resistance
to evil
on the
part of
God. On
occasion
it breaks
into human
history
as direct
judgment.
Mark 3:5;
Romans
1:18;
Ephesians
5:6; Colossians
3:16;
John 3:36.
The
book of
Revelation
deals
with the
wrath
of the
Lamb of
Christ
and uses
the term
“orga.”
Rev. 6:16;
Rev. 16:19;
and Rev.
14:10.
•
The wrath
of God
is revealed
in scripture
as clearly
as God’s
love,
yet it
is always
revealed
in the
context
of God’s
grace
where
the redemptive
way is
made clear.
This has
caused
many theological
interpreters
to say
that the
wrath
of God
is His
alien
work and
the love
of God
is His
primary
work.
He did
not come
to bring
wrath
but love
and redemption.
Next
week we
will examine
the Doctrine
of the
Trinity.
SULLIVAN'S
OTHER
ARTICLES
You
may contact
Dr. John
Sullivan
at
1-800-226-8584,
ext. 8102,
or by
email.
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