12 Objects Of God's Unfailing Love
Chapter Twelve OBJECTS OF GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE
It was shown VII. GOD’s Justice Satisfied that when the demands of GOD’s justice have been satisfied by the death of CHRIST and an individual has accepted Him as the propitiation for sin, then the grace of GOD becomes sovereign in the life of that individual. From that moment on GOD deals with that person exclusively on the basis of grace. And as grace is the expression of GOD’s infinite love, he becomes the object of GOD’s love.
After GOD has justified a person there is nothing that can separate him from GOD’s love. Paul exclaims: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . 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" (Romans 8:35; Romans 8:38-39). The saved person is unalterably the object of the love of GOD and GOD deals with him on that basis alone. Let no one think that GOD ever becomes angry with one who has been saved. There is no wrath of GOD at any time upon those who have accepted JESUS CHRIST as SAVIOUR.
GOD’s love for the world gave His Son. To those who receive the Son, GOD’s love supplies all that they need to fulfill His purpose with them under every circumstance of life. "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?" (Romans 8:32). The "all things" are those that pertain to the Son and to His kingdom and therefore do not necessarily include material and temporal things. In fact, GOD might, and often does, withhold from His children material blessings, that His spiritual blessings may become greater. Suffering on the part of those who are saved can be understood only as one sees that it is always confined to the realm of the material and the temporal. In suffering, material or temporal things are withheld or taken away. The body may become afflicted, plans may go wrong, friends lost, and many other things may happen. All of these are a withdrawal of those things that come to man from GOD as from the CREATOR to the creature. They are a part of His providence. When GOD’s child so suffers, except through his own violation of natural laws and otherwise because of his own neglect, then GOD withholds the lesser temporal blessings of His providence that He may better give of His greater spiritual blessings from His grace. The man born blind was so born that the works of GOD might be made manifest in him: "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him" (John 9:1-3). Mary and Martha, whom JESUS loved, went through days of deep sorrow ". . . for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4). And Paul, who knew suffering, said; "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
There is one definite provision of GOD’s love for all who are His that causes suffering. It is known as chastening. "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons" (Hebrews 12:5-8). This teaches that everyone who becomes a child of GOD is chastened. To understand the meaning of GOD’s chastening one must carefully notice a fine difference of meaning in three words; punish, chastise and chasten. All three imply visitation of distress and affliction upon a person, but there is a great difference in the purpose for which these are inflicted. Punishment is imposed because of guilt, because the law has been broken, and in order to satisfy justice. Those who do not accept JESUS CHRIST as the propitiation for their sins shall be ". . . punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). This shall be that the justice of GOD might be satisfied. GOD never punishes His children. Chastisement implies specific guilt, as under law, but the object thereof is correction and reformation of the offender. It is not satisfaction of justice as in punishment.
Chastening implies imperfection in the one chastened but never guilt. The purpose is not to satisfy justice, but always and only to purify from errors and faults. Gold is chastened in order that all impurities may be removed from it. The purpose of chastening is that it shall yield: "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Hebrews 12:11).
Another provision of GOD for those who are saved is that He, on their behalf, exercises all of His omnipotence. One who has believed is not left to his own resources to carry on. Paul in writing to the saints in Ephesus (and all believers are saints) said that he did not cease to make mention of them in his prayers that they might ". . . know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power" toward those who believe. Then he describes the greatness of the power that GOD exercises on their behalf. It is even the same power by which CHRIST was raised from the dead and set at GOD’s own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and put all things under His feet" (See Ephesians 1:16-23). In all the Bible there is no greater description of the omnipotence of GOD than this, and it is momentarily exercised by GOD on behalf of every believer, even the most weak and failing. That power guarantees the accomplishment of His purpose in salvation.
Because GOD’s love freely gives all things with CHRIST, and purifies from that which is out of harmony with Himself, and because His infinite power is constantly in operation on their behalf, there is in salvation a perfect provision for all who are saved.