How Come Abba God Loves you Exactly as He Loves Jesus?
“I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.” (John 17:23 WEB)
In the passage above, “even as” in the original Greek is “kathos” which means “exactly as”.
Abba God loves you exactly as He loves Jesus!
What? This sounds crazy. Jesus is sinless and perfect and has always done what was pleasing to the Father.
And us? We sin every day in thoughts and deeds, doing things that fall short of the glory of God.
How come Abba God loves us “even as” He loves Jesus?
Mankind is fallen because of sin and loves only based on what benefit the other person gives them—it’s conditional. It’s like a barter system: you provide me with happiness, so I love you.
Once there’s no more benefit, the ‘love’ ends.
However, God loves because He is love—it is independent of what you do. He is full of love, grace and mercy! It’s not because you are lovable.
This truth stabilizes us. God’s love towards you doesn’t increase when you obey Him. It doesn’t decrease when you sin. His love endures forever.
Legalism teaches that God loves you and blesses you if you obey Him and is angry with you and punishes you when you sin.
It’s like a woman being with a husband that is very affectionate when she listens to him, but when she does something that he’s not pleased with, he lashes out and beats her badly.
How can one ever feel safe and secure with such a belief about God?
That’s the Old Covenant of the Law—live righteously, and you’ll receive good. Sin and you’ll be cursed.
We are not under that covenant. Trying to become righteous through the Law is like telling a child that he will be rewarded with all the toys he wants if he can jump from the floor to touch the ceiling.
Our sinful flesh makes it impossible for us to keep the Law, specially when the Law stirs up the sin in the flesh to rebel against God’s commandments.
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;” (Hebrews 8:7-8 WEB)
That’s why God found fault in the Covenant of the Law. The Law is holy, righteous and true, but is unable to make man justified through it because man has no ability to keep it.
We can freely enjoy blessings under the New Covenant of Grace today because God blesses us based on the gift of righteousness, and not on our own attempts at earning righteousness through works.
Declare with me:
“God loves me not because of what I do, but because He is love. His love for me never changes and never fails. I am always God’s beloved child!”
Be set free from the bondage of wrong beliefs. Understand the Four Gospels through the Lens of Grace: https://www.miltongoh.net/store/p18/understand-the-four-gospels-through-the-lens-of-grace.html
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