Skip to main content

How does God love Jesus?

How, and in what way is Christ beloved of God? First as Christ is God, the Son of God, the engraven image of his Father, so he is primum amabile, the first lovely thing that ever was. When the Father loves Him, he loves Himself in Him, so he loves Him as God, as the second person [of the Trinity], as his own image and character. Secondly, God loves Christ as a human being. Christ is the most excellent creature in the world. He was conceived, fashioned and framed in His mother’s womb by the Holy Spirit. It is said in Hebrews 10:5 that God gave him a body. God the Father by the Holy Spirit fashioned and framed and fitted him with a body. Therefore God loves Christ as His own workmanship. Finally, God loves and delights in Christ as our mediator, one who is both God and man. God decreed and sealed Christ to that office, therefore he loves and delights in him as the mediator of his own appointing and ordaining, to be our king, and priest and prophet. And He loves and delights in him, in regard of the execution of this office both in doing and suffering.
RICHARD SIBBES
(Source: A Description of Christ)

A wonderful threefold description of the love of God for Christ. If we replace the word love with beauty, we can also see that Christ has a three-fold beauty. The beauty of God in his deity, the beauty of his humanity, and the beauty of his mediatorial office and work. The beauty of Christ as the God and man, is a unique beauty that no one else posses. Not even God the Father and God the Spirit share in this beauty. It is a beauty on account of His office and the execution of that office. 

Sibbes later on points out why it is important for us to know God loves Christ in this way. When we think of the beauty of Christ it gives comfort and confidence that God accepts us, because he accepts his beautiful Beloved. When God stops loving Christ, he will stop loving those who belong to  Christ. We and Christ make one mystical beautiful Christ. This is our comfort in this life when we are beset by sin.  We are ugly but Christ is the beautiful beloved of God. And it is on account of His beauty that we are accepted and loved by God. It does not matter matter what we are in ourselves, but what we are in Christ. God loves us with that inseparable love which he loves Christ as God, man and mediator! 

Keeping this amazing truth front and centre of our minds helps us to grow in loving Christ as our beautiful God, man and mediator. 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Vulnerability of A Pastor

None are more exposed to slanders and insults than godly teachers. This stems not only from the immense demands of their work, which can sometimes overwhelm them, causing them to stumble or falter and thus providing fertile ground for malicious individuals to find fault. Even when they diligently fulfil their duties and avoid any errors, they face a barrage of criticisms. Satan’s strategy is to alienate people from their ministers, gradually undermining their teaching and causing its reputation to suffer. This not only harms innocent individuals whose reputations are unjustly tarnished but also diminishes the authority of God’s holy teaching. Satan’s primary goal is to achieve this, as Plato’s observation about the maliciousness and envy of the masses applies here. Furthermore, the more sincerely a pastor strives to advance Christ’s kingdom, the more they become targets of spite and the more intense the attacks against them become. Moreover, accusations against ministers of the Wor...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

Christian Unity

I profess myself to be of no party, and to love all of every party who love the Lord our saviour in sincerity. If they preach the truth in love, live as they preach, and are wise and watchful to win souls, and to feed the flock, I care not much whether they are called, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Church men, Kirkmen, or Methodists. I desire to rejoice in their success, on every side. I believe the zealots of all parties, pity or blame me, for my latitudinarian spirit, but the moderate and peaceable of all parties show me kindness.  In some of the great shops in London, there are several counters; and servants at each to attend the customers. If these servants are faithful and have their masters' interest at heart, they will not be jealous of each other, they will not affront the customers by saying 'Why do not you come to be served on my side of the shop? If they are all well served and pleased, it signifies not to which counter they come. Now what are we but servants of...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →

God is Not in A Rush

It is a noble aim to serve the Lord but we are sometimes too hasty, like children who love fruit but have not patience to stay till it is ripe. But the Lord is seldom hasty in his operations, and when our zeal comes to be sifted, by experience and after reflection, we shall perhaps find some of the bran of our own spirit mixed with it. Nay, possibly that Satan transformed into an angel of light, has put us upon things beyond the present call of duty and beyond our strength, that we may give him the less disturbance in future. In a word as I approve of your zeal, I shall be glad for your own sake if you will approve and adopt a little of my prudence. I wish my | letters may be a bridle to you and yours a spur to me.  JOHN NEWTON  (Source: Wise Counsel, p30)  Newton is giving this caution to Ryland because he feels he is getting overstretched. Ryland is taking on too much. He is serving as a man in hurry because he probably feels the urgency of the Gospel. Newton’s point is...
Post a Comment
KEEP READING →