We have seen that the basis for all love is God's love. This makes our love a response to his love. This response is called reciprocal love.
Reciprocal love expresses the mutual love relationship between God and the Church Age believer under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit whereby the believer responds to the perfect love of God with Bible Doctrine.
We saw that the principle of reciprocal love is expressed in the subjective, objective or plenary genitives that are expressed by the Greek phrase "he agape tou theou".
Last time we were discussing the fact that God's love found a way to solve the problem of our sin that was acceptable to His righteousness and justice. God's love found the solution, His holiness signed off on it. God's love can never be separated from His perfect righteousness and justice.
Atonement is the judgment of every sin in history. There is no such thing as reciprocal love with God where sin remains. There is no way we can ever have blessing from God apart from the satisfactory resolution to the problem of sin.
Jesus Christ made the decision in eternity past to resolve this problem by becoming the atonement for all the sins ever committed in the history of the human race.
God the Father demands propitiation. He demands that every sin in human history be judged. That propitiation is the basis for reconciliation and reciprocal love.
Reconciliation is not based on how good we are or what we have done or are doing for God. Reconciliation is based on faith in the judgment of Christ on the cross as our substitute. It is faith in TLJC that reconciles us to God. Rom 4:5;
This is called the redemption solution, and includes atonement, propitiation, and reconciliation. This is accomplished through God's love that is expressed in his grace that is the greatest motivation in history. Eph 2:8-9;
Heb 12:6; goes on to say that "Whom the Lord loves, He punishes." but He does not punish us for the sins we commit because they were judged in TLJC on the cross.
This means that the basis for our punishment is the grieving and quenching of the Holy Spirit that occurs as the result of our sin.
We are not punished for sin, we are punished for our failure to execute the unique spiritual life of the Church Age.
When we acknowledge our sin per 1 John 1:9; God forgives us our sins and purifies us from all wrongdoing because of Jesus Christ "in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Col 1:14; did for us.
If any other means of salvation were available, why should Christ be judged for the sins of the world? He was judged because there was no other way for salvation possible.
Jesus Christ provided the only solution that was possible by becoming true humanity and going to the cross as a substitute for us. Because of this, God's love for us has never diminished or changed, because His justice always loves His own perfect righteousness that is imputed to the believer at salvation. 2Cor 5:21;
Psa 33:5; "He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord."
Psa 89:14; "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; unfailing love and doctrine go before You."
Affections including the emotion or sentiment in human love do not belong to God. The absolute attributes of God are on a higher plain than human affectivity. Emotion is not a part of divine essence.
In the word of God, any affections are ascribed to God are anthropopathisms that are used to explain how divine policy functions toward man from man's point of view. Because God is perfect virtue, His love is totally devoid of sin, human good, altruism, or any source of evil reaction or emotion.
Since God is always has been and always will be perfect love and virtue, He does not fall in love. God's love cannot be complicated by ignorance, absurdities, silliness, emotion or relativity.
God's love cannot be bribed or patronized or compromised by human works, legalism, or Christian activism. No matter what happens to believers in time, there is no greater security than the eternal and perfect personal love of God, whether the believer is functioning in the spiritual life or not, weather the believer is advancing in God's plan or not.
The personal love of God guarantees that every believer has an eternal relationship with God forever regardless of their temporal status.
Before there is true love there must be respect. The first concept in human love must always be respect. Respect must come before rapport or be a part of rapport. Respect is the major factor in any category of love.
What people refer to love that is without respect as purity of motivation is actually not love at all, it is merely emotional sentiment.
Respect is the highway of reciprocal love for God and any other true personal love. Reciprocal love for God is the opportunity to enter into a happiness and tranquility that exceeds anything that has previously existed in relationships.
Reciprocal love for God is a part of what is found in James 4:6; that God gives us greater grace at the moment of salvation and that God makes war against the arrogant believer and gives grace to the humble believer.
Humility is when believers understand from their PMA of Bible Doctrine and then responds to the fact that God has loved us from eternity past.
When you truly come to love someone, it includes respect. Respect is the higher form of love and purity of motivation. Respect is the highway of reciprocity.
Reciprocal love has a great tranquility because it believes that we will remain on the earth with everything we need as long as the Lord wants us to be here.
Our Lord was willing to go to the Cross for us because of His personal love for God the Father, impersonal love for all mankind, and a perfect tranquility in His human nature.
When we execute the unique spiritual life we are functioning in the same personal love for God the Father, impersonal love for all mankind, and tranquility that is the happiness of God.
We are occupied with Christ because as the prototype he provides us with the pattern for reciprocal love. Heb 12:2; 1Pet 2:21;
Reciprocal love for God is our response to God's love for us from eternity past. Reciprocity is personal love for God from the Church Age believer, that is accomplished through the execution of the unique spiritual life of human history.