Looking for some feedback on this and I know my premise is not the popular thought of the church today so feel free to express yourself.
As to the husband's calling, I have a prelude - God's love. If we get that wrong, how can we model it? I do not believe that God's love is unconditional. It is dependent upon faith demonstrated by action as a result of God's initiation of an equitable love exchange with those who choose to exercise said faith. Jesus endured the cross with the joy in mind, and in His heart, of a future return (Hebrews 12:2). That being a bride made worthy by, and of, his love. Therefore, I interpret the call for a husband to love his wife as a parallel of initiation and equitable exchange. This sacrifice should encourage the wife to return to her husband what he desires from her. Considering another's interests and well-being in light of your own in every situation is a great sacrifice and it is a calling for husbands. Ephesians 5 summarizes this principle at the end of the passage with, "Therefore, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself... " How could God ask us to love our wives/neighbors (distinct applications mind you), measured by comparison to loving ourselves (Mark 12:31), if He himself didn't do the same? Genuine love, including God's, is not sacrificial past the point of equity. Individually, Jesus gave us billions of times more than we can offer in return but there are billions of believers that, when added together, bring equity to the equation. I would love to consider any passage in the bible that indicates God's love is unconditional because if I have this wrong, I don't know God like I desire to. God hates not just the sin, but the sinner himself (Hosea 9:15, Proverbs 6:19, Rom. 9:13). Jesus hated the Pharisees or at least that's how any thinking person would see it (Matt. 23). In light of this, the only passage that can remotely contradict the rest of the bible in this regard is John 3:16 and yes, God holds good-will toward all of humanity and would rather that none "perish" but even that verse is qualified by that good-will only being actuated by and toward "whosoever believes."
Describing Gods love, a little beyond mans understanding..
Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
But lets continue. Gods love, unconditional, meaning so free and undeserved, yes the Grace of Christ, while we were sinners, Christ did the greatest love for us.
The consideration of those who love you, is not what you can do for them, but what they can do for you. The exact same as just said, Christ required nothing, but died for us. That pain on Himself, is what prepares His church, because they see His love, and believe in selfless love through Him. The desires of a man from his wife, show the exact opposite to Christ, selfishness, and flesh, not Spirit and love.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
2 Corinthians 13:9 For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.
Next Ephesians 5 is quoted, to show loving ourselves, and that God says this so must Himself. But, Man is flesh, who never hated his own flesh, but God is spirit. We once knew Christ after the flesh, now we never do any more. Because God is not as flesh man, that He should lie or repent. God does all for our good, the same as Paul did all for our good working through the Spirit of Christ...
Ephesians 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
2 Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
2 Corinthians 12:19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Now directly on Gods unconditional love. Repenting to have made man but not destroying. Hating the Pharisees, is contrary to all sound doctrine, contrary to the very righteousness of Christ, who cannot hate who He called directly to repentance, the very same ones who it says were the murderers in IGNORANCE...
2 Chronicles 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
10 And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.
11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
12 And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.
Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Genesis 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
1 Peter 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
2 Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.
Thanks again for responding and there's a lot more verses with no explanation here as well.
I agree that God's love is beyond fully understanding but that should not stop us from understanding as much about it as we can. Heck, the presentation of God's love is the main theme of the bible so I think we can safely say it's a worthy study, no?
What was your take on the passages I provided demonstration that God has the ability to hate individuals and if true, how does that play into your absolute statement that God's love is unconditional?
It is true that Christ died for us while still sinners but that is from an earthly, linear view of time. God stands independent of time, yet steps into it at will, so His perspective is going to be different than ours. Jesus not only has the ability, but did look forward in time, and found joy even amongst the sorrows of the cross.
When you say that 'Christ required nothing, but died for us,' we have another time paradox. Jesus made it clear what would be required of man during His ministry. The last supper is about as figurative as it comes as to Christ's demands (regarding his death) if any are to have a part in Him. If no man responded to Christ's sacrifice, via the faith that God demands (a requirement), do you think Christ would still have suffered what he did? If so, why?
"We love because he first loved us" is true from our perspective but God has been enjoying His paradise, full of believers, that we call heaven for eternity already. Strange, I know but since we're talking the love of God, we need to look at it from His perspective as well.
God hates all workers of iniquity, so they need to repent. God hates nobody as people hate people, as God commands us to repent. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they turn and repent, but if the do not repent, then hatred will become apparant by destruction. 2 Thessalonians 1:9...
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
There is no earthly viewpoint of view of time, the kingdom of Heaven is within us. Earthly wisdom is devilish...
Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
James 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
The perspective of God is exactly as ours, God has shared all of His ways with us. That includes wat the greatest love is, not an unknown love out of earthly time, but love on earth in our very own way of time, while our life is so limited in time on this earth, to lay it down for others, that is love.
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Christ dying for us while sinners is straightforward. We already die in our sins. He bought us with His own blood. We die in sins because man without God does evil. Man in awareness is prideful, greedy, selfish, deceitful, unrighteous, without honor, and instead of contemplating giving his life for others, including selling and giving all away to the poor, forgetting procreating, his enjoyments, his friends and family, all he loves in life, his peace his securities, his entertainments, he wants more and more, and also likes to seem good in the eyes of others, because has no interest in sincerity. So all those traits, are Hevenly, seen in Christ on earth wit nowere to lay His head, and in Paul wit no certain dwelling place, suffering all miseries instead of loving ones life as all seek to do.
No man would respond to the sacrifice of Christ. We respond by the faith of Christ, Himself worthy to create all, including all who do the above acts, because of calling man out of that wickedness, and no man received His testimony. The world is incapable of recognising or believing in Christ. They need power, the ability to have faith in Christ, because the testimony of righteousness means nothing to darkness and eyes that cant see, or hearts of stone especially. But who is willing to self deny, who can overcome their own pride ? Man cannot, hence the testimony that not one was good, and all are gone out of the way, and there is none that does good.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
God is not enjoying paradise, with many believers around Him. God has long patience until He receives us. Patience to endure all evil occuring, of evil spirits controlling mens minds. Of believers not risen until the ressurection, and of requiring to destroy the entire Heavens and earth, which contained all wickedness, and to make all new again, where there will be righteousness. Where there will be no marriage, nobody who loved their lives or lived in pleasures, but those who suffered with Christ instead, and nobody with much intelligence either, because God wants man to rely on Him for all things, like sheep and Him the Shepherd, but that is too much of an impossible thought for independant man.
2 Peter 2:10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Gods love is unconditional, the same way, we are to love by giving our life for nothing in return. The same way we are to love our enemies, because love is the highest way, to give without return, exactly as a wife would appreciate, you give because you love, you require nothing because you never could give enough yourself, to who you love, and you love deeply and truly, because you do that freely for anyone, even who hates you. God has created all in this world that way, free air, free sunlight, free rain, not everything in this world is owned and controlled, and some people in life find that rare way, to also give freely without stopping, and nobody can prevent you, or make you heartless like themselves...
Proverbs 21:26 He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
