Q2. The Beloved

[rosegarden]

On 12/10/2015 at 2:25 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q2. (Mark 1:10-11; Ephesians 1:6) If Jesus is the Father’s Beloved, how can the Father send him to die? How does that make sense, given what we know of paren-tal love? What does that say about God’s love for us?

a.  Jesus is the Father's Beloved but God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)  He did it all for us. It was a plan since the beginning of time.   To deliver us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Col. 1:13-14)

b. & c.  It doesn't make sense in the natural but it does in the spiritual because that is how much God loves us.  So much that He gave His life for us.

[Bianca]

Jesus is The Father's beloved. But God loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for us. Only a perfect sacrifice could satisfy The Father, a Holy God. So Jesus was the perfect answer because Jesus is perfect. It was God's great love for us that sent Jesus to the cross.  

 

It also says that God's love for us is beyond what any human could ever give. It's greater than we understand as humans.

[Krissi]

God's love seems to elude my understanding. I am sorry.

I have no idea why God, who is both omnipotent and omniscient, couldn't come up with another way of saving humankind from their sin than by sacrificing Himself in the form of Jesus the man.

I also don't understand how God can be Himself and Jesus simultaneously -- How he can love Himself as His son.

Thus, I have difficulty understanding God's love for humanity. Yes, the fact that Jesus sent His son to die for us suggests how much He wanted us to be saved from our sins, but is this love or justice? I pray He reveals Himself as love so I can understand/intuit/feel what other Christians seem to accept so easily and unquestioningly. I wish I were they.

 

 

 

 

 

[Niyonka16]

Q2. (Mark 1:10-11; Ephesians 1:6) If Jesus is the Father’s Beloved, how can the Father send Him to die?

ANSWER: The simple answer? Because the Father created all things for the glory of His beloved Son as an expression of His infinite love for Him. Therefore, since creation belongs to Christ it isn’t surprising, and actually makes perfect sense, that the Son came to redeem that which the Father gave to Him out of His infinite love. The Father sent Him, but He also voluntarily wanted to die to save us.

How does that make sense, given what we know of parental love?

ANSWER: Imagine how hard it must have been for Heavenly Father to see Jesus suffer so terribly. But He allowed it because of His love for us and His desire for us to progress. The Heavenly Father knew there was one more thing we needed in order to return to Him, we needed a Savior. Through the Atonement, Jesus made it possible for us to repent and return to our Heavenly Father.

What does that say about God’s love for us?

ANSWER: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation, (the act for making amends), for our sins.