God’s love verses

God’s wrath

JanEgil Gulbrandsen

Feb. 2014

gulbrandsen@islandnet.com

Updated March 2015

• Let’s start with this first statement:

• “God is love”

• (We read it in 1 John 4:8, 4:16 and many other scriptures)

• “Is” means it is who he is and what he is

• Nothing more – nothing less

• It is his nature

• It is all he is…

• He is agape love

• (agape is a type of love that “loves in spite of”- in spite of what man do with God’s love - or if man should choose to reject his love all together)

• It is unconditional love

• ( in other words: there is no conditions required to receive his love. You can not sin your way out of his love)

• If he were to turn his love into anger, hate and rage just because he did not get his way, it would only be a conditional love.

• But God is pure love

• (not a little bit of love and a little bit of something else)

• God is not love and….

• (love one moment and hate and anger the next)

• Agree?

• Yes

• Everything God does is rooted in love

• As a good father he has to “raise” his children

• That can include discipline and correction

• He “protects us” from danger – but not all children like to be “protected”

• But it always comes from a point of love

• Every book and chapter in the Bible is rooted in the fact that God is love

• Listen to this simple little storey:

• You look out the window and see your 4 year old child playing with a dangerous wolf

• You almost panic, but you feel an intense love and passion for him - you run outside as fast as you can

• You valiantly attack the wolf – you jell and scream to chase him away

• Now the child freaks out

• He thinks you are angry at him

• The wolf runs away

• You have just saved the life of your most precious treasure – you beloved child

• This is how God’s love is for all of mankind

• He loves absolutely everybody with an endless love

• God always love the sinner

• But he hates sin…

• Not because he is “so holy” and get offended and can’s stand it…

• (yes – he is holy)

• But because of what sin does to his creation –man.

• Sin does not effect God – it effects you

• Sin can be in me Rom. 7

• But it does not define me

• It is not “who I am”

• (I’m a Saint – not a sinner)

• You can teach a dog to walk on his two back legs, but it will never be his nature

• We have received a new nature

• Like God said to Adam ad Eve:

• Don’t sin. (Don’t eat of the apple)

• Because it will kill you.

• It happened spiritually immediately.

• And bodily some years later…

• (but now the last Adam (Jesus) has reversed the fall… )

• Now man can get “new life” spiritually – and immediately… By believing in him.

• And live forever…

• God does not have any anger toward man

• And the reason is very simple:

• He put all his anger on Jesus that carried all the sins of the world

• So in conclusion:

• God is nothing but pure love toward mankind

• Always!

• But what about God’s wrath?

• King James Bible mentions God’s “wrath” 36 times in the New testament?

• Does not that prove that God can be mad and angry and hateful and revengeful toward man?

• No.

• We are now going to look closer at what this “wrath” really means.

• The word “wrath” used in the New Testament comes from the Greek word “ORG’E” (G3709)

• This word has 4 categories of translation:

• 1) Natural anger or temper (in a person)

• 2) Movement of the soul, like in: natural impulse, strong passion, intense or valiant emotion, desire (even the word orgy and orgasm comes from this word)

• 3) anger, indignation, wrath

• 4) punishment by authorities (governments)

• The King James translators chose to use the words from category 3 – anger, indignation and particularly “wrath”.

• It could just as well have been translated with the word definition from category 2 - Movement of the soul, like in: natural impulse, strong or valiant passion, intense emotion or intention

• The root word or derivation of “ORG’E” (G3709) is the Greek word “OREGO” (G3713)

• (a derivation means: a new word from the basis (root) of another word)

• Like a verb to a noun – ex. To write – a writer

• So what does the root word of “org’e” or King James’ “wrath” mean???

• This is what Strong’s dictionary writes:

• “ To stretch one’s self out (or to long for) in order to touch something – to reach after or desire something”

• Do you see the difference?

• God’s “wrath” is not anger toward man

• It is God reaching out to men in order to touch them with his love

• Why: because he desires to restore fellowship

• Why did the King James translators chose to use word like Gods wrath, Gods anger and indignation?

• Could it be to make people afraid of God ?

• And true this, to control the people

• And to maintain the power of the church

• King James’ instructions to the 47 translators was clear:

• Maintain the power structure of the church (the church of England) – and the state (the King)

• God is love

• And with a correct understanding and translation of the Greek scriptures, we can see that

• Gods “wrath” is not punishment – it is love

• It is like the dictionary says: God is reaching out to touch man

• We are talking about reaching the unbeliever

• How can we know that this “wrath” is for unbelievers only?

• Because the scriptures are totally clear on this:

• Believers are not effected by God’s “wrath”

• I will give you 7 examples:

• John 3:36 “The wrath of God will abide on him that don’t believe the Son”

• Rom. 5:9 “Being now justified, we shall be saved from wrath – trough Him (Jesus)”

• 1 Thess. 1:10 “Jesus delivered us from the wrath to come”

• 1 Thess. 5:9 “For God has not obtained us to wrath, but to obtain salvation

• Col. 3:5-12 “Earthly nature (sin) leads to Gods wrath. You used to walk in this way –now you are Gods people (saved)

• Eph. 5:6 and Col. 3:6 says the same ting:

• The wrath of God comes on the “children of disobedience”

• Strong's dictionary explains that this Greek word apeitheia (G543) also can mean “rejection of the will of God”

• It’s root word is erymology (G543) which simply means “unbelief.”

• So the two scriptures really read:

• “The wrath of God comes on the children of unbelief”

• So what is this “wrath” – this violate passion and movement of Gods soul?

• Is it God reaching out to someone in an intense way for something he longs to poses?

• When is this “wrath” taking place?

• Romans 2:5 talks about “the day of God’s wrath”

• It is still some day in the future…

• It is called “the great day of the Lord”

• Judgment day

• Could it be that “hell” is not God’s anger and wrath towards men, but a place where he expresses his passionate (agape) love for the ones that (so far) have rejected him?

• For those who choose to reject him, it is “hell” and torment

• One of the early church fathers, St. Isaac (the Syrian) – 7th century - said it this way:

• Those who are punished in Gahanna (Hell) are scourged (a whip or a lash)by the scourge of love

• The early church (the orthodox church) had a much different understanding of what hell was

• The “modern hell” theology of the catholic church really “took off” in the 14th century with “Dante's inferno” ( a theatre play on hell)

• Now they (the church) could really scare “the hell” out of people…

• But is not hell a place for the wicket separated (away from) God?

• Not so.

• Psalm 139:7-8 says: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

• I go up to the heavens, you are there

• I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there”.

• God is in hell and everywhere else…

• His presence there is intense as fire…

• In Daniel 7:9-10 we read about “God on a throne of flaming fire and a river of fire running from his throne”

• Remember God in the burning bush…

• We also know that the Holy Spirit came with “tongue's of fire” on the day of Pentecost

• God is described as fire in the following verses; Gen 19:24, Ex 3:2, 9:23, 13;21-22, 19:18, Numb 11:1-3, 4:24, Ne 9:12, Ps 66:10, 104:4, Is 66:15, among others places.

• Fire is obviously God’s trademark

• This is where his presence is…

• Could it be that “hells fire” is the same thing –an intense presence of God where he is “reaching out to someone”?

• Because “God’s desire is to see all men saved” 1 Tim. 2:3-4

• Will he have his way?

• Hell is forever…

• Because God is forever…

• God is light and fire

• (remember in the old days they used fire as torches or light)

• Could it be that “hells fire” is the same thing –an intense presence of God where he is “reaching out to someone”?

• Because “God’s desire is to see all men saved” 1 Tim. 2:3-4

• Will he have his way?