Do Not Love The World - Why Not, God Does?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...” (John 3:16-17)

“We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

In my immature years I had a hard time with the above verses which seemed to contradict themselves. It did not make sense that it was okay for God to love "the world" and for Jesus to save "the world", yet we are NOT to love it and if we do the Father does not dwell in us. Made no sense to me at the time.

Now that I am in my mature years, I realize that John was simply stating the obvious. Since God loved the world and sent Jesus to save the world – we don’t have to love it or save it. When we try to do what God has already done, it just shows that we have not trusted God and therefore the love of the Father does not dwell in us.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

We Are Not Consumed - Yet

"God is a consuming fire...Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, because His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, the LORD is my portion, therefore I will wait for him...it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD!'" (Hebrews 12:29; Lamentations 3:22-26).

Mankind's only hope is in the great love and compassion of the Lord. We have His perfect Law but cannot keep it, bringing condemnation instead of blessing. 

We do have the assurance in Scripture that although flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, God will still save us as a gift of His grace ...

"...I declare unto you...that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...It is by grace through faith you are saved, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" (1 Corinthians 15:50; Ephesians 2:8-10)

Just as all descendants of Adam die, all will be "made alive"...

"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Why?  Because we are God's "offspring" and he loves us...

"From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, We are his offspring." (Acts 17:26-28)

According to Scripture God's plan is to make His children into a new creation like His Son Christ Jesus. Not with a body of mortal flesh and blood but with a transformed body of pure immortal spirit just like Jesus now has...

"...the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body...So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body...for the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality..." (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44; 53)

This transformation to a powerful "spiritual" immortal body is so certain that Paul speaks of it as a "new creation" that has already occurred...

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

God is a "consuming fire", therefore, our sinful body of flesh and blood will be "consumed" at our death, but in its place a spiritual body will and become "like his glorious body".

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is" (1 John 3:2)

The Truth of the salvation of all does not receive many Amens in this present age, but in an age to come all will shout "Hallelujah"!

"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, Hallelujah! for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns." (Revelation 19:6)

Good Works Follow Faith

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you... I will save you from all your uncleanness... I want you to know that I am NOT doing this for your sake... I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it." (Ezekiel 36:26-36)

The above was written to Israel who was promised a New Covenant where God would save them by his GRACE after they learned they could not save themselves by doing the WORKS required in the Old Covenant. 

God saves ALL people the same way…by His Grace. When he gives us the FAITH to realize we have been saved, our hearts are "established" by His grace, and we experience the peace and joy of the salvation freely given us by GOD through CHRIST JESUS. 

"…it is good that the heart be established by GRACE." (Hebrews 13:9)

Salvation does not follow good works…but what tends to follow the realization of our Salvation is good works done in appreciation to God.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)