2.3 Conditional Relationship
God’s Love and Our Response – Conditional Blessings, Unconditional Love

Read Hosea 9:15; Jeremiah 16:5; Romans 11:22; and Jude 21. What do these verses teach about whether one can reject or even lose the benefits of God’s love?

This lesson highlights a central truth: God’s love is eternal, but the enjoyment of the benefits of a saving relationship with God depends on our response to His love. The cited verses make it clear that it is possible to turn away from the blessings of His love without God ceasing to love us.

1. God’s Love Remains

The statement in Hosea 9:15 (“I will no longer love them”) shows that God, in His righteous judgment, can withdraw certain blessings of the relationship when people reject His love. However, Hosea 14:5 reveals that God’s love is relentless—it is always ready to return to grace when people turn to Him.

2. Human Responsibility

John 14:21 and 16:27 clarify that our love for God and our faith in Him are closely related to our willingness to keep His commandments. This willingness is not only a sign of responding to God’s love but also the key to maintaining the benefits of this relationship. The responsibility lies with us not to reject God or isolate ourselves from His love.

3. The Image of the Sun

The image of God’s love as a sun that shines continuously is particularly helpful. Even though God’s love remains constant, we can voluntarily place ourselves in the shade and reject its warming rays. This choice has consequences: we lose access to the life-giving blessings of this love, including the promise of eternal life.

4. Practical Significance for Our Faith Life

   • Cultivating Gratitude: The assurance that God’s love never ends should lead us to deep gratitude and a conscious life in His presence.

   • Practicing Spiritual Vigilance: We should be careful not to fall into indifference or disobedience that could separate us from God’s blessings.

   • Sharing Love: Our acceptance of God’s love requires that we become bearers of this love ourselves—in obedience to His commandments and in love for our neighbors.

Summary                   

God’s love is unshakable, but our response to this love is crucial for maintaining a saving relationship. This realization calls us to gratitude, devotion, and obedience so that we remain in full fellowship with God and experience the blessings of His love in our lives.

In What Ways Can People See and Experience the Reality of God’s Love, Regardless of Whether They Respond to It? For Example, How Does Nature Reveal God’s Love Even After the Fall?

God’s love permeates all of creation and becomes visible in various ways, even to those who do not consciously respond to it. Even after the fall, the world remains a testimony to His goodness, care, and faithfulness. Here are some ways people can see and experience the reality of God’s love:

1. God’s Love in Nature

Nature is a powerful testimony of God’s love, even in a fallen world:

• Preservation of Life: The cycles of nature—such as the sun, rain, and seasons—provide humanity with food, water, and air, regardless of whether they recognize or respond to God’s love (see Matthew 5:45).

• Beauty of Creation: Majestic mountains, peaceful forests, and radiant stars convey a sense of God’s greatness and care. They remind us that creation is more than just functional—it is an expression of love and creativity.

• Healing and Growth: Even in a world marred by the fall, nature demonstrates God’s regenerative power through healing, reproduction, and the renewal of the earth.

2. God’s Love in General Grace

God’s love is evident in His general grace, which applies to all people, regardless of their faith:

• Ability to Rejoice: A child’s laughter, the warmth between friends, or the joy found in art and music reflect aspects of God’s love.

• Ability to Love: The human capacity to love and be loved mirrors the very nature of God, who is love itself (1 John 4:8).

• Gifts of Life: Health, talents, and opportunities in life are signs of God’s goodness.

3. God’s Love in the Human Conscience

   • Moral Sense: The human ability to distinguish between good and evil indicates that God’s law is written on our hearts (Romans 2:14–15).

   • Desire for Meaning: The inner longing for purpose, connection, and eternity signifies that we are created for a relationship with God.

4. God’s Love in Suffering

Even in suffering, people can recognize the reality of God’s love:

• Comfort and Hope: In difficult times, God’s love is shown through comfort, inner peace, or help from others.

• Redemption through Suffering: The fall brought pain into the world, but even this is used by God to draw people to Himself and to shape them.

5. God’s Love in Jesus Christ

The ultimate revelation of God’s love is found in Jesus Christ:

• The Cross: Even for those who do not respond to His love, the cross remains an eternal testimony of His dedication and willingness to sacrifice.

• Grace Time: God’s patience and invitation to repentance are signs of His love that continue to apply to all.

Why This Is Important:

People can experience God’s love in various ways—through nature, conscience, suffering, and Jesus Christ. This universal revelation reminds us that God’s love encompasses everyone, regardless of their response to it. It is up to us to consciously recognize His love and respond with gratitude, devotion, and sharing it with others.

The teaching of God’s enduring love and the conditional nature of its blessings has direct significance for our daily lives and faith. Here are the main connections:

1. Responsibility in the Relationship with God

Realizing that God’s love remains constant but the blessings depend on our response calls us to responsibility:

• In Daily Life: We are called to live in obedience by honoring God, keeping His commandments, and consciously remaining in His presence.

• In Faith: It reminds us that our relationship with God must be active and living, through prayer, Bible reading, and praise.

2. Cultivating Gratitude

The undeserved constancy of God’s love inspires deep gratitude:

• In Daily Life: Gratitude is shown in small gestures—such as showing patience to others, appreciating the moment, and consciously thanking God for His care.

• In Faith: Gratitude deepens our understanding of grace and invites us to express this attitude in prayer and life.

3. Spiritual Vigilance

The possibility of turning away from God’s blessings demands vigilance:

• In Daily Life: It urges us to avoid indifference, sin, and complacency that could distance us from God.

• In Faith: Vigilance means actively listening to God and seeking fellowship with Him, even in difficult times.

4. Hope in Failure

Even if we turn away from God, His love remains:

• In Daily Life: This truth gives us hope that we can always return—even after mistakes.

• In Faith: It reminds us that repentance and turning back are always possible because God’s arms remain open wide.

5. Sharing Love

The call to be bearers of God’s love shapes our relationships:

• In Daily Life: We can reflect God’s love through forgiveness, helpfulness, and compassion, especially toward those who are hard to love.

• In Faith: Our love for God is shown in our love for our neighbors and our commitment to justice and mercy.

6. Recognizing God’s Love in Daily Life

The universal revelation of God’s love—through nature, conscience, suffering, and Jesus Christ—calls us to be mindful:

• In Daily Life: Take time to appreciate the beauty of creation, find joy in small things, and recognize God’s care in daily blessings.

• In Faith: Regularly reflect on how God has personally met you, whether through comfort, guidance, or grace.

7. A Life with an Eternal Focus

The promise of eternal life invites us to look beyond the earthly:

• In Daily Life: Focus on things of lasting value, such as relationships, love, and truth.

• In Faith: Be aware that your decisions and actions are expressions of your response to God’s love.

Why This Is Important:

The connection between God’s enduring love and the conditional nature of its blessings teaches us to live our lives consciously and gratefully. It calls us to remain vigilant, live near to God, and share His love. In a world full of challenges, this truth gives us hope, direction, and a foundation for a fulfilling life.

God’s love remains unchanged, but our decisions determine how deeply we experience its blessings in our lives.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-2-covenant-love-2-3-conditional-relationship-the-god-of-love-and-justice-living-faith/

January 7, 2024

DAILY BIBLE READING – 2 Corinthians Chapter 12

¹ It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

² I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

³ And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

⁴ How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

⁵ Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

⁶ For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

⁸ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

¹¹ I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

¹² Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

¹³ For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.

¹⁴ Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

¹⁵ And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

¹⁶ But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

¹⁷ Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?

¹⁸ I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

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.

²⁰ For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

²¹ And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.

King James Version. Public Domain

 

Commentary

Introduction

2 Corinthians 12 is a profound chapter in which Paul describes the tensions of his ministry: revelations of divine glory and the humility that results from his weakness. He shares an extraordinary vision but emphasizes that his weaknesses and trials are not obstacles but channels for the power of Christ. Paul illustrates how his personal experience—the “thorn in the flesh”—teaches him humility and keeps him dependent on God’s grace. Additionally, he speaks about his sincere love and dedication for the church in Corinth, despite misunderstandings and challenges.

Commentary

Paul begins with an unusual revelation: a “man in Christ” was caught up to the third heaven (verses 1-4). Although Paul describes this experience, he distances himself from pride and emphasizes that he only wants to boast about his weaknesses (verses 5-6). Here lies a deep spiritual truth: God is revealed not through human strength but in our fragility.

The words in verse 9 are particularly significant: “But let your grace be sufficient for me, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul recognizes that God’s grace is all he needs. His weakness becomes the space where divine power is made visible. This attitude serves as an example for us on how to experience God’s presence and work amidst trials.

In the second part of the chapter (verses 11-21), Paul defends his apostolic ministry. He clarifies that he does not exploit the church but does everything for their spiritual well-being. His warning against sin and discord shows that true love not only comforts but also corrects. Paul speaks with the passion of a spiritual father who wants the best for his children, even if it means being misunderstood.

Summary

2 Corinthians 12 highlights the paradox of Christian life: strength in weakness, humility despite great revelations, and love willing to make sacrifices. Paul teaches us that God’s grace is sufficient, even when we struggle with “thorns in the flesh.” He calls the Corinthians to seek unity and repentance so that they can grow as a church in Christ. This chapter reminds us that true spiritual strength does not come from ourselves but solely from the power of Christ.

 

 

 

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/07-01-2025-2-corinthians-chapter-12-believe-his-prophets/