Download pdf - Condensed Theology, Lecture 13: Theology, Goodness, Mercy, Grace, Patience, Kindness, Compassion, Love

8/14/2019 Condensed Theology, Lecture 13: Theology, Goodness, Mercy, Grace, Patience, Kindness, Compassion, Love

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Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology


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Theology Proper:

The Doctrine of God

What does the Bible teach about

God?


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Where Were Going

Ten lectures covering four subjects:

The existence of God

The attributes of God God as Trinity

Gods works of creation & providence


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The Attributes of God

What Is God Like?


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General Categories of the

Attributes


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General Categories

1. Communicable The communicable

attributes of God are

those characteristicsof God that arepeculiar to him butwhich he shares withhumanity

If the attribute can beconverted to acommand, it iscommunicable

2. Incommunicable The incommunicable

attributes of God are

those characteristicsof God that arepeculiar to him butwhich he does notshare with humanity

If the attribute cannotbe converted to acommand, it isincommunicable


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The Communicable Attributes

Gods Peculiar Characteristics

Shared with Humanity


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Sub-categories for Communicable

Attributes

Kindness Severity

Rom 11:22: Behold then the kindness and severity ofGod; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God'skindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwiseyou also will be cut off.


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Sub-categories for Communicable

Attributes Kindness

Goodness

Mercy

Grace

Patience

Kindness

Compassion

Love

Truthfulness

Wisdom

Severity

Justice &Righteousness

Wrath Jealousy


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The Attributes of Kindness


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The Attributes of Kindness:

Goodness God himself is good, the final standard of

goodnessMark 10:18: And Jesus said to him, Why do

you call Me good? No one is good exceptGod alone.Ps 100:5: For the LORD is good; His

lovingkindness is everlasting And Hisfaithfulness to all generations.

Ps 34:8: O taste and see that the LORD isgood; How blessed is the man who takesrefuge in Him!


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Goodness Whatever God does is good

Ps 119:68: You are good and do good;

Teach me Your statutes.Gen 1:31: God saw all that He had made,

and behold, it was very good. And therewas evening and there was morning, the

sixth day. Psalms 104, 106, 107


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Goodness God is the source of all good

Jas 1:17: Every good thing given and every

perfect gift is from above, coming down fromthe Father of lights, with whom there is novariation or shifting shadow.

Ps 145:9: The LORD is good to all, And His

mercies are over all His works.


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Goodness God is the source of all good, especially

for his peoplePs 84:11: For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The

LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does Hewithhold from those who walk uprightly.

Rom 8:28: And we know that God causes all thingsto work together for good to those who love God, tothose who are called according to His purpose.

Matt 7:11: If you then, being evil, know how to givegood gifts to your children, how much more will yourFather who is in heaven give what is good to thosewho ask Him!


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Goodness The goodness of God is his

characteristic of not only of being

worthy of approval but also of beingpersonally what determines thecontent of goodness

It is the opposite of evil


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Goodness Commanded to do good

Gal 6:10: So then, while we have opportunity,let us do good to all people, and especially to

those who are of the household of the faith.Luke 6:27: But I say to you who hear, loveyour enemies, do good to those who hateyou.

3 John 11: Beloved, do not imitate what is

evil, but what is good. The one who doesgood is of God; the one who does evil has notseen God.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience Gods mercy = his goodness > the

miserable and distressed

Gods grace = his goodness > theundeserving

Gods patience = his goodness > the

difficult and persistently disobedient


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience God is merciful, gracious, & patient

Exod 34:6-7: Then the LORD passed by in front ofhim and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God,

compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, andabounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keepslovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leavethe guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fatherson the children and on the grandchildren to the third

and fourth generations."Ps 103:8: The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience God is merciful (good toward the

miserable and distressed)2 Sam 24:14: Then David said to Gad, "I am in great

distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD forHis mercies are great, but do not let me fall into thehand of man."

Heb 4:16: Therefore let us draw near with confidenceto the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need.2 Cor 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of allcomfort.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience God is gracious (good to the undeserving)

Exod 33:19: And He said, "I Myself will make all Mygoodness pass before you, and will proclaim thename of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious

to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassionon whom I will show compassion.

1 Pet 5:10: After you have suffered for a little while,the God of all grace, who called you to His eternalglory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm,strengthen and establish you.

Eph 2:8-9: For by grace you have been savedthrough faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the giftof God; not as a result of works, so that no one mayboast.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience God is patient (good toward the

difficult and persistently disobedient) He withholds his anger and judgment from

those who sin over time

Numbers 14:18: 'The LORD is slow to angerand abundant in lovingkindness, forgivinginiquity and transgression; but He will by no

means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity ofthe fathers on the children to the third and thefourth generations.'


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience God is patient (good toward the difficult

and persistently disobedient)Rom 2:4: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His

kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowingthat the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

1 Tim 1:16: Yet for this reason I found mercy, so thatin me as the foremost, Jesus Christ mightdemonstrate His perfect patience as an example forthose who would believe in Him for eternal life.

2 Pet 3:9: The Lord is not slow about His promise, assome count slowness, but is patient toward you, notwishing for any to perish but for all to come torepentance.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience Gods mercy = his goodness > the

miserable and distressed It is the opposite of vindictive

Gods grace = his goodness > theundeserving It is the opposite of treating people as their

sins deserve (i.e., it is the opposite of merit)

Gods patience = his goodness > thedifficult and persistently disobedient It is the opposite of acting swiftly in judgment


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience Commanded to be merciful

Matt 5:7: Blessed are the merciful, for they

shall receive mercy.Luke 6:36: Be merciful, just as your Father is

merciful.

Jas 2:13: For judgment will be merciless to

one who has shown no mercy; mercytriumphs over judgment.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience Commanded to be gracious

Eph 4:29: Let no unwholesome word proceed fromyour mouth, but only such a word as is good for

edification according to the need of the moment, sothat it will give grace to those who hear.

Col 4:6: Let your speech always be with grace, asthough seasoned with salt, so that you will know howyou should respond to each person.

Titus 2:11-12: For the grace of God has appeared,bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to denyungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,righteously and godly in the present age.


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Mercy, Grace, & Patience Commanded to be patient

Jas 1:19: This you know, my beloved brethren. Buteveryone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and

slow to anger.2 Tim 2:24: The Lord's bond-servant must not bequarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patientwhen wronged,

Eph 4:2: with all humility and gentleness, with

patience, showing tolerance for one another in love(see par. in Col 3:12)

Gal 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness


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Kindness God is kind to everyone

Luke 6:35: But love your enemies, and do good, andlend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward willbe great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for

He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.Matt 5:44-45: But I say to you, love your enemies and

pray for those who persecute you, so that you may besons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causesHis sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendsrain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Acts 14:17: and yet He did not leave Himselfwithout witness, in that He did good and gave yourains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying yourhearts with food and gladness.


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Kindness God is kind to everyone, especially to

his people

Titus 3:4-5: But when the kindness of Godour Savior and His love for mankindappeared, He saved us, not on the basis ofdeeds which we have done in righteousness,

but according to His mercy, by the washing ofregeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.


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Kindness Gods kindness is his characteristic of

tenderness and fatherly

condescension to his creatures andespecially his people

It is the opposite of meanness


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Kindness Commanded to be kind

Gal 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness.1 Cor 13:4: Love is patient, love is kind and is

not jealous; love does not brag and is notarrogant.

Eph 4:32: Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God inChrist also has forgiven you.


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Compassion God is compassionate

Exod 34:6-7: Then the LORD passed by in front ofhim and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God,compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and

abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keepslovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leavethe guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fatherson the children and on the grandchildren to the thirdand fourth generations.

Deut 4:31: For the LORD your God is acompassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroyyou nor forget the covenant with your fathers whichHe swore to them.


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Compassion God is compassionate

Matt 9:36: Seeing the people, He feltcompassion for them, because they were

distressed and dispirited like sheep without ashepherd.

Jas 5:11: We count those blessed whoendured. You have heard of the endurance of

Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord'sdealings, that the Lord is full of compassionand is merciful.


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Compassion Gods compassion is his

characteristic of feeling

condescending affection for his weakand lowly creatures, his empathy andsympathy.

It is the opposite of callousness.


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Compassion Commanded to be compassionate

Col 3:12: So, as those who have beenchosen of God, holy and beloved, put on aheart of compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience.


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Love God is love

1 John 4:8: The one who does not love doesnot know God, for God is love.

This does not mean that love is God (thatwould be a kind of dressed-up pantheism)

It means that God himself is the embodiment

and standard for what it means to love


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Love God experienced love before time

began

John 17:24: Father, I desire that they also,whom You have given Me, be with Me where Iam, so that they may see My glory which Youhave given Me, for You loved Me before the

foundation of the world.


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Love The Fathers love for the Son and the

Sons love for the Father never

dissipated nor will they ever dissipateJohn 3:35: The Father loves the Son and has

given all things into His hand.

John 14:31: but so that the world may

know that I love the Father, I do exactly as theFather commanded Me. Get up, let us gofrom here.


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Love The love of God extends to all creation

Matt 5:43-45: "You have heard that it was said, YOUSHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your

enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and prayfor those who persecute you, so that you may be sonsof your Father who is in heaven; for He causes Hissun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rainon the righteous and the unrighteous.

Titus 3:4: But when the kindness of God our Saviorand His love for mankind appeared


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Love The love of God extends to all creation,

especially toward believersTitus 3:4-5: But when the kindness of God our Savior

and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, noton the basis of deeds which we have done inrighteousness, but according to His mercy, by thewashing of regeneration and renewing by the HolySpirit.

1 John 4:10: In this is love, not that we loved God,but that He loved us and sent His Son to be thepropitiation for our sins.


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Love The love of God extends to all creation,especially toward believersJohn 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Himshall not perish, but have eternal life.

Gal 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ; and it isno longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the lifewhich I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son ofGod, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Zeph 3:17: The LORD your God is in your midst, Avictorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, Hewill be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you withshouts of joy.


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Love The love of God is his characteristic

not only of his affection and sacrificialacts of goodness toward hiscreatures, but also of his beingpersonally what determines thecontent of love

It is the opposite of selfishly ambitioushatred


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Love Commanded to love

The Lord

Matt 22:37: And He said to him, "'YOU SHALLLOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOURHEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITHALL YOUR MIND.'

1 John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we

keep His commandments; and His commandmentsare not burdensome.


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Others

Matt 22:39: The second is like it, 'YOU SHALLLOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

John 13:35: By this all men will know that you areMy disciples, if you have love for one another.

1 John 4:11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we also

ought to love one another.


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Others

1 Cor 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind and isnot jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek itsown, is not provoked, does not take into account awrong suffered, does not rejoice in

unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bearsall things, believes all things, hopes all things,endures all things.


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Conclusion

For purposes of teaching, we havedivided the attributes of God into twocategories: communicable andincommunicable

From there we subcategorized thecommunicable attributes into the

attributes of kindness and the attributesof severity


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Conclusion

This lecture began to unpack some of thecommunicable attributes of kindnessincluding, Gods goodness, mercy, grace,patience, kindness, compassion, and love.


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Conclusion

The goodness of God is his characteristicof not only of being worthy of approval butalso of being personally what determinesthe content of goodness

It is the opposite of evil


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Conclusion

Gods mercy = his goodness > the miserableand distressed

It is the opposite of vindictive

Gods grace = his goodness > the undeserving It is the opposite of treating people as their sins

deserve (i.e., it is the opposite of merit)

Gods patience = his goodness > the difficult and

persistently disobedient It is the opposite of acting swiftly in judgment


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Conclusion

Gods kindness is his characteristic oftenderness and fatherly condescension tohis creatures and especially his people

It is the opposite of meanness


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Conclusion

Gods compassion is his characteristic offeeling condescending affection for hisweak and lowly creatures, his empathyand sympathy.

It is the opposite of callousness.


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Conclusion

The love of God is his characteristic notonly of his affection and sacrificial acts ofgoodness toward his creatures, but also ofhis being personally what determines thecontent of love

It is the opposite of selfishly ambitious

hatred