The Attributes of God

The Lovingkindness and Love of God

In chapter 15 of the Attributes of God, A.W Pink focuses on the loving-kindness of God . Scripture speaks a lot about God’s lovingkindness. Lovingkindness is described as God’s paternal favor to His people, His tender affection toward them  (Pink, 1975). Lovingkindness is first used when God proclaimed His name to Moses in Exodus 34. Later on in Ephesians 1:4-5, it is again spoken of toward the saints, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love; having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Here it shows that God’s love was manifested on His children before time. Further, Jeremiah 31:3 states, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee”. Again, Hosea 2:19, “I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgement, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies”. Here God reveals His everlasting marriage bond with His people after they have been brought onto Him by His power. God’s lovingkindness is never taken away form His people. In Romans 8:39 it states that nothing” will be able separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Here we see that the lovingkindness of God toward His people is centered in Christ (Pink, 1975). We as God’s chosen people should be thankful that God’s lovingkindness is a covenant engagement and is one that is connected to His truth, it is granted to us by promise and can never be removed.(Pink, 1975).

In chapter 16 of the Attributes of God, the love of God was centered upon. In this chapter, Pink mentions that the love of God is one of the things told to us in Scripture that describes His nature (Pink, 1975). In 1 John 4:8, we are told that “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Here we see that God not only ‘loves’ but He is ‘love’. Pink explains to us that the divine love is not a love of amiable weakness, nor is it a mere sentiment patterned after human emotion but it is uninfluenced, spontaneous, and free (Pink, 1975). In Deut. 7:7-8, it reads, “The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the LORD loved you.” Here it shows that God’s love for His people is from everlasting, indicating that nothing in His creatures are the cause of His love.  Further, in 1 John 4:19, it states that “We love Him, because He first loved us”. This further explains that God loved us before we ever loved Him. It is to our great benefit and growth as children of God to understand this truth clearly, it will bring us to honor God highly and establish our hearts more firmly (Pink, 1975). Since God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, His love for us had no beginning and will have no end. We should be thankful for these Scriptural truths and seek to meditate on them daily.

Pink, A.W. The Attributes of God. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1975.