God's Love and His Glory

We were commanded to love God with all of our heart, our very being and to love others as ourselves for a reason, because God is love and this is how we allow God, who is love to manifest through us! Thought moves in the unseen manifesting in the seen. That is why Christ told us over and over, it is done unto you as you believe, according to your faith! We are living in a righteous spiritual system. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good! In Jeremiah it says, I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:10 Commentary on “The Light”

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Your OP is exactly right. God has to love Himself most because He is both what is lovely and the reason why created beings are imparted the worth that demands love. There is no reason for God to love another being outside of His own nature. As Exodus 3:14 and 1 John 4:8 explicitly and concisely reveal of God, God is, and God is love. There is nothing extraneous to God that rouses, warrants, or even constitutes love or its demand. Therefore God's love must be an extension of Himself, and not something imposed upon Him. So it is logically necessary that God love Himself most, since everything God loves and the reason He loves (and that there even is love) is found in Himself, and that the greatest love God can give to us is the incommensurate greatness of Himself, and the greatest glory God can give to us is to share His own glory with us in oneness with Him.

As Mark Quayle aptly stated, arrogance is an attribute only something less than God can have, and so there is no greater good God can uphold and no greater reason for which God can do anything than for His own name and so that "name may be proclaimed in all the earth." (Exodus 9:16)

I'm gonna go with no. The reason is because of this verse.

Luk 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Yes, God certainly isn't driven by pride, ego, arrogance, etc; He has no such traits. But to my mind God simply loves us...enormously, because He is love. And wants to share in His kindness and goodness and the happiness, even, that He naturally possesses. Perhaps God's love is His glory-or the chief aspect of it.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

I don't think God's love can be fully described by words. The Father loves the Son and and the Son loves the Father, and God loves us. God is love. Could it be said God loves himself? I don't think so. Just as you can't say God prays to himself. The trinity is a union of love, a relationship shared with the world through Christ.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

Click to expand...

Perhaps the question displays an inadequate understanding of love.
I'm not sure that there are describable differences in the quality or quantity of love. I am a parent and grandparent. The question of loving any of my children or grandchildren "more" than any other is, for me, a nonsense question.

The biblical description of love includes the statement "love does not seek its own" or "love does not prioritize itself." That he knows us and the basis on/by which we were created, is what lies under his encouragement to love him above all else. At the same time, remember that He gave his one and only Son to re-establish a loving relationship between Himself and us.

Drinking water is essential to our life. It is a pre-requisite. it is not a choice. And loving God above all else is a prerequisite for a healthy spiritual life - a life of fulfilment and abundance.

He simply tells us the way it is. He made us for fellowship; loving fellowship. It's not a matter or preferences or choices, it's a matter of fundamental spiritual "law." Like "laws" of nature in the physical world.

What is God's "Glory" though?

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Seems to me that His glory is reciprocal ... He gives His glory to His son, Jesus gives His glory to us .... that is ... it is a shared glory all the way around. His glory manifests (unites all) in the glory of His love. God's glory IS His love. One day all will be perfectly united in love. One with God ... pretty amazing!

John 17:22

22I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— 23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

I believe the statement that "God loves himself" is misguided. God IS Love. He is all that encompasses LOVE. From there He creates with love, nurtures with love and judges with love.
Blessings

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

The problem I find with your post is the word "love" which has too many humanistic connotations. God is a self, but he is selfless. He knows himself, but he does not love himself in the human sense. He is love and within what we call the "Trinity" he loves himself from triune parts. That is, the Son loves the Father and the Father loves the Son.

His love is agape, ie, desiring the best for the other. So his love is selfless, meaning he does not love himself, but loves others. Again, I speak from the humanist pov. He does nothing that violates himself, eg, he is truth and can not lie. This inability to violate himself is an expression of his own agape love for himself.

So, yes, he loves himself, but not in the humanistic way of understanding.

Love is the need to be loved.

Just a light hearted remark above.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

Click to expand...

Does it matter if He does? If the love God has for Himself exceeds the love He's shown me, I'm quite content for this to be so. I can have no complaint about how much God loves me. His humiliation and suffering for my sake are far, far, far beyond anything I deserve.

Jonaitis said:

we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all.

Click to expand...

Does God love to be glorified? Or is it simply that He deserves to be glorified?

Have you seen an Olympic gold medal sprinter take his victory lap around the track? Is he just being a glory hog when he does? Is he just a narcissist or egomaniac? No, he has worked long and hard to achieve his gold medal victory. And his win has set him among a very elite and rare set of athletes. The extreme physical prowess required to win the gold medal is itself something to be admired. And so, when the gold medal winner takes his victory lap and the crowd cheers and applauds him, no one thinks the athlete is being vain or egotistic. He deserves the praise he is being given.

So, too, with God. He is infinitely more worthy of our praise than any athlete. The excellency of His character and nature, the staggering feat of Creation, and the mind-blowing act of redeeming us from ourselves all put God in a position where, like the gold medal winner, He absolutely deserves all the praise and glory we can give Him. And it is not in the least arrogant or vain of Him to require of us the praise and glory He is due.

Jonaitis said:

I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that.

Click to expand...

I see in the joy and fulfillment we receive in glorifying God another testament to His excellency. It is so much like the awesome, loving God I know that in giving Him glory, I am blessed and gratified.

I just wonder what OP definition of love is because I feel there is an association between love and care here.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

I agree. The only grace the reprobate ever experience is because of the elect, because of God's eternal love toward His people, God loves us because He loves Christ.

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

Is it harder to Love the being which messes up all the time or the being which never does anything wrong?

Which takes the greater Love: the perfect loving the imperfect or the imperfect loving the perfect or imperfect?

God’s Love for us in not contingent on anything Christ did or we do, but on who God is.

A person’s Love can be measured by the amount that person is willing to give up for another, so could God give up more than He gave?

If God “Loves” man more then anything else, does that mean God is worshipping man, any more than you Love your children more than yourself is not worshipping your children?

Is the glory of God, His Love for others?

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?
.... .... .... ....
What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

When someone does what is best for someone else, By Yahuweh's Instructions and Guidance Doing what is best and regarding the other's needs as first and as more important than their own, this is the self-sacrificial righteous obedience Yahshua Says Plainly is required for His disciples/pupils/ students/ Ekklesia- born again ones.

God’s Love is unique as all that is God. The Lord spoke the night He would eat the Passover Seder.that He would not eat of it again until it is fulfilled in heaven. I was kind of stunned when I read that I thought the Passover was fulfilled with His sacrifice. This is really magnificent when we understand this and what it says about our God. At the Passover Seder the Lord spoke of how all power etc had been given to Him. Then He girded Himself and washed their feet. When the Lord fulfills the Passover in heaven it will be The Wedding Supper of the Lamb. That Lamb will gird himself and once more wash the feet of His Bride. How do we even begin to understand a love that takes the nails, washes the feet of His Bride, think peter was a little shook up how are we going to feel when the Glorified Christ is once more a Servant to His Bride. He can out love Himself and if this what His Love for His Bride is going to be like please come get me Lord

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

I know of no Bible passage that says God loves himself. Instead, he serves us through Jesus by the Holy Spirit's power. Show me where in the Bible it says he loves himself. I don't think you can find any Scripture because I don't believe there is any. Instead, I suggest that you're using your reasoning outside of Scripture, always a risk venture.

Jonaitis said:

Does God love himself more than us?

My answer is 'yes,' because while we are objects of God's affection, the reason for that isn't because of who we are, but because of Christ. We were loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and we are created for his glory, the very thing he loves most of all. I've heard some people say that this sounds egotistic and arrogant, not just from unbelievers, that he loves himself and his glory more than us, and loves us through himself and his glory. But is that really wrong for God to do? If God did not love himself above all others, wouldn't that be a form of idolatry? Putting others above the one that should be loved the most? I see that if our greatest happiness is his glory, then he must necessarily share in that and cannot descend any lower than that. His glory is exceeds far above his love for us, and his love for us is in light of his glory and through Jesus Christ in whom we were created.

What are your thoughts?

Click to expand...

God loves the principles of the Kingdom. It is the point. God is worthy because of His approach, not because He is God.

It is easy to confuse status with worthiness. Jesus was worthy because of his behaviour and approach. It is profound God was pleased with His son. It was not automatic. He desires we know He is worthy, amen. God became a man while His status was ignored, He earns His status. It mattered to Him to show this, because this is love