-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
When did God learn to forgive?
- Thread starter StormyOne
- Start date
Stormy,
Jesus of Nazareth, the man who lived 2000 years past, learned obedience (love unto forgiveness) through the things he suffered; at home, in his community and from fellow church members and even the friendly Samaritans brought him emotional pain.
Jesus, is the Lord of the hosts, our God.
The Most High God, the Father, is love that suffers long. He is always suffering to give us life. Death is working in his bowels to give us life in our hearts and minds.
The stronger always has a continual cause to "forgive" the weaker.
Joe
Upvote
0
- Mar 23, 2004
- 249,106
- 114,202
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Private
- Politics
- US-Constitution
God never learned anything. He already IS. Forgiveness, and the grace and mercy that prompts it are part of Who He is. It's part of His inecxplicable character.
Upvote
0
- Feb 13, 2009
- 10,421
- 12,379
- 53
- Country
- South Africa
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Word of Faith
- Marital Status
- Married
Upvote
0
- Mar 23, 2004
- 249,106
- 114,202
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- Private
- Politics
- US-Constitution
Upvote
0
Stormy,
Here is the form of thought.
Ps 110:1
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.KJV
A footstool is where you rest your feet when you are sitting.
Here is the living dynamic.
Rom 12:19-21
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. KJV
We, who in our natural state are the enemy of God's mercy and grace, are fed and nourished by him. Thus he is continually reconciling us unto himself and is continually delivering us from feeling in our innermost emotion that he is a hard man. The way that we feel toward our brother who we can see, is the true way that we feel toward God, our Father.
The elder brother could see his younger brother and was not satisfied/reconciled with the Father's actions toward the repentant son.
When we feel that we are loving and kind, but that other's are not, then we have become their judge. When we judge others, we do not fulfill our own sense of right.
Joe
Upvote
0
I think, yes, God forgives His enemies. But what does forgiveness mean? God defines it as follows: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust....Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:44,45,48.
Which brings another question to mind, Stormy: Does forgiveness involve bringing someone back into your life who does NOT want to be in your life?
Upvote
0
I don't think God had to learn to forgive. God is love, and forgiveness is an inherent part of love, so as soon as a situation arose where forgiveness was needed, God was ready to forgive.
God's forgiveness, though, apparently involves more than just saying, "Okay, I forgive you, come on back." A physical law of the universe went into operation when man unplugged himself from the source of life. Science and physics took over and God worked within His own laws to make a way back for us. That process involved laying down His own life and taking it back up again, in order to create a path back for lost mankind.
Why did God have to die in order to save us? I don't understand the physics of the universe enough to understand such a drastic remedy. But I'm sure it would make a fascinating study. Thoughts?
Upvote
0
If forgiveness involves restoration, and what is being restored is a relationship... then I would say yes it does.... On a cosmic scale I don't know of anyone who after knowing all the facts would choose destruction.... so then if a person, after their encounter with God understands what is at stake, I think they would choose life... I believe that those people that some say are hell-bound just don't have all the info... and when they do, they will decide to live...
Upvote
0
Originally Posted by Laodicean
You've triggered two more questions for me:
1. Do you think satan knows all the facts?
2. Is it possible to restore a relationship in which one party is no longer interested?
Whether all the facts are known or not, what if it's a case in which a person has lost interest in the relationship? I mean, that does happen, and often. A person can know that their ex-husband or ex-wife still loves them to death, but they have just plain lost interest. Can such a relationship be restored?
Which brings another question to mind, Stormy: Does forgiveness involve bringing someone back into your life who does NOT want to be in your life?
You've triggered two more questions for me:
1. Do you think satan knows all the facts?
2. Is it possible to restore a relationship in which one party is no longer interested?
Whether all the facts are known or not, what if it's a case in which a person has lost interest in the relationship? I mean, that does happen, and often. A person can know that their ex-husband or ex-wife still loves them to death, but they have just plain lost interest. Can such a relationship be restored?
Upvote
0
Since God is the Creator and sustainer of all life, we can never be unplugged from Him.... Outside of God life ceases to exist, that is what I believe... As for the sacrifice of Christ, that's a whole different discussion....
Upvote
0
Laodicean,
The elder brother had been out in the field working and then he came in. He heard the music and dancing so he asked the servants what was the meaning of this.
His lack of satisfaction resulted in a conversation with his father. This conversation brought forth the mystery and knowledge of God to him. The scriptures do not tell whether the elder son was reconciled to his father's mercy and grace toward the younger son who had devoured the father's living with harlots and then came to his senses.
The part that is essential to us who are like the son who devoured the father's living with harlots; the Father was waiting in anticipation of the son's return and manifested grace toward the son just as soon as the son confessed his unworthiness. He did not wait for the son to ask for a servant's status; which it was in the son's heart to request this lower station.
This event happened immediately as Jesus returned to heaven in the clouds of heaven before the Ancient of days, as our representative and advocate. Satan was not satisfied and has come down to earth as an angel of light with great wrath and is wandering to and fro in this wilderness of earth seeking who he can deceive with his strong delusion which comes out of his mouth like a flood in a wilderness, through his servants who masquerade as ministers of righteousness.
Thanks be to the Lord for opening the mouth of the earth and swallowing that flood so that it does not carry us away beyond Damascus again. And when it does carry us away, he has promised that he will restore a tithe of us and bring us back from the land of the north country.
Wait for the vision, though the vision tarry, it will not tarry for it will come.
Without a vision the people perish.
Joe
Upvote
0
I think Satan is the ultimate prodigal son, and no I don't think any being that has been created by God knows all the facts... likewise I believe that a God who exists outside of time and eternity has no problem waiting for his created beings to understand.... be it 100 yrs, 1000 yrs, or a million yrs.... time is a non-issue for God, and if he knows that after 20,000 yrs his created beings will have a "lightbulb moment" I believe he'll wait 20k yrs...Originally Posted by LaodiceanWhich brings another question to mind, Stormy: Does forgiveness involve bringing someone back into your life who does NOT want to be in your life?
You've triggered two more questions for me:
1. Do you think satan knows all the facts?
2. Is it possible to restore a relationship in which one party is no longer interested?
Whether all the facts are known or not, what if it's a case in which a person has lost interest in the relationship? I mean, that does happen, and often. A person can know that their ex-husband or ex-wife still loves them to death, but they have just plain lost interest. Can such a relationship be restored?
Is it possible to restore a relationship when someone does not want to? Sure from a human standpoint, but we aren't talking about humans... We are talking about God in relationship to all that he has created.... for that situation my comments above apply... but that's just how I see it....
Upvote
0
isn't being "outside of God" the same as being "unplugged" from Him? When I unplug an appliance, I have placed it outside of the flow of electricity. Maybe I didn't understand what you said.
Upvote
0
Does that mean that if we are lost, it's not our fault, since we can't know all the facts? And if satan is the ultimate prodigal son, do you think he will return to God? And if he doesn't return, and if he gets burned up in the lake of fire, will it be God's fault that this happens?
Okay. So what about those who have already died without having a chance to know all the facts and who, with what facts they did have in hand, have refused to believe in God? Will they, after millions of years, have another chance to be brought back to learn all the facts?
It sounds to me as if you are saying that no one will be lost. Am I right in that conclusion? And if so, what is your basis, scriptural or otherwise, for holding this position?
What examples do you have of human relationships being restored when one or the other does not want to return to the relationship? Or maybe I misunderstood what you said, the way you phrased it?
So if any of us are lost, it would be God's fault? Since I'm fairly sure that you don't believe that God can be at fault, then maybe your position is that all will eventually be saved, right?
Upvote
0
what I am saying is that I believe that we can never be unplugged from God... He is life, apart from him there is no life...
Upvote
0
We are not lost... God knows exactly where we are, and we have never left the place we were created, i.e. earth.... We don't know everything, so the question is what will God do... As a parent, I know what I do when my child makes a decision without having all the facts... I think the Infinite Ruler of all is much wiser than I, so its His call...
We don't know that.... or let me say I don't know that they died refusing to believe in God... and if they did, again, I believe he will take into consideration what they knew, and how it played out in their living.....
Well, if God knows that humanity will eventually come to him, then it is possible that no one will be lost... There is a text that says God is not willing that any should perish.... so the question is how determined he is to make sure no one does....
What I attempted to say is with human interactions there are times when a relationship cannot be restored. However, we are talking about God, and a different set of rules apply I think...
Fault suggests that there must be someone to blame, which is negative.... however it is God's "fault" that we were created... I think a better word would be responsible.... God is responsible for everything that is created, so I think he will take his responsibility seriously ensuring that His relationship with those beings he created will be restored...
Upvote
0
Similar threads
