The Father beholds the Son and he loves the Son because he wants the Son’s glory in all things. His love for the Son is premised on the Son’s perfection, beauty, and righteousness. He says, “This is my beloved Son.”

God’s Love Is Different

As fallen human beings, we tend to think that God’s love is just like our love. Certainly, there’s going to be overlap—even as fallen human beings, by God’s common’s grace. Love is having an affection for the beloved. It can involve the emotion, the affection, and the desire for another’s good. You don’t have to be a Christian (or to even have heard of God) to feel fiery affection for another human being or to desire their good.

Where God’s love is fundamentally different than a fallen human being’s love is that it is holy. That is to say it is utterly set on himself and his own glory. Isaiah 6 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory.”

In other words, the Father beholds the Son and he loves the Son because he wants the Son’s glory in all things. His love for the Son is premised on the Son’s perfection, beauty, and righteousness. He says, “This is my beloved Son.”

The Son, meanwhile, looks at the Father and says, “I will speak nothing except what you tell me to say. I will do nothing except what you tell me to do. I don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from you, oh Father. You deserve all praise and glory, and when I ascend, I’m going to give all glory to you and put all the nations under your feet.”

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This article is adapted from The Rule of Love: How the Local Church Should Reflect God’s Love and Authority by Jonathan Leeman; used with permission.