The phrase 'the love of God' occurs in the Pauline Epistles in Ro 5^ S*^, 2 Co 13^^ 2 Th 3^, Tit 3* ((f>(.\avdp(j3irla) ; ' tiie love of Christ' occurs in Ro 8^' (variant reading 'love of God'), 2 Co 5'^ Eph 3i» ; ' the love of God in Christ ' in Ro S*^. In all these cases the genitive is a subjective genitive. In 'the love of the Spirit' (Ro 15*') the genitive seems to be that of origin (cf. Col P). Some exegetes propose for Ro 5' and 2 Th 3^ 'love to- wards God.' In the former passage tiie context is decisive against this (cf. v.*, and the fact that the consciousness of ' the love of God ' furnishes tlie
basis for the certainty of the Christian hope). In 2 Th 3' the sense is determined by the parallel phrase, vtrofiovT] rod Xpi.(XTov ; if this could mean the 'patient -waiting for Christ' (AV), then d7a7r7j tou 6eou would be 'love for God.' Such a rendering, however, seems to be linguistically improbable, and the ordinary interpretation of vwo/xovri as 'patience,' 'steadfastness,' requires XpiaToO as a subjective genitive. The meaning is not that the love of God and the patience of Christ are held up as models to the readers, but the Apostle praj-s that their hearts may be directed to a full reliance on the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ as the two mainsprings of their salvation. In 2 Co 5^* i] yap dyawT] rov XpiffToO ffwexei rifJ-cis is not to be explained on analogy with the preceding 'fear of the Lord ' (v."), nor in contrast to the knowledge of ' Christ after the flesh ' (v.'^), in the sense of St. Paul's love for Christ ; but, in close agreement -with the following ' One died for all,' it is meant of the love Christ showed by His Death.
To St. Paul the love of God is throughout a specifically redemptive love. Its manifestation is seldom sought in Nature and providence (Ro 8^, ' all things'), but regularly in the work of salvation. Since this work culminates in the Death of Christ, the Cross is the crowning manifestation of the Divine love (Ro 5^). What thus finds supreme expression at its height underlies the entire process as its primordial source. The love of God is to St. Paul the fountain of redemption. It lies behind its objective part, what is theologically called ' the Atonement,' for St. Paul traces this in both its aspects of reconciliation and redemption to the one source. As regards reconciliation, the initia- tive of love is inherent in the conception itself, since God makes those who were objectively His enemies His friends, creating by the Death of Christ the possibility for His love to manifest itself (Ro 58- !»• 11, 2 Co 5'^- 18-21). The idea of redemption has the same implications, for it emphasizes the self-sacritice of love to which God was put in saving man (Ac 20'^«, 1 Co G^" 7^). This love is unmerited love, hence its more specific name of xop's, 'grace.' It is 'love,' not mere 'mercy' or 'pity,' which ietermines God's attitude towards the sinner. The mercy is enriched by the love (Eph 2'*). The usual associations of dyairdv apply to the love of God for sinners only in so far as it is a deliberate movement of the Divine will and purpose, not because there is something admirable or attractive in the spiritual and ethical condition of man which would explain its origin. For the very reason that it springs spontaneously from God without objective motivation, this Divine love is a mystery 'passing knowledge' (Eph 3i»). Salvation on its subjective side is derived by St. Paul even more clearly from the love of God. The gift of the Spirit is a pledge of it to the believer ; hence with the pouring forth of the Spirit into the heart, the love of God is poured out therein (Ro 5'). On the consciousness of this love rests the certainty of hope in the completion of salvation (Ro o-*- =). St. Paul calls the love underlying the application of ledemption irpoyvucns, 'foreknowledge' (Ro 8-^); the simple yiyvui^Ketv in this specific sense occurs in 1_ Co 83, Gal 49, 2 Ti 2^K This term denotes not an intellectual prescience ; but, in dependence on the pregnant sense of the Hebrew j;t (Ex 2^, Hos 13', Am 3^), it means that God sovereignly sets His affection upon a person. The absoluteness and Tinconditioned character of this prognosis SiTe such that it can furnish proof for the proposition that all things work together for the good of lielievers. Hence it fixes as the destiny of believers ( ' predestination ') eschatological likeness unto the image of the glorified Christ, and with infallible certainty moves forward through the two inter-
mediate stages of vocation and justification to the goal of this glory (Ro S-*-*"). The conception of iKkayq, eKXiyeadai (middle voice, 'to choose for one's self ') has likewise for its correlate the sovereign love of God (Eph 1"). The association of the redemptive love of God with His prerogative or sovereign choice renders the word dyawav especially suitable for describing the relation involved. It Ts in the interest of emphasizing both the sovereign Divine initiative and the energy and richness of efiectuation of redemptive love that St. Paul affirms its eternity (connoted also by the vpo- in irpoyLyvw(TK€iv [Eph 1^]).