The Good Of The Father (That Eonian Life) # 2205

 

Now it is eonian life that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Him Whom Thou dost commission, Jesus Christ

Johns Account 17: 3, Concordant New Testament Translation 

If I were to ask you why you believe in God, what would you say?  That your sins be forgiven you?  That you spend eternity with Him in heaven?  Most believers would choose the latter.  To choose a heavenly abode over the trials and tribulations of this world.  In fact, this is the most common answer that people give me when asked why it is that they believe in God, eternal life.  Modern Christianity has taught us that eternal life and heaven are linked together as one as a reward for our righteousness.  That the believer will be with the Father in heaven for all time.  I was one of those who grew up believing in this version of the afterlife.  This is what I was taught while in the church.  So it is that I understand just why it is that most believers feel this way.  After the death of my mother in 2016, I trusted in my heart that she was now in the Fathers presence for all time.  I also knew that I would most assuredly see her again when my time came to join her there.  I still believe this, but I am also beginning to understand more about that which we call eternal life.  In His prayer in the garden before His death, Jesus spoke to the truth behind what we have been told is eternal life.  Many Christians do not understand that these words spoken by Jesus are the best definition of eternal life which we have.  For eternal life is not centered around our own being in the afterlife, but something completely different.  First off, the wording "Eternal life" is a crude reference to what Jesus has referred to as our Eonian life.  Now, eonian, as defined by definition, is "Lasting forever or for an indefinitely long time."  That sounds ok within this context.  However, eonian life is also defined as that which is relating to a specific geological eon, or age.  Still, Jesus obviously intended the use of His words which we see in His prayer in the garden that night.  I believe that His intent was to give us the true meaning of that time after we have passed from this life.  That eternal life has never been about our existence in the Fathers heaven, but of knowing Him intimately.

Jesus has spoken that "It is eonian life that they may know Thee" {Johns Account 17:3}.  That the truth about heaven and the afterlife is less about our reward for a good life and more about knowing He Who has provided for it.  Jesus obviously understood this, while too many modern believers have yet to grasp it.  Those within the modern church continue to preach of the reward for those who trust and believe in the Lord Jesus.  I know a man, a pretty dogmatic believer if ever there was one, who will adamantly condemn all who do not believe in Christ Jesus to the fires of hell.  For these poor souls, there is no reward given unto them by the Father.  Despite the fact that it is God Who loved the world enough to dispatch His one and only Son to save the world, there will be those who apparently will not be offered the reward of an eternity in Gods heavenly abode {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  But if this were indeed true, why is it that Jesus would pray that Gods children would "Know Thee?"  Why wouldn't Jesus simply spell it out and condemn those who did not believe?  Why indeed.  Well, we're told that despite being dispatched by the Father that all who believed in Him should not be perishing, but have life eonian, we're told that Jesus has not come to judge the world, but that ALL the world would be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  So it is that our afterlife has already been determined long before we were born into this life.  That the Father's true desire for us is for our life eonian.  Not that we would somehow be rewarded, but that we would finally know Him.  The apostle John has also spoken that what we have been promised is not a reward, but life eonian {First Epistle of John 2:25}.  God INTENDS for His creation to come to know Him.  Yes, in that day every knee shall bow and declare Jesus as Lord {Paul to the Philippians 2:10-11}.  But even this is accomplished "For the glory of God, the Father."  So it is that all will acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and all will come to know the Father.  So, what does this truth we have in the scriptures tell us about the punishment of hell for unbelievers?  Is there even a hell?  That's a topic for another day.  For now, I rest in the truth that in my life eonian that I will come to know the Father.  That is reward enough for me.  

And this is the promise which He promises us: the life eonian

First Epistle of John 2: 25, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (By No Other Name) # 2204

 

And there is no salvation in any other one, for neither is there in any other name, given under heaven among men, in which we must be saved

Acts of the Apostles 4: 12, Concordant New Testament Translation 

Growing up in the church, I was taught that salvation was by the grace and mercy of the Father.  However, I was also told that my salvation was something I could earn as well as lose.  If I believed in Jesus, I would be saved.  Yet if I behaved in a way that the Lord did not approve of, I could definitely lose that salvation.  Moreover, there was also that unpardonable sin of not accepting the Lord Jesus which could also keep me out of heaven.  Like many believers, I began to see heaven as a destination.  I was regaled with sermons of a physical description of heaven.  Never once was I introduced to the idea that my salvation is not a destination, but in the person of Christ Jesus Himself.  The physician Luke mentions this within the book of Acts, that there is no other name in which one must be saved {Acts of the Apostles 4:12}.  While those within the church will claim that this passage does not directly tie Jesus to our salvation, I believe that the verse is pretty clear that it does.  For Jesus has also proclaimed that "No one is coming to the Father except through Me" {Johns Account 14:6}.  If we believe that our salvation is defined by being in the presence of God for eternity, then Jesus is definitely the pathway to our salvation.  But is heaven an actual physical destination, or, as I believe, is it found within Jesus?  When we look at the passages describing heaven, we will definitely see that Jesus IS our salvation.  You might say, but isn't there a separation between Jesus and the actual physical description of heaven?  Perhaps, but we're speaking of salvation here.  IS our salvation actually within Christ Jesus?  I believe this to be true.  For it is through Jesus alone by which we come to the Father.  If heaven is a destination in which we will reside in God's presence, then Jesus is our way unto Him.  But wait, Jesus has also proclaimed that our lives are not lived outside of the Fathers presence, but in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, if our salvation includes residing within the presence of God for eternity, then Jesus is most assuredly in that conversation.  Remember, Jesus has proclaimed that, "I and the Father, We are one" {Johns Account 14:30}.  Jesus IS our salvation.  

Seeing my salvation as a person and not a destination has been a lot for me to unpack.  This is due to having been told for most of my life that salvation is linked to a physical destination.  I believe that this is where most believers find themselves, seeing salvation as punching their ticket into God's heavenly abode.  Of course, contrary to the warnings given by the apostle Paul that we're saved through the Father's grace and not through works, those within the church continue to speak to the false belief that salvation is somehow earned {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Paul understood that if men were given the opportunity to gain salvation through their own means, that there would be a lot of self-righteous believers out there.  Indeed, I have seen this pride among a lot of believers.  I also understand that these so called believers continue to view salvation through the church narrative as a destination and not in the person of Christ Jesus.  That Jesus is the door to our salvation, that IN Jesus we shall be finding pasture {Johns Account 10:9}.  I believe that one of the keys to understanding the truth that our salvation is indeed a person and not a destination comes from knowing the truth of our life within the love of the Father.  That man is NOT a separate independent self living outside of God.  This is the false teaching of the church based upon the lies of the deceiver spoken in the garden {Genesis 3:4-5}.  For Satan has convinced us that if we were to partake of the fruit which God had commanded not to, that we would "Be like God, knowing good and evil."  Of course, most every believer knows that there is but one God.  The author Norman Grubb, in his book No Independent self, goes so far as to proclaim that, "There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside Me {Isaiah 45:5}."  So it is that we have never been separated from God, but are an intimate part of who He is.  Therefore, our salvation is not about the destination, but the person of Christ Jesus, the door to our salvation.  

I am the door.  Through Me if anyone should be entering, he shall be saved, and shall be entering and coming out and will be finding pasture

Johns Account 10: 9, Concordant New Testament Translation

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (All Unto Jesus) # 2203

 

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may becoming God's righteousness in Him 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament Translation 

Remember that I have given you fair warning of what you're about to read.  That what you're about to read may just change your opinion about sin not only in your life, but in the world as well.  As I said, you've been warned.  The other week I had a conversation with a dogmatic, church centered man who stood fast to his claim that there is indeed an unpardonable sin which God will never forgive.  Of course, this made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but I listened to him nonetheless.  He was adamant that the unpardonable sin was one who steadfastly refused to accept Christ Jesus no matter what the case.  Now, I have heard far too many so called believers make this claim before,  In fact, back in my church days I believed it myself.  That was what I was taught to believe.  So, when this man claims that there is an unpardonable sin, I know exactly where he learned that.  My answer to his statement was simple, what about Jesus?  Hasn't Jesus bled and died to take away the sin of the world {Johns Account 1:29}?  Is it not through the love of the Father Who has dispatched His one and only Son, that the world will be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}?  But yet you speak to me of an unpardonable sin which Jesus somehow refused to acknowledge?  Despite the truth spoken in the scriptures that ALL will believe {Paul to the Philippians 2:10-11}.  So, if all shall believe and confess Jesus as Lord, that unpardonable sin will still be counted against us?  Well, if that's the hill that you want to die on, so be it.  In the film Come Sunday, the reverend Carlton Pearson was removed from his leadership position of the church he had led for a good number of years, all because he questioned the church belief that there is no hell for us to fear.  What drove the reverend to this conclusion?  Well, it seems that he had been troubled by the belief that those who has never even heard of Jesus would be doomed to an eternity in hell.  Why would God do this?  How is it that someone who has never even heard of Christ Jesus even be accused of the unpardonable sin?  That's the question every believer needs to be asking.

Despite the fact that we live in an information age, where news alerts and stories flash across the screens of our devices at lightning speed, it is a well known truth that there remain those among us who have yet to be introduced to the truth of the Lord Jesus.  If this were not true, the mainstream church would not spend untold amounts of our tithe money each and every year on so called mission trips.  It is also a well known fact that there continue to be tribes of people in remote areas of the world who have never even heard of the bible, or Jesus for that matter.  Do these children of the Lord need to fear hell for their unbelief?  No!  But what about that unpardonable sin?  The apostle Paul, in his evangel, addresses that sin issue in his letter to those in Corinth.  Here, Paul lays out the truth that it is Jesus Who has been made that sin offering for our sakes {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  But what is meant by the words of Paul as he describes Jesus as our sin offering?  Well, simply put, it is Christ Jesus Himself who has taken ALL of our sin and imperfections upon Himself that we would be free of them.  That's right, Jesus took all which made us that imperfect sinner unto Himself at the cross.  Do you feel guilty over your continued lust and addiction to pornography?  Jesus has taken that unto Himself that you would be free of the bondage it carries.  Think that your bad language will keep you out of the Fathers eternity?  That's right, Jesus has taken those imperfections upon Himself as well.  He has set us free from that which once held us in bondage.  Paul assures us of this in his letter to the Romans.  If you follow the church narrative and continue to feel the guilt of sin, Paul speaks to the truth that "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}.  This is the truth about sin that those within the church for one reason or another refuse to acknowledge, that we have indeed died to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  We are no longer held by the chains of the bondage of sin {Paul to the Romans 7:6}.  So, what is it that the evangel of Paul tells us about that unpardonable sin?  That's right, Jesus has taken that upon Himself along with all which once held us in bondage.  THIS is our freedom which we now have in Christ Jesus.  The mainstream church narrative will preach about sin as if the forgiveness of Jesus never even existed, but the truth which we have in Him testifies that Jesus took that which we were enslaved to upon Himself that we would be free from it.  

Yet now we are exempted from the law, dying in that in which we were retained, so that is for us to be slaving in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter 

Paul to the Romans 7: 6, Concordant New Testament Translation

~Scott~ 

+

The Good Of The Father (The Salvation Lie) # 2202

 For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you, it is Gods approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting

Paul to the Ephesians 2: 8-9, Concordant New Testament Translation

Once again I am going to tackle a subject which most church going believers will scowl and claim I am speaking falsehoods.  That is the subject of our salvation.  We fill those pews each and every Sunday in the hopes that we will be able to "Punch that ticket" of admission into the Lord Gods paradise.  We pray for His forgiveness each and every day, fearing that there might be something He saw which would cause Him to recant His promise to us.  But, can God ever lie?  Obviously to even think that God could lie to us is a lie in itself.  So, how is it that so many of the Christian religious faith adhere to the false claim that our salvation is a conditional thing?  I don't get it.  We're told numerous times in scripture of the Fathers love for us {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  We're told that Jesus has indeed gone to prepare that place for us {Johns Account 14:2}.  So tell me, where in the scriptures is it written that one shall LOSE that which God has promised?  Where in the scriptures is it written that it is by our efforts alone that we're saved?  The apostle Paul speaks to this in his letter to the Ephesians, that it is "In grace, through faith, are you saved" {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Yet, I continue to see far too many believers walking around with their chests puffed out and proud that they have punched their ticket to heaven.  I have a gym friend who fits this description as well.  But these same people also often live with the fear that any sin they seemingly commit will cause God to break His promise to them.  I used to be among that crowd.  I would pray continuously that God would find me worthy of His eternity.  But that question always loomed in the back of my mind, if God has promised my salvation, why would He lie to me and revoke that promise?  I knew that God is incapable of lying, but those within the church attempted to convince me that this is exactly what He would do if I behaved badly.  This is the salvation lie of the church.  

Step into any church and you might hear the claim, that those who believe in the Father will be saved...but.  That Christ Jesus has given Himself on that cross for the forgiveness of sin...but.  See, there is always a catch to the salvation lie.  Yes, Jesus has died for the forgiveness of sin, BUT we can still sin.  Yes, God has provided for our salvation, BUT that sin could cause Him to change His mind.  In effect, admitting that God will indeed lie to His children.  But, is it at all possible for God to lie?  No!  This is the lie of the church, performance based salvation model.  That in order for us to get our ticket to heaven punched, that we need to behave well enough for God to approve it.  What blasphemy is this?  When you realize the truth spoken by the scriptures, you see that it is not I who speaks blasphemy, but  those within the church!  I only expose the lies of the church.  And for that I'm a marked man.  One thing I have told a good friend of mine in numerous conversations and podcasts is that we fight the thousands year old church narrative that heaven is something that we earn.  This is exactly why I refer to it as the salvation lie.  While it is not possible for God to lie, those within the church will lie to us at any given opportunity.  Think I'm lying?  Tell me where it is in the scriptures that God will revoke that which he has promised.  On the ghost of a chance that you are able to cherry pick some verse to fit your church based narrative, know that at that point you are openly admitting that God is capable of lying.  And, as we all agree, that is impossible.  So, we must then accept God at His word that He has provided for our salvation through His love and grace.  That our salvation has absolutely nothing to do with our own efforts.  So it is that your confidence that you have done well enough to warrant your presence in the Fathers paradise is misguided.  You needed Jesus in order to achieve that!  For it is Jesus who took all of our sin, bad behaviors and human errors upon Himself at the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Whatever it is that we think will keep us out of heaven, Jesus has already taken that upon Himself out of His love for us.  But that doesn't fit the salvation lie narrative.  

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may becoming God's righteousness in Him 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Witness For The Defense) # 2201

 

Yet hallow the Lord Christ in your hearts, ever ready with a defense for everyone who is demanding from you an account concerning the expectation in you, but with meekness and fear

Peter to the Dispersion (1) 3: 15, Concordant New Testament Translation 

Back in my church days, there were many times that I would take it upon myself to come to the defense of the Lord.  To be ever ready to defend Him from all sorts of blasphemy and heresy.  These days, there have been times where I have reverted back to those old habits, despite knowing God as I now do.  In retrospect, I would ask this one question, does anyone really believe that God needs us to defend Him in anything?  I have been witness to many so called believers who have taken it upon themselves to be that witness for the defense of God.  In my experience, whenever this happens it becomes less of a discussion about our faith in the Lord and more akin to a political debate.  I am reminded of the words of the apostle Peter in which he speaks to hallow the Lord Jesus in our hearts, and to speak Him unto others "With meekness and fear" {Peter to the Dispersion (1) 3:15}.  Forgive me, but I don't think that arguing with someone over the commandments, edicts or church traditions of the Lord treats anyone with meekness.  In my experience, these debates lead more to hurt feelings and grudges.  This begs my next question, is this how the Father desires to be seen, as One Who forces His word on others?  Or, does He desire for us to proclaim Him, as Peter has, in meekness and fear?  I would suggest the latter.  I know a guy who, claiming to be a believer, will adhere to a dogmatic view of the Lord while condemning to hell others who have yet to believe.  Again, is this how God desires to be represented?  I would say no to that all day long and then twice after church on Sunday.  Yet I have dabbled in this defense of God from time to time as well.  I agree that these discussions of the Lord can and will get our ire up at times, but we need to put ourselves in the other persons shoes for a minute.  How is it that we would feel if someone approached us with demands and condemnation?  The best pastors I have ever known do not condemn when speaking Christ unto others, but speak of Him with love and a respect for their audience.  

 I would mention that the word of the Lord is meant to be the good news to all mankind.  Yet I know a man who has considered the New Testament to be the "Fluff" of the bible, and that people need to be confronted with the hard truth as well.  That sin remains an issue, and that those who engage in it are destined for hell.  But has God deemed that sin continue to be a struggle for His children?  I would say no to that, and here's why.  We're told that God, through His love for all of the world, dispatched His Son that all would be saved through Him.  That Christ Jesus has not come to judge the world, but that through Him all would be saved {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  The apostle Paul, in his evangel, speaks that Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  As I have often asked my dogmatic friend, does God truly want to confront us with the brutal truth of an eternity in hell, or grace us with the truth of His love, grace and redemption?  Did Jesus condemn the woman caught in her own sin?  No, His words to her revealed His forgiveness, "From now on by no means any longer be sinning" {Johns Account 8:11}.  Are we any different from that woman caught in sin?  I suggest that Jesus' words to us would, and are, the same.  Go and sin no more.  But Paul speaks to us that sin is no longer the issue.  That we, who have died to sin, how shall we continue to live in it {Paul to the Romans 6:2}.  This is what my friend has referred to as the fluff of the scriptures.  I get it.  This is what I was taught while growing up in the church as well.  That God needed those "Christian soldiers" to defend Him.  I realize now that this was but another lie spoken by the church.  That the Father desires us not to speak words of condemnation, but of the truth we find in His love for us.  THAT needs no defense.  

For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian.  For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him 

Johns Account 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (As The Father) # 2200

 

Jesus, then, answers and said to them, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, the Son can not be doing anything of Himself if it is not what He should be observing the Father doing, for whatever He may be doing, this the Son is doing likewise 

Johns Account 5: 19, Concordant New Testament Translation 

I recall more than a few years ago when those in the congregation of the old church I used to frequent started wearing bracelets and apparel with the letters WWJD emblazoned on them.  I have since come to refer to this as the "What would Jesus do phase,"  At first it seemed logical.  Have an unruly church member?  What would Jesus do?  Someone falling into temptation?  What would Jesus do?  It seemed that wondering what Jesus would do was the answer to any question a believer might have.  But, wondering what He might do and actually doing as He would are definitely two totally different things.  So, how is it that we can know what Jesus will be doing at any given moment?  Well, Jesus Himself explains this in the gospel of John.  Here, Jesus explains that He only does what it is that He should see the Father doing {Johns Account 5:19}.  So it is that Jesus will never be doing anything of Himself, only that which He observes the Father Himself doing.  So, if we pose the same questions, but in a different format, they become more understandable.  Have an unruly church member?  What would the Father do in this situation?  Have someone who has failed to know the truth about sin?  What would the Father say to them in this instance?  For whatever the Father is doing, that Jesus will be doing as well.  I believe that the marketers of the WWJD movement would have been better off asking, what is God doing?  But, that's just my opinion.  Of course, if we do not know the truth of the Father, how is it that we can know what it is that He is doing?  In yesterdays page, I posed the question that God has but one true character, and that is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  A good friend has since reminded me that I was in error in this.  Of course, I remembered the two characteristics of the Father, but somehow it escaped me for a minute.  The truth we have in the Father is that God indeed has two characteristics, that being love AND pain and tragedy, for He is indeed all in all.  However, it is important to note that God CHOOSES to display only His love nature unto His creation.  Therefore, His opposite, pain and tragedy, are not what we ultimately know Him by (I will redo this post at a future date}.  

To know what the Father will be doing at any moment we must, as Jesus has, know the Father.  And who is God?  Well, it is the Fathers love in which we now live {Johns Account 14:20}.  See, Jesus knew the Father very intimately, which is why He could proclaim that He only did what He saw Him doing.  When Philip asked him, "Show us the Father," Jesus had the perfect response {Johns Account 14:8-9}.  That he who has seen Jesus has indeed seen the Father as well.  This falls right in line with the words of Jesus when He spoke that, "I and the Father, We are one" {Johns Account 10:30}.  So, knowing who the Father is and what He is doing is all part of the intimate knowledge which we now have of Him.  Of course, there are those who, either through adhering to wrong teaching or never having known Him, will be unaware of their relationship they share with God.  Of course, this DOES NOT invalidate that relationship in any way, only that He has yet to be revealed in them.  Over the years, I have grown in a better understanding of my own life within the Fathers love.  I grew up being taught that my life was separated from God by sin.  I have since referred to this as one of the lies spoken by the church.  Would God invite us to live within His love while we were still in sin?  The scriptures proclaim the truth to us that Christ Jesus has died to sin, "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  That is ALL sin past, present and future.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we now live free in Gods love.  Again, there will be those who continue to adhere to the same bondage of sin spoken by those within the church.  I'm not that guy.  Knowing that we live within the Father provides us with the intimate knowing of what He is doing.  As with Jesus, we may only do what it is we see the Father doing, if we have that revelation of our life lived within Him. 

Philip is saying to Him, "Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficing us."  Jesus is saying to him, "So much time I am with you, and you do not know Me, Philip!  He who has seen Me has seen the Father, and how are you saying, 'Show us the Father'? 

Johns Account 14: 8-9, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (What You Never Knew About God) # 2199

 

In a beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.  As for the earth, it came to be a chaos and vacant, and darkness was over the surface of the abyss.  And the spirit of Elohim was vibrating over the surface of the waters.  And Elohim said: Let light come to be!  And light came to be.  And Elohim saw the light that it was good.  Then Elohim separated the light from the darkness. 

Genesis 1: 1 - 4, Concordant Old Testament Translation 

It's one of the oldest questions ever asked, and I've asked it myself from time to time.  Why is it that a loving God would allow such suffering and tragedy into this world, into His creation?  Seems like a good question, right?  Well, I would submit that this is more of a question for philosophers than for believers in the Lord.  But let's stop for a minute and unpack this question shall we?  First, we know and believe that God created the heavens and the earth {Genesis 1:1}.  We know that before God spoke His creation, that the earth was "A chaos and vacant" {Genesis 1:2}.  So, the Lord spoke, and the light was created.  And He "Saw the light that it was good" {Genesis 1:4}.  Now, step back for a minute and consider this, what is it that is the opposite of the light?  Yes, darkness is the opposite of the light God created.   I find it interesting that in the gospel of John that Jesus is described as being 'The light of men" {Johns Account 1:4}.  Thus "The light is appearing in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not" {Johns Account 1:5}.  Once again, we're presented with a pair of opposites.  If Jesus was with God in the beginning as the gospel of John speaks to us, can we assume that Jesus, being the light of men, is the opposite of darkness?  I would say yes to that.  But what is the darkness in the context of Jesus being the light of men?  Well, I would say that the darkness in this context is the world we live in.  For Jesus appeared into the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not.  Indeed, Jesus was presented unto this world, and many refused to grasp the truth which He spoke.  All of this many believers find not so difficult to comprehend.  But this is the easy part.  What if I told you that there is something about God that you never knew?  That our loving God, has an opposite.  Yes, just as the light is the opposite of the darkness, God indeed has an opposite to who He truly is.  But before we can understand this opposite to the Father, we must first know and understand who He truly is.  

What is the true character of God?  Well, the apostle Johns speaks to this in his epistle.  Here, John proclaims that the one true character of God, is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  Love is how the Father desires to be known, and love is how He desires us to see Him.  In fact, I would venture to say that it is through His love that God has done all which He has done.  Now, many within the church might discount this as a false teaching.  I get it.  This is why many church going believers continue to struggle with the concept that God could somehow "Allow" tragedy and pain in this world.  I used to think that way as well.  However, it took the death of my mother back in 2016 to change the way that I viewed God.  For years, she had been in pain and living in a care facility.  I did what I was taught to do, I prayed for the Lords healing over her.  When her moment came, I was angry with God for ignoring my prayers.  But had he ignored my prayers for her healing?  It wasn't until some time after her passing that I realized that He had indeed answered my prayer, just not in the way I was expecting.  My mother was no longer suffering or in pain.  Through His nature of love, God had healed her of her pain.  So, what does all of this have to do with God and opposites?  When we understand that the one true nature of God is love, then we can also begin to understand that He does NOTHING out of a desire to bring us pain and suffering.  Pain, tragedy and suffering IS the opposite of God.  Would we know the existence of light if it were not for the darkness?  No, because light is the opposite of the darkness.  Remember, it is God Who separated the light from the darkness.  I understand that this concept of the opposites to God is a tough pill to swallow for many believers, but that does not mean that it's not true.  That simply means that we fail to realize the true nature of the Father.  Yes, I've been there.  Remember that with God there is no turning, that He is the same yesterday, today and forever {To the Hebrews 13:8}.  Therefore, if His true nature is love, then He will not deviate from that.  Therefore, that which we see as tragic and painful, must not be a part of Him, but the opposite of His love nature.  Because we understand that pain and tragedy go against all which he is. 

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love 

First Epistle of John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~