John 3:16 and God's love

[Perry]

It's not 'sooooooo' like a passionate love (eros?)

It is more like "God loved the world like so (in this manner)"

I agree. I've always linked this verse with Romans 5:8.

[Homer]

But it would seem that according to Paidion's open-theism God could not know who would eventually come to love him and who would not. And if his universalism is true, His Son only dies for those who will come to love Him.

[Paidion]

He may not know when they will make that choice, but He knows that all people will eventually submit to Him and love Him, for He will do whatever it takes to bring them to Himself.

Yes, of course, His Son died only for those who will come to love Him because there ARE NO OTHERS for whom to die!

[Bud]

I was wondering about the idea that it is a greater love to die for all and not just your friends when I remembered,
John 15:13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

The idea above has some logical merit but then there's what Jesus says here.

Just thought I'd add this to the "fray"

.

[steve7150]

I was wondering about the idea that it is a greater love to die for all and not just your friends when I remembered,
John 15:13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.






But then again,
"If you love those who love you , what credit is that to you?" Luke 6.32

"But love your enemies, do good to them" 6.35

"Be merciful , just as your Father is merciful" 6.36



Just as your Father is merciful! If Jesus only died for those who love him now, God and Jesus are not on the same page.

[Paidion]

Correct, Steve. It's not that Jesus died only for those who love Him now, but also for those who shall love Him at some point — and the union of those two groups is collectively exhaustive. There's no one else.