Seem too good to be true? Seems a bit irreverent?
You may have heard it said or perhaps said it yourself to someone,“God LOVES you” and based on the Bible that is true. But have you ever had someone say to you or you to someone else God “LIKES” you! Maybe you “Feel” like it would just be “wrong,” to say that about yourself, that God “Likes”you.”How could He,” you may ask? Consider…
Jesus says in John 16:27,”for the Father Himself LOVES you, because you have LOVED Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”
The word He uses for “Love” here, is not “Agapao” which speaks of the supreme sacrificial love of the will, but “Phileo” which is the word used for a personal affection! It is a devotion based on the emotions. It denotes personal attachment, friendship, to be fond of…{have a liking for}. Phileo is chiefly of the heart, Agape is chiefly of the head. Agape love speaks of the preciousness of the object which God places on us where as Phileo speaks of the Pleasure. The word ‘” phileo” is used 25 times in the N.T. it speaks indeed of a friendship , a fondness, a mutual pleasure derived from a friendship… a “love”of the emotions. God is not cold, callous, distant or like the “Stoics”of Paul’s time shunned emotions as though all were bad, “But God,” has made us emotional beings and with the new birth our feelings of affection are transformed and we have the capacity to delight find pleasure in what He finds pleasure and delight in. What He is fond of and likes we too can reflect as our mind is renewed by His Word.
Wuest says, ” “Phileo” is a love which consists of the glow of the heart kindled by the perception of that in the object which affords us pleasure. It is the response of the human spirit to what appeals to it as pleasurable. The Greeks made much of friendship. The word was used to speak of a friendly affection. It is a love called out of one in response to a feeling of pleasure or delight which one experiences from an apprehension of qualities in another that furnish such pleasure or delight”
“Phileo,’ speaks of “a warm, caring, deep, affection,” and this God the Father has for you, because you believe His Son came from the Father and you have a {Phileo} love for His Son.
The word is also used in John 11:36 “So the Jews said, “See how He loved {phileo} him.” His response upon seeing Mary and Martha’s pain at he death of Lazarus! He had a personal warm, caring, deep emotional feeling of affection for him! This is what Jesus told the disciples The Father had for them because they too shared in this common interest, namely Him, that they shared in a common interest of deep personal emotional affection for Jesus Christ! It is to say they “Liked Him!”
The Father “LIKES you” and the way it is written grammatically it is a continuous, unbreakable warm, tender and deep emotional affection that He has for you. HE GENUINELY TENDERLY, AFFECTIONATELY… LIKES YOU! But you refuse to believe this and you have several objections of why God CANNOT and DOES NOT LIKE YOU. For example…
There are THREE INGREDIENTS…LEVELS… TO EVERY HEART PROBLEM...
1. A FEELING PROBLEM; You Don’t Believe He Likes You- Because you Don’t’ “feel” He can. And so again your feelings are your ultimate authority, not His Word. You have a “feeling problem” as it contradicts His REVEALED WORD. FAULTY FEELINGS, based on a lie, not on the Truth of Scripture. We “feel” we can’t say it about ourselves, “God LIKES ME!”… “But GOD…” He says it about you THEREFORE…IT…IS …TRUE!
We can name so many REASONS why He could not “Like” us.
We don’t think He can like us, so we reject the thought… we reject the truth of what He says.
Maybe we see Him as “He puts up with me, but He could never like me if He really knew me as I know myself… or what I have just done or not done…!” As if God can be surprised or hid from!! We see life from our perspective, how we “feel” and we “think,” and equate that to Truth and Fact and as official, the final and definitive authority on the issue, rather than Him and what He says! Our “thinking” we “feel” is the ultimate authority rather than His! Therefore we conclude He could never “LIKE ME!” If He really knew me as I know myself and see myself as I am! We elevate our faulty opinion and feelings over His Word and come to wrong conclusions about Him and Who He says we are “In Christ!” It’s Crazy thinking, as He is God, He is truth, He cannot lie! He is trustworthy. It is not what we say, or how we “feel,” for now we are turning inward and away from Him and basing “truth” as we interpret rather than He declares it! We will believe He died for us, but do not believe He could like us. Indeed we will not allow Him to say so, as it makes us feel uncomfortable! And somehow it just seems wrong and unholy. And not the image of God we have in our mind. And now we fall into idolatry creating a god of our own imagination, one we can control, rather than submitting and relishing in His grace, that not only did He voluntarily choose to die for you and me because He loved me but that He also has a warm, tender, caring affection towards me that He chooses to…LIKE ME! It is not what you or I say, But it is ONLY what He says that counts! We, in essence, oppose God, when we elevate our thinking above His Word, which is… Truth!
2. A THINKING PROBLEM; You Have Set yourself above God because you have a THINKING PROBLEM. You believe you are wiser than God, cannot be deceived, are all knowing and what you “think” is the highest authority, even Higher than God Himself and His Word! We do what he forbids, “…we lean to our own understanding…” We choose not to “renew” our minds so we can prove the will of God which is good and acceptable and well pleasing, as revealed in Romans 12;2-3. So we do not have the Mind of Christ in the matter, we are basing our decision making and views on UNGODLY THINKING… STINKING THINKING! God says that we are to Renew tour mind. We in our own arrogance and deception do not believe it is necessary when it comes to us, as we “think” so highly of ourselves and our understanding of life. We are the “umpire,” deciding what is true and what is not. We decide what to accept from the Bible and what not to.We have set ourselves above God.
” For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”- {Prov 23:7}. You are what you think you are!
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. “-{Prov 4:23}
“The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. “-{Luke 6:45}
3. A DOING PROBLEM; You don’t believe He can “Like” You. You “FEEL”He doesn’t, you”THINK” He can’t, and so it effects the way you live life and the way you view Him and even present Him to others. You have a DOING PROBLEM! The Sin of UNBELIEF. It’s not ignorance, that “I Didn’t know,” but defiance! It is upon hearing His Word and deciding, “I do Know what He says and I make a choice to “WILLFULLY REFUSE ” TO PUT MY TRUST, BELIEF in Him Or His Word!
I DO choose to reject this aspect of His love for me and refuse to hold forth this truth to others and often DO Live as a legalistic, devoid of love, joy, with lists as your guide to govern you rather than His Word and amazing grace,and favor towards you. This truth is meant to lead to trust in Him and boasting and exalting in Him!
So which of the above three do you have a problem with, when God says He has a warm, caring affection towards you, that He in essence”Likes” you?
Is it a Feeling Problem?
Is it a Thinking Problem?
Is It a DOING Problem?
Where Truth is relegated and replaced, Self exalts it self seeking to be the Highest and ultimate authority and the three fold problems mentioned run riot and cause havoc in the life of a person.
WE FEEL AND SAY “GOD…LIES… TO YOU…”
WHEN WE REJECT HIS WORD… THAT SAYS IN ESSENCE…
“GOD ….LIKES YOU!”
Therefore, Grace is Not Amazing, because it is too good to be true, we believe! We then continue living not by grace but by “merit…” trying to earn God’s favor… and making others do and live likewise. Instead of enjoying and basking in God’s Amazing Grace… we are distrustful, suspicious of it and are uptight…and we labor in the flesh… with false concepts about God!
With the Three Fold Heart Problem, There Is A Three Fold GODLY… SCRIPTURAL… HEART SOLUTION To Every Problem!
Note the order….
THINK RIGHT- {Phil 4:8}-“Whatever is TRUE…Dwell on these things…”
DO RIGHT- {Phil 4;9} and the..
FEEL RIGHT. The “Feelings’ Will follow in line with His revealed Word!- {Phil 4:9}
THINK ON THIS;
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God THE FATHER… PERSONALLY…LIKES…YOU!
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God THE FATHER… PRESENTLY…LIKES…YOU!
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God THE FATHER …PERMANENTLY…LIKES…YOU!
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God THE FATHER …EXCLUSIVELY…LIKES…YOU!
This love of AFFECTION is EXCLUSIVE – It is RESERVED FOR HIS PEOPLE, of which you are one of “In Christ!” His Love of affection towards His own is PRESENT TENSE AND PERMANENT!
The word is present tense- every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year GOD LIKES YOU!
It is a continual deep affection He has for you!
Despite knowing all about you, He has declared and set His warm deep emotional Affection upon you. And it is unbreakable.
You CANNOT change His heart towards you. He LIKES you! He really, really has a deep unchanging, warm, caring personal emotional affection for… you! He really, really LIKES you!
“BELIEVE” – He goes on to say, you “phileo”– have a deep, emotional warm caring affection for His Son and you “BELIEVE.” What is it they and you believe?
That Jesus came forth from the Father. Some believed He was of the devil, but the believers believe He came forth from God! This separates believers from all others. While some may say He was of the devil, others discounted Him as a mere “good man” or a good moral teacher, but the believer know He came forth from God- Jesus Christ, The God man! This is a wonderful verse regarding the incarnation! – {Read John 1:1; Phil 2;6-8}
God does Love you.{Agapa} – The CROSS Expresses it-“ But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.…This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us…”-{ Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:16}.
But also, God also really, really, really has a deep, caring emotional affectionate love for you. The FATHER LIKES YOU {Phileo}! Amazing Love! Both “Love’s” expressed. A Sacrificial love {Rom 5:8;1 John 3;16} but also a love of deep affection for you!-{John 16;27}.
Think on this today. God Loves you…But He also LIKES YOU! Share with another believer that GOD LIKES THEM! -{Based on John 16:27}
And the wonderful truth this is written to those who FAIL! The Father wants to assure them He loves them, has a warm, intimate, emotional affection for them He LIKES them!! For they “Like” His Son and believe He was sent from the Father… and the Father likes that and Likes them!
Do you think when you fail that He is going to disown you? Perhaps others have treated you that way, but God is not like others. He is committed to you, look to the cross! He can be grieved by our sin, for only love can be grieved but it does not change His commitment or love to you or His tender affections towards you. That is unchanging as He is unchanging! God LIKES you!
Overcoming spiritual failure is to allow the Holy Spirit to encourage you with His Word as in John 16:27, that you can go on and spiritually grow- Be assured God the Father LIKES YOU!! What love, humility, adoration and affection it should draw out from our hearts towards Him who loves us and likes us!
ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION;
Do you believe God likes you?
Is there a hesitancy or does it depend on how you are “performing,” whether you perceive yourself as “DOING WELL?” If so, you are falling back into a “works mentality,” trying to earn God’s favor, His affection by your own merit, and that is an affront to the Love of God and the Work and Word of Jesus Christ. It is to say He is not sufficient, His work is not enough that YOU have to ADD to it, to MERIT Salvation and as a believer to sustain His favor somehow, and the blessings it entails. It is no longer grace but your self effort to “earn” and maintain His acceptance, favor, which you already have in Him.{Read Rom 5:1-2}.
It is to defiantly, rebelliously say “I will not believe His Word!” In the end you are saying “I am my own Savior.” It is “Jesus, PLUS ME!” Even as a believer, thinking, if it’s too good to be true then it cannot be true!
It is, though perhaps not verbally saying it, but internally thinking and with our attitude, saying, “I decide what is TRUE from Scripture and what is not. I am the ultimate authority.” That’s not only self deception, it’s idolatry! It needs to be repented of, confessed and thank God you can start afresh through His Blood,{Read 1 John 1:7,9} and by His power “..who works IN you both to desire and Do for His good pleasure.”-{Phil 2:13}. For “God has given us everything pertaining to life and Godliness… and precious and magnificent promises…” to encourage and empower us to understand,and live this life of amazing undeserved grace. Part is knowing what He says to be true of Him and us. What He says about us is true! -{Read 2 Peter 1:3-4}
We can come up with many Reasons why He cannot TAKE PLEASURE, DELIGHT IN US AND “LIKE US” but none are acceptable to Him, and the life of faith in HIM, which He calls us to.
It is to deny His Word… and to continue doing so, is pride… an affront to His WORD and to call Him a liar… and to create a “god” of our own imagination and reject Him who is True and has written His WORD to reveal Himself to us and to encourage us through his Word – {Read Rom 15:4}
Check it out. Study John 16:27, John 11:36, and the passage where Jesus restores Peter {John 21:17-} and the word “Phileo” is also used in each of these passages and see what He teaches.
ASK THE LORD … to bring to your remembrance HOW He has shown His deep, caring tender affection towards you, as we so often forget.
* THINK on His personal, present, permanent affection and
* THANK HIM and seek to…
* TESTIFY AND tell SOMEONE ELSE of His testimony to you and what He says in His Word. Seek to tell another believer today “GOD LIKES YOU” based on John 16:27!
THE GOD NEWS! God really, really LIKES YOU. His affection is present tense and permanently so! And He will not change His mind or heart of loving, caring warm emotional affection towards you and lavishes His love upon you! The Father LIKES you! He is not a cold stand off, upper lip, emotionless Being, but full of perfect warmth towards you of tender, caring affections in which He takes delight in you and you take delight in Him. For He really, really “likes” you.
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE THE LIE THAT GOD DOES NOT “LIKE” YOU?
SINFUL THINKING; Why is it “Sinful thinking?” If we know the truth and refuse to submit, embrace, believe and DO the truth, then we say God cannot be trusted, He is lying! We are arrogantly saying we are wiser, as we do not believe that God likes us or that it is possible or indeed true! We place ourselves above God, by rejecting His Word and are in essence saying not only can He not be trusted neither can His Word. What do we base this on? “What I “feel,” what I “think,” as though we are the ultimate authority, but Jesus says in Matthew 7:26-27, “…And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” He says if we build our lives on anything other than the Word of God we are compared to a foolish person who went to build a house and built it on sand, which is unstable and when the floods, storms came it was blown away because it was not built on a solid foundation which Jesus says is His Word! That is why it is sinful thinking!
What does He say in John 16:27 about His own? He loves them. He has a deep caring, emotional affection for them, that is to say He really likes them! We need to RENEW our thinking to say what He says about us, for He cannot lie and what He says is true for He is True and His Word is Truth! -{Read John 11:36, John 16:27; John 21:17; Rom 12:2-3; John 17:17}.
Think about it, perhaps some poor soul sitting on a Sunday morning in a church, beat down by failures that haunt, an evil foe taunting, and then The LORD raising up a banner of truth and they hear that God not only Loves them with a sacrificial unmerited unchanging love, but takes pleasure and has a warm, caring emotional affectionate love for them. A Love of deep permanent, unchanging affection for them, that He truly LIKES THEM.
It is permanent, continuous and there is nothing you can do to change how He feels about you. Good News,… May God open up your mind to know this glorious, outrageous act of Graciousness for you.
He unreservedly, unashamedly, determinedly, irrevocably, affectionately, “Likes ” You!
WHO ARE YOU? You can say based on His Word,- “I AM A RECIPIENT of the deep, emotional, caring Affection of God and that is eternally so! That God the Father LIKES ME!
And as a result we can GROW in our, fondness, mutual friendships, emotionally caring warmly for one another as followers of the lovely Lord JESUS. For Peter wrote,
“…In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone” -{2 Peter 1:5-7} “brotherly AFFECTION…”
We are to be GROWING in SHOWING affection to one another and mirroring our LORD!