God is Love

⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

(1 John 4:8 ESV)

I heard a song on the local Christian radio station that worries me. The song is “The Heart of God” and the lyrics contain the phrase ‘at the heart of God there is only love’. This is so misleading and is in fact a misunderstanding of the verse quoted is about. I believe the verse really means that God is the very definition of love, not that He is only love. There are so many things that God is. Here are some of them:

• God Is Infinite – He is Self-Existing, Without Origin
• God Is Immutable – He Never Changes
• God Is Self-Sufficient – He Has No Needs
• God is Omnipotent – He Is All Powerful
• God Is Omniscient – He Is All-Knowing
• God Is Omnipresent – He Is Always Everywhere
• God Is Wise – He Is Full of Perfect, Unchanging Wisdom
• God Is Faithful – He Is Infinitely, Unchangingly True
• God Is Good – He Is Infinitely, Unchangingly Kind and Full of Good Will
• God Is Just – He Is Infinitely, Unchangeably Right and Perfect in All He Does
• God Is Merciful – He is Infinitely, Unchangeably Compassionate and Kind
• God Is Gracious – God Is Infinitely Inclined to Spare the Guilty
• God Is Loving – God Infinitely, Unchangingly Loves Us
• God Is Holy – He is Infinitely, Unchangingly Perfect
• God Is Glorious – He is Infinitely Beautiful and Great

In addition, Ex 34:6-7 says:

“6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…”

These are the accepted teachings of the Christian church. One thing I’ve learned about Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) is that it is not where I look to find doctrine or teaching about God.