DOCTRINE OF THE COMPOSITES

A. Introduction.

1. The doctrine of composites recognizes the true nomenclature for the integrity of God as the love of God.

2. The true nomenclature is the love of God. The love of God is the integrity of God.

3. The love of God is God’s integrity. God’s love is not a part of the integrity of God; it is the integrity of God. The love of God is not an attribute of the integrity of God. Divine love equals divine integrity. The grace of God is an attribute of divine love.

4. Divine love is not a part of the integrity of God; divine love is the integrity of God.

5. Integrity is defined as adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character, etc. But these definitions are inadequate for describing the integrity of God.

6. Biblical integrity from the source of God may be best understood by the biblical doctrine of the love of God.

7. Therefore, divine righteousness and divine justice as divine attributes as simply composites of the love of God, which is a synonym for divine integrity and not one of the composites.

8. A composite is defined as a separate part of the whole; therefore, separate parts of divine love as the integrity of God. Therefore, the righteousness of God is a composite of divine integrity or divine love. The justice of God is a composite of divine integrity or divine love. The grace of God is a composite of divine integrity or divine love. Therefore, righteousness, justice, and grace are composites or attributes of divine love.

9. While righteousness, justice, and the love of God are classified in theology as attributes of the love of God, the love of God stands out as something far greater than just an attribute of God. While righteousness, justice, and grace are composites of divine integrity, divine love is the whole of the concept.

10. Divine righteousness is the principle and standard that approves and disapproves. The justice of God is the functional source of judgment or blessing. God punishes and blesses us in love.

11. We do not understand the love of God, because we are always trying to put the love of God in our human frame of reference.

12. All of the composites are related to each other. Righteousness is related to justice. Justice is related to grace. Righteousness is related to grace. Therefore, we can have perfect confidence in God’s righteousness, justice, grace, omniscience, etc. Therefore, we can have perfect confidence in the love of God.

B. Divine love is not a composite.

1. The composites include what many theologians in the past have called the attributes of God.

2. But divine love is not an attribute of God. It is not one of the composites.

3. God’s love is a demonstrated factor, Rom 5:8.

4. God’s love exists with or without an object.

5. God’s love is an absolute, above and beyond anything else in the Scripture.

6. God’s love does not increase or decrease; therefore, God’s love is an absolute in the Scripture.

7. God’s love does not possess life; God’s love is life.

8. God’s love is above all of the descriptions of how it functions and the characteristics of it (such as righteous, just, alive, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, truthful, sovereign, gracious).

9. God’s love is neither emotional, nor is it motivated by anything. God’s love is infinite; therefore, His love cannot be complicated by emotion or motivation. God is not motivated to do things. Motivation is a human characteristic. When believers superimpose both emotion and motivation on the love of God, they are guilty of humanizing the love of God.

10. God’s love is the point of reference for divine integrity and every category of grace. Every category of grace must have a point of reference, and that point of reference is God’s love.

11. Therefore, we must avoid humanizing Deity. We are trying to bring God down to our level by attributing to Him human characteristics like anthropopathisms and anthropomorphisms.

(1) Humanizing God is an attack on the essence of God by ascribing to deity certain human characteristics, which God does not have, or distorting certain subjects, such as love, by defining the essence of God in terms of human love.

(2) Any composite of integrity will eventually point in the direction of the love of God. Consequently, the love of God is the whole of divine integrity. Therefore, the love of God is not simply a part of divine integrity.

(3) The love of God is our point of contact, our point of reference. It is above everything that represents it as a composite.

(4) So the love of God combines with the grace of God to motivate following the colors to the high ground of pleroma status.

(5) The Problem of Humanizing God.

(a) If you humanize God, there is no God. There are two exceptions:

i. Anthropopathisms and anthropomorphisms.

ii. The human nature of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union.

(b) If you humanize the love of God, there is no God and no integrity of God. If there is no integrity of God, there is no salvation.

(6) So when believers superimpose both motivation and emotion on the love of God, they are guilty of humanizing the integrity of God. Humanization of the love of God is a major attack on the integrity of God.

(7) Rom 8:28, “Now we know that to those who love God, He causes all things to work together for good even those who are called on the basis of a predetermined plan” does not apply to any believer who has humanized God or to any believer who is out of fellowship or to the believer who does not use rebound.

(a) Principles.

i. When you know God, you love God.

ii. When you love God, you respect God.

iii. When you respect God, you accept the authority of God.

iv. When you accept the authority of God, you obey God.

v. When you obey God, you grow in grace as a part of reciprocity.

vi. When you grow in grace as a part of reciprocity, you fulfill 2 Pet 3:18, “But grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

(b) Principles.

i. There is no reciprocal or true love for God apart from knowledge of God.

ii. Knowledge of the love of God must precede knowledge of love for God.

iii. When we understand the love of God for us in eternity past, we begin to know the love for God in time.

iv. This becomes the motivation for the staying power of the believer in the advance to the high ground of pleroma, including occupation with Christ, maximum glorification of God, the status of winner believer, and becoming an invisible hero. _

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