Q & A: How does God express His love for us?

The Old Testament writers had a word for the way God loves us—hesed. It is translated as “ever lovingkindness; tenderness; mercy.” Hesed is the force that rises inside someone, causing them to stand up for the benefit of another. Another way of saying it is that it’s the picture of having a Blood Brother. From God’s perspective, it might best be described using John 3:16: “For God so ‘hesed’ the world, that he gave his only Son….”

After Adam committed high treason and bowed his knee to Satan, he lost his close relationship with God. When that happened, the first thing God did was to kill an animal in order to clothe Adam who had previously been clothed with God’s glory. Later, however, God found for Himself a man, Abram, a man with whom He could cut covenant, a man who would teach his children that covenant (Genesis 18).

But why did God require the blood of animals? Because He did not have any blood of His own to shed. When Abram sinned, God said, “I’ll take the blood of an animal, rather than him. I’ll treat him as though he didn’t sin. I’ll account it to him as right-standing—because he believed Me” (see Galatians 3).

There are two very important things to know about that covenant. First, God cut that covenant with Abram and his Seed—Jesus (Galatians 3:16).  God was making a blood covenant with a man, and He expected that covenant, those words, to produce a body with blood—Jesus—wherein He could swear. God was sealing the deal with the blood of His own Son, who as a man paid the price for our breaking of that covenant (verse 13).

Second, redeemed from the curse of the Law, as heirs in Christ we have received the blessing of the promises God spoke to Abraham (verse 14). We could not receive the blessing by keeping the law, but only by receiving the promise by grace. In Christ, you and I are Abraham’s seed. We are heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). It is no longer by the blood of cows and sheep, but by the blood of Almighty God Himself.

Ours is a covenant between a resurrected immortal man, Jesus, and a holy and infallible God. Neither of them could ever break that covenant. What’s more, neither can we. We may step out of fellowship when we sin, but all we have to do is confess our sin and step back into that fellowship (1 John 1:9).

When the devil comes against you, when sickness and disease come against you, when fear, worry, harm or poverty come against you—remember the covenant!

Remember the blood. Remember the promises. Remember the Word. You have a Blood Brother, just turn it over to Him.