Existence of Divine Love Before Creation
The concept of divine love existing before creation is rooted in biblical passages that describe God's eternal nature and His relationship with humanity prior to the world's formation. Ephesians 1:4 states that God "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love" [1]. This verse establishes that divine love was present before creation, as it was the basis for God's choice of humanity.
The idea that God's love is eternal and not contingent upon creation is further supported by patristic thought. Augustine, for instance, discusses the nature of marriage and God's blessing before sin, implying that divine love and blessing were present from the beginning [2]. Athanasius of Alexandria also explores the eternal existence of the Word, arguing that the Word's presence is necessary not only for creation but also for its permanence [3, 6].
Reformed theology, as represented by John Calvin, emphasizes the eternal nature of God's love and election. Calvin notes that God "has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4), highlighting the predestinarian aspect of divine love [4, 7]. Calvin's commentary on Genesis also underscores the role of the Word in creation, arguing against the idea that God's attributes or qualities change over time [8].
The eternal existence of divine love is also linked to the concept of the Trinity. Tertullian discusses the evolution of the Son or Word of God from the Father, illustrating the divine procession and the eternal relationship within the Godhead [5]. John of Damascus, representing Eastern Orthodox thought, describes the divine subsistence of God the Word as existing before all else and being eternal, simple, and uncompound [9].
While the concept of divine love before creation is supported across various Christian traditions, there are nuances in how this idea is understood. For example, Charles Hodge, representing Old Princeton theology, discusses the ideal preexistence of humanity in the divine mind, suggesting that God's love and omniscience contemplate humanity as present before creation [10].
The biblical foundation for divine love before creation is not limited to Ephesians 1:4. Other passages, such as John 17:5 and 24, also imply the eternal nature of God's love and relationship with Christ [11]. Adam Clarke's commentary on John 17:5 highlights the eternal divinity of Christ and the glory He had with the Father before the world was.
The understanding of divine love before creation has implications for how one views God's relationship with humanity and the nature of salvation. According to Calvin, God's eternal love and election are the basis for our salvation, and our holiness and blamelessness are a result of being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world [7].
The concept of divine love existing before creation is thus deeply rooted in biblical and theological traditions. It underscores the eternal nature of God's love and its role in shaping humanity's relationship with God.
The eternal existence of divine love also speaks to the nature of God's character, highlighting His consistency and faithfulness. As Athanasius notes, the Word's presence is necessary for creation's permanence, illustrating the ongoing role of divine love in sustaining the world [6].
Sources
- Ephesians “Ephesians 1:4 (NASB) — just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 40 [XXXV.]--MARRIAGE EXISTED BEFORE SIN WAS COMMITTED. HOW GOD'S BLESSING OPERATED IN OUR FIRST PARENTS.: There was, however, undoubtedly marriage, even when sin had no prior existence; and for no other reason was it that woman, and not a second man, was created as a help for the man. Moreover, those words of God, "Be fruitful and multiply,"[11] are not prophetic of sins to be condemned, but a benediction upon the fertility of marriage. For by these ineffable words of His, I mean by the divine methods which are inherent in the truth of His wis”
- CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 88: §41. The Presence of the Word in nature necessary, not only for its original Creation, but also for its permanence . But though He is Word, He is not, as we said, after the likeness of human words, composed of syllables; but He is the unchanging Image of His own Father. For men, composed of parts and made out of nothing, have their discourse composite and divisible. But God possesses true existence and is not composite, wherefore His Word also has true Existence and is not composite, but is the one and only-begotten God 166 166 Jo”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 52: fix our eyes and minds on Christ alone, as it is to him alone it is owing that our sins, which necessarily provoked the wrath of God, are not imputed to us. 4. For this reason Paul says, that God “has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,” ( Eph. 1:3, 4 ). These things are clear and conformable to Scripture, and admirably reconcile the passages in which it is said, that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. V.--THE EVOLUTION OF THE SON OR WORD OF GOD FROM THE FATHER BY A DIVINE PROCESSION. ILLUSTRATED BY THE OPERATION OF THE HUMAN THOUGHT AND CONSCIOUSNESS. (part 1): But since they will have the Two to be but One, so that the Father shall be deemed to be the same as the Son, it is only right that the whole question respecting the Son should be examined, as to whether He exists, and who He is and the mode of His existence. Thus shall the truth itself[5] secure its own sanction[6] from the Scriptures, and the interpretations which guard[7] them. There are some who alle”
- CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 88: by the governance and providence and ordering action of the Word, Creation may have light, and be enabled to abide alway securely. For it partakes of the Word Who derives true existence from the Father, and is helped by Him so as to exist, lest that should come to it which would have come but for the maintenance of it by the Word,—namely, dissolution,—“for He is the Image of the invisible God, the first-born of all Creation, for through Him and in Him all things consist, things visible and things invisible, and He is the Head of t”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 77: in which he exhorts the Colossians to give thanks that they had been made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints ( Col. 1:12 ). If election precedes that divine grace by which we are made fit to obtain immortal life, what can God find in us to induce him to elect us? What I mean is still more clearly explained in another passage: God, says he, “has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we might be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by J”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 5.12: in the cloud, and in the pillar of fire. (See Calvin’s Institutes, Book II. c. xiv.) This illustrates what Calvin means when he says, that Servetus imagines a new quality in God when he begins to speak. The distinct personality of the Word being denied, qualities or attributes of Deity are put in his place. Against this Calvin contends. His argument seems to be to the following effect: — The creation of the indigested mass called heaven and earth, in the first verse, was apparently — though not really — without the Word, inasmuch ”
- CCEL (Eastern Orthodox) “John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, section 53: Chapter VII.— Concerning the one compound subsistence of God the Word. We hold then that the divine subsistence of God the Word existed before all else and is without time and eternal, simple and uncompound, uncreated, incorporeal, invisible, intangible, uncircumscribed, possessing all the Father possesses, since He is of the same essence with Him, differing from the Father’s subsistence in the manner of His generation and the relation of the Father’s subsistence, being perfect also and at no time separated from the Fathe”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 13: Nicht bloss Philosophie und falchberühmte Gnosis, sondern auch die Schrift weiss und spricht von einer göttlichen Idealwelt, zu welcher sich die Zeitwelt wie die geschichtliche Verwirklichung eines ewigen Grundrisses verhält. 95 95 Biblische Psychologie, p. 23. That is, “There is according to the Scriptures, an ideal preëxistence of man; a preëxistence in virtue of which man and humanity are contemplated by the divine omniscience not merely as objects lying far off in the future, but as present in the mirror of his wisdom. Not only philos”
- John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on John 17:5: Before the world was - That is, from eternity, before there was any creation - so the phrase, and others similar to it, are taken in the sacred writings; see Joh 17:24; Psa 90:2; Eph 1:4. See Joh 1:1. Let the glory of my eternal divinity surround and penetrate my humanity, in its resurrection, ascension, and in the place which it is to occupy at thy right hand, far above all creatures, Phi 2:6, Phi 2:9.”