Does God love everyone exactly the same? The answer often given is an unqualified yes, but Scripture presents a more nuanced picture. The Bible teaches that God loves in three distinct ways.
God’s Benevolent Love: His Kind Disposition Toward the World
The first way God loves might be called his benevolent love—his general kindness and goodwill toward his creation. John 3:16 expresses this kind of love: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” This love is God’s general disposition of kindness and care toward all that he’s made, including us. It’s God’s attitude toward his creation reflecting his patience, mercy, and desire that none should perish (2 Pet. 3:9).
This benevolent love is why God continues to call sinners to repentance. He is not indifferent toward the lost. He is longsuffering, delaying judgment to give people time to turn to Christ. This is the love that fuels the Great Commission, our command to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–19).
God’s Beneficent Love: His Goodness Displayed to All
God also demonstrates his love to all through acts of goodness, often referred to as his beneficent love. Jesus refers to this kind of love in Matthew 5:45 when he says, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
This is God’s common grace—his goodness to all people, regardless of their relationship with him. The righteous and the wicked alike enjoy beauty, joy, and provision. Even those who curse him benefit from the order he built into creation. When Paul addressed the pagans in Lystra, he said, “He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17).
While God’s beneficent love is real, it is not salvific. It is a temporary kindness meant to lead sinners to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Without repentance, this experience of God’s goodness will ultimately serve as an indictment against the lost, leaving them without excuse.
God’s Complacent Love: His Love for His People
The third category of divine love is known as the love of complacency. No, this does not mean smug self-satisfaction. Instead, it refers to the deep, covenantal love God has for his Son and for all who are united to him.
Of the three loves, this love is a special love reserved for his saved people. It is the love God has for his people, the church, the body of Christ. It is the love of a Father for his children, the love of a bridegroom for his bride. God does not extend this love indiscriminately to the world, but only to those who are in Christ.
God doesn’t love everyone in the world with this love. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that God is at enmity with the wicked world: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity” (Ps. 5:4–5).
This truth is difficult for many, but it is a necessary one. God’s complacent love is not universal, because his holiness cannot be indifferent to sin. Jesus came so sinners might be rescued from God’s righteous wrath to become objects of his covenant love.
God’s Love and the Call to Repentance
Many say, “God loves unconditionally.” This is only true in a limited sense, though. God’s benevolence and beneficence are given freely, but his complacent love is reserved for those whom he has adopted in Christ. He doesn’t affirm us in our sin; he calls us to repentance and commands us to turn to Christ (Acts 17:30).
Though God’s love for his people is not given to those outside his covenant, his love for the world gave rise to his gracious invitation to be reconciled to him through Jesus. That’s why the gospel is essential: Only in Christ do we experience the fullness of his love of complacency. Apart from Jesus, we remain under his righteous judgment. However, for those who trust in Christ, he lavishes his love on them, adopts them as his children, and secures them forever.
Does God love everybody? Yes, but he does not love everybody in the same way. God has a general love for all in his benevolence and beneficence, but his deepest love is reserved for those who are in Christ. This is why the call to evangelism is so urgent. We do not merely invite people to experience God’s love; we plead with them to be reconciled to God through Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), where they will know the fullness of that love.
God’s love is real. It’s deep. His love for his redeemed, though, is found in Jesus Christ alone. The call is clear: “Repent and believe” (Mark 1:15). This is the love that transforms, the love that saves, the love that endures forever.