(Ps. 99:9), merciful (Deut. 4:31), and righteous (Ps. 7:11). For example, we understand God’s love via narratives demonstrating it in the exodus and the Gospels. Take a passage such as Romans 5:6–8: “When we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.… While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Which is better, to say, “The life of Jesus illustrates Romans 5,” or to say, “The doctrine of Romans 5 comments on the life of Jesus”? We see Jesus sacrificing himself for the weak, for disciples