One of the words that is very frequently
met in the Bible is the word "love". Given the importance that the
Word of God gives to this word we will devote this and the next issue to
examine it in more detail.
Before we are able to speak about love, we have to
make sure that we understand what it is. We have therefore to study the Word of
God to see what this Word defines as love. This is exactly what we are going to
do today, starting from Galatians 5.
Galatians 5 is a chapter that is in a large degree
devoted to a contrast between the old nature (called "flesh" in
Galatians 5), and the new nature (called "spirit" in the same
chapter), and the conflict that there is between them. Regarding now the terms
"old nature" and "new nature", they are employed to
describe the state of a man before and after he believes respectively. Before
one becomes a Christian, i.e. before he confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus
and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9), he
is described as "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).
Whatever work a non-saved man may do, before God he is always considered as
dead in trespasses and sins. He may seem polite, he may give to charities, he
may demonstrate for peace, for the animals, for the environment, but from God's
point of view, he is dead in trespasses and sins, a ruined man, a man
"alienated from the life of God" (Ephesians 4:18) exactly as Adam was
after the fall. Some of the terms that the Bible uses to describe this man,
this ruined nature, are: "old man" (Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:9),
"flesh" (Galatians 5:13-26, Romans 8:1-13), "natural man"
(I Corinthians 2:14), "body of death" (Romans 7:24). The term
"old nature" will be used throughout this study.
Fortunately, this ruined nature is not the only
possibility for a man. A man is not condemned to remain eternally dead in
trespasses and sins. This situation can be changed by confessing with the mouth
the Lord Jesus and believing with the heart that God raised him from the dead.
As Romans 10:9 tells us:
Romans 10:9
"if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED"
When one confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus and
believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead, he is born again and as a result he receives a new nature.
From God's point of view, he is no longer dead in trespasses and sins but he is
saved (Romans 10:9), he is holy and righteous before Him (Romans 3:21-28, I
Corinthians 1:30), he has holy spirit that he can also operate (I Corinthians
12:8-10) and he becomes a son of God (Galatians 3:26), to refer just a few of
the things that one has as a result of the new birth. All these things that a
man has because of the new birth constitute the new nature, or to use the Bible's
terminology, the "new man" (Ephesians 4:24), or "spirit" (Galatians 5:5-25). However, the
fact that after one believes he receives a new nature does not mean that the
old nature disappears automatically. Instead after the new birth a child of God
has in him both the old nature and the new nature. The fact that these two
natures are opposite to each other creates a conflict between them. As
Galatians 5:16-17 tells us:
Galatians 5:16-17
"I say then: Walk in [Greek: by] the spirit [the new nature], and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh [the old nature]. For the flesh lusts
against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ; and these are contrary
to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish"
The old nature or flesh is against the new nature or
spirit. To be winner in this conflict what is needed is not to try to tidy up
the ruined old nature. Instead, what should be done is to walk directly by the
new nature. As the passage says: "Walk by the spirit AND [AS A RESULT] you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." The way to not fulfill the lust
of the flesh is not by keeping a list of do and don'ts but by walking by the
new nature i.e. by putting on and utilizing all the things that the Word of God
says that we are and we can do. As we do this, the works of the flesh, of the
old nature, will be eliminated.
The result of the walk by the new nature, by the
spirit, is given in Galatians 5:19-23 together with the results of the walk by
the old nature, by the flesh:
Galatians 5:19-23
"Now the works of the flesh are evident which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I
also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law."
The first category of acts or attitudes are works of
the flesh i.e. works that are the manifestation of the old nature. In contrast
the second category consists "the fruit of the spirit" i.e. the
product of the walk by the spirit, by the new nature. We repeat that this
product does not come by tiding up the old nature but by walking with the new
nature i.e. by putting on and utilizing all that the Word of God says that we
are and we can do. As we can see from the above passage, love belongs to the
fruit of the new nature. Love therefore is not a quality to be found in the old
man, since it is fruit of the NEW man, the new nature. With the new nature we
got the ability to love, to have joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. By putting on this new nature, all
these come as a product, as a fruit into our lives.
To conclude therefore: love is something that has to
do with the new nature only. The old nature is dead in trespasses and sins and
nothing good comes from it. This probably may help us to understand better the
wrong of the phrase "I love you" as it is used in the world's
vocabulary. Love, as it is defined in the Bible, is a product of the new nature
and cannot be produced but only by those who have this nature (i.e. by people
who have confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believed in their hearts
that God raised him from the dead), AND also walk by this nature.
Having clarified that love is a result of our walk by
the new nature, we will now go to I Corinthians 13:4-7 to examine some of the
things that love is and some that it is not. There we read:
I Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast,
is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not
provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the
truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things"
Below we will try to examine in more depth each of the
things that love is and each of the things that it is not, aiming in a more
precise understanding of them.
The phrase "suffers long" is the Greek verb
"makrothumeo" that is composed of the words "makros" that
means "long" and "thumos" that means "anger",
"wrath". In other words, "makrothumeo" means "to be
long before being angry" and it is the opposite of
"short tempered". "Makrothumeo" has more the meaning of
being patient with people than of being patient with situations. For the latter
there is another Greek word that is used later in the same passage of I
Corinthians. Love therefore does not get angry with people quickly, it is not
short tempered, but it endures patiently.
Something else that characterises love is that it is
kind. The Greek word for "kind" is the verb "chresteuomai"
that is used only here in the New Testament. However, it is used quite a few
times, in two other forms. The one is the adjective "chrestos" while
the other is the noun "chrestotes". "Chrestos" means
"good, gentle, benevolent, benign; actively beneficent in spite of
ingratitude". Consequently "chresteuomai" means to show one's
self chrestos i.e. to be gentle, good, kind despite that you may be confronted
with ingratitude.
The word "envy" that is used in this passage
is the Greek verb "zeloo". The corresponding noun is
"zelos". Zeloo and zelos are both used in a good and in a bad sense.
In a good sense they are used with the meaning of zeal, ardour. Thus for
example, in I Corinthians 14:1 we are called to pursue love, and desire [zeloo]
the things of the spirit. However, zelos and zeloo are mostly used in a bad
sense. In this sense zelosmeans envy, jealousy. James 3:14-16 makes clear the
results and the source of jealousy:
James 3:14-16
"But if you have bitter envy [zelos] and strife in your hearts, do not
boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but
is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy [zelos] and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil thing" (NKJV-KJV)
The source of envy and jealousy is the flesh, the old
nature (see also Galatians 5:20). When there is jealousy, you are glad when I
suffer and you suffer when I am glad, quite the contrary of what the Word of
God commands (I Corinthians 12:26). In contrast, and since love does not envy,
when you love, you are glad when I am glad and you suffer with me when I
suffer.
The word translated as "boast" here is the
Greek verb "perpereuomai" that means "to show one's self a
boaster or braggart". It is that kind of behaviour that says continuously
"I did, I have, I made,...etc." The word "I" is very
frequently used from a such kind of person. As Christians we also sometimes do
the same thing. We say: "I did this for the Lord...", "I have
prayed that much", "I spent so much time studying the Bible
today", "I know this and that from the Bible" meaning that I am
worthier than you that you probably did not do "that much". However,
when we really love we do not boast, for we recognize that there is nothing
that makes us different from any other brother or sister in the body. As I
Corinthians 4:7 says:
I Corinthians 4:7
"who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not
receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not
received it?"
Everything that we have was given to us from the Lord.
We did not achieve it. That's why we have no right to boast in anything or
anyone else than the Lord. As I Corinthians 1:31 tells us:
I Corinthians 1:31
"LET HIM WHO BOASTS BOAST IN THE LORD"
Will we therefore boast in our abilities, worth or
even devotion? No if we love. For if we love we will boast in the Lord and only
in Him.
Another thing that love does not do is to be puffed
up. The Greek word for "puffed up" is the verb "fusioo"
that literally means "to blow, puff, inflate". In the New Testament
it is used 7 times, 6 of which in the first epistle to Corinthians. In all cases it is used metaphorically
with the meaning of pride. A characteristic usage of this word is in I
Corinthians 8:1 where we read:
I Corinthians 8:1-3
"Now concerning things offered to idols: we know that we all have
knowledge. Knowledge puffs up [fusioo], but loves edifies. And if
anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him."
Head knowledge puffs up. We do not study the Bible
just to earn head knowledge but to know God, who reveals Himself in it. As I
John 4:8 says: "he who does not love does not know God, for God is
love". Without love we will not know God even if we have full head
knowledge of the Scripture. Moreover, if this head knowledge remains mere head
knowledge and it is not accompanied by love then the result is to be puffed up,
quite the contrary of what love is.
Another thing that love does not do is to behave
"rudely". The word "rudely" here is the Greek verb
"aschemoneo" that means "to behave in unseemly guise, be void of
proper deportment, to act with moral deformity". Thus for example in
Romans 1:27 the wrong of homosexuality is called "aschemosune" (the
product of "aschemoneo"). Love therefore does not behave with an
immoral or unseemly way, and when such a behaviour is observed does not come
but from the old man.
Something else that love does not do is to seek its
own. The phrase "its own" is the Greek adjective "eautou"
whose meaning is himself, herself, itself. There are quite a few places in the
Bible that instruct us not to seek our own. Romans 15:1-3 tells us:
Romans 15:1-3
"We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and
not to please ourselves [eautou]. Let each of us please hisneighbour for his
good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself [eautou];
but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on
me"
Also I Corinthians 10:23-24
"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial; all
things are lawful for me but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but
each one the other's"
When we walk with love we do not seek to please
ourselves, making ourselves the center of our activities (individualism). In
contrast, by serving God in love we seek to please, to bless, the others.
That's what Jesus Christ did. He served God in love and he did not seek to
please himself. That's why he also went to the cross. As Philippians 2:7-11
tells us:
Phillipians 2:7-11
"but [Jesus] MADE HIMSELF [eautou] OF NO REPUTATION [Greek: "emptied
himself"], taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of
men. And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
OBEDIENT to the point of death, even the death of the cross. THEREFORE [as a
result] God highly exalted him and gave him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of
those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"
Jesus because of the love that he had for us emptied
himself and went to the cross for our own sake. But was it something that was
done in vain or something that ended up in a personal loss? NO. In contrast,
because he did that, God EXALTED him. Similarly, when we love we give to our
private interests the second place and to the fellow brothers and sisters in
the body the first place. The result is not a personal loss but a multitude of
rewards here and in heaven. As Christ said in John 12:25-26:
John 12:25-26
"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there my servant
will be also. IF ANYONE SERVES ME, HIM THE FATHER WILL HONOR."
Also Mark 10:29-30
"So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly I say to you, there is no one
who has LEFT house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or
children or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive A
HUNDREDFOLD NOW IN THIS TIME- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and lands, with persecutions - AND IN THE AGE TO COME, eternal
life."
How many investments do you know that give back
"A HUNDREDFOLD NOW IN THIS TIME"? Apart from turning from seeking our
own first to seeking God's and the others' brothers and sisters in the body, I
do not know any. To conclude: either we become individualists and lose
everything, or we love and instead of caring first for ourselves we care first
for God and the others brothers and sisters in the body. In this case we get
back "a hundredfold" plus honors from God Himself.
The word translated as "provoked" here is
the Greek verb "paroxuno" that literally means "to sharpen by
rubbing on anything, to whet; to sharpen, incite, exasperate". The
corresponding noun is the word "paroxusmos" from which the English
derives the word "paroxysm". Evidently, provocation and anger can in
no way coexist with honest love, for they are opposite to it.
The word "think" here is the Greek verb
"logizomai" that should most properly be translated as
"reckon". It literally means "to put together with one's mind,
to count to occupy oneself with reckonings and calculations." From the 40 times that it occurs
in the New Testament, the KJV translates it 3 times as "to account",
5 "to count", 6 "to reckon", 8 "to impute" and 8
times "to think". A more accurate translation is given by the NIV
that reads: "love keeps no record of wrongs" i.e. love quickly and
permanently forgets the evils that may have been done to it. Sometimes people
in the world work for years planning how to avenge someone that harmed them.
However, when we walk by the new nature, when we walk by love, then we do not
keep a record of the wrongs that may have been done to us but we forget them.
The word "iniquity" is the Greek word
"adikia" that is used 25 times in the New Testament and is translated
(KJV) unrightseousness 16, iniquity 6, wrong 1, unjust 2. Its meaning is:
"what is not conformable to right, what ought not to be; that which ought not to be because of revealed truth;
hence, wrong, unrightseousness." Everything that is against the truth is
unrightseousness. And since from John 17:17 we know that the truth is the Word
of God, whatever is against this Word, is "adikia", unrightseousness.
Thus, according to this passage, love rejoices with the truth, the Word of God,
and not with what is against it, which is unrightseousness.
The word "bears" is the Greek verb
"stego". A characteristic usage of this word is in I Corinthians 9:12 where
we read that Paul and his company, despite their great responsibilities,
preferred not to use their right to "live from the gospel" but
"suffer [stego] all things lest we [Paul and his company] hinder the
gospel of Christ." They suffered all things for the sake of the gospel of
Christ, and they did it out of love, for love suffers, bears, all things.
The word
"believe" is the Greek verb "pisteuo" that occurs 246 times
in the New Testament and is translated (KJV) almost always (238 times) as
"to believe". Biblically speaking believing means to believe what the
written rightly divided Word of God says and what God says through the
manifestations of the spirit. Love therefore believes all things that God says
both in His written rightly divided Word and through the manifestations of the
spirit.
Another thing
that the Word of God tells us that love does is to hope all things. Again the
phrase "all things" has to be taken within the more general context
of the Word of God. As with believing so with hoping the reference is to all
things that the Word of God says. Love therefore hopes all things that have
been defined by God as future realities.
Finally we learn that love endures "all
things". The word "endures" here is the verb
"hupomeno". Its meaning is similar to the meaning of
"makrothumeo" (to longsuffer) that we examined previously. Their
difference is that "whereas hupomeno refers to one's response toward
circumstances, denoting perseverance in the face of difficulties, makrothumeo
refers to one's response toward people, denoting a patient endurance of faults
and even provocations of others without retaliating". Love therefore apart from being
very patient with people (makrothumeo) is also very patient with circumstances
(hupomeno). It waits patiently without fainting in difficulties.
Concluding this part, we saw that love is a product of walking by the new nature, i.e. it is produced as we put on and utilise all the things that the Word of God says that we are and we can do. We also examined in detail the things that I Corinthians 13:4-7 says about love. In the next issue we will continue to see some more things on the same topic.