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Studies
on love (Part I)
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.
Love: what is
it?
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.
1. Love: a
product of the new nature
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 again1
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 "spirit2"
(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 don't 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 that have this nature (i.e. by people that
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.
2. I
Corinthians 13:4-7: love is.....
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 isn't. 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"
(NKJV-KJV)
Below
we will try to examine in more depth each of the things that love is and
each of the things that it isn't, aiming in a more precise understanding
of them.
i) Love
suffers long
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 angry3"
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.
ii) Love is
kind
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.
iii) Love does
not envy
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 zelos means 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'm 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'm glad and you suffer with me
when I suffer.
iv) Love does
not boast
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'm
worthier than you that you probably didn't do "that much".
However, when we really love we don't 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 didn't 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"
(NIV)
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.
v) Love is not
puffed up
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 Corinthians4.
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 don't 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.
vi) Love does
not behave rudely
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.
vii) Love does
not seek its own
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 his
neighbour 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"
(NKJV-NIV)
When
we walk with love we don't 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 didn't 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"
(NKJV-NIV)
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 life5
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 don't
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.
viii) Love is
not provoked
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.
ix) Love
thinks no evil
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 calculations6."
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 don't keep a record of the wrongs that may have been done
to us but we forget them.
x) Love does
not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth
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.
xi) Love bears
all things
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.
xii) Love
believes 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.
xiii) Love
hopes all things
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.
xiv) Love
endures all things
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 retaliating7".
Love therefore apart from being very patient with people (makrothumeo)
is also very patient with circumstances (hupomeno). It waits
patiently without fainting in difficulties.
3. Conclusion
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.
(to
be continued)
Tassos Kioulachoglou
Footnotes
1. For more about the new
birth see: The Journal of
Biblical Accuracy, Vol.1, Iss.6, June 1996 (press
here to return where you stopped).
2. Here it should be
noted with emphasis that NOT any usage of the word "spirit" in
the Bible means the new nature that one gets as a result of the new
birth. This word usually has this meaning when it is put against the
word "flesh" that means the old nature (see for example
Galatians 5) (press here to return where you stopped).
3. See: E.W.Bulliinger:
"A critical lexicon and concordance to the English and Greek New
Testament", Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1975, p. 464.
Unless it is indicated differently, all the word definitions that appear
in this study come from this source (press here to
return where you stopped).
4. It occurs in
I
Corinthians 4:6, 18, 19, 5:2, 8:1, 13:4, and in II Corinthians 2:18 (press
here to return where you stopped).
5. The phrase "hate
his life" is the figure of speech "exaggeration". By this
figure, an exaggerated statement is made to make what is said very
emphatic. In this passage, God does not ask us to literally hate our
souls but He very emphatically tells us to put ourselves and our private
interests in a second place (press here to return
where you stopped).
6. See Dimitrakou:
"The Great Lexicon of the Greek Language". Domi Publishers,
Athens, 1964, p. 4,362 (press here to return where
you stopped).
7. See S. Zodhiates, The
Complete Word Study Dictionary, AMG Publishers, p. 1424 (press
here to return where you stopped).
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