Monday, December 04, 2006
The Love of God Project
I haven't posted in a long time because we've been developing a ministry called The Love of God Project.
You can view our website at www.loveofGodproject.org - and I hope you do.
If you want to contact me, please do: loveofGod.project@gmail.com
David
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You can view our website at www.loveofGodproject.org - and I hope you do.
If you want to contact me, please do: loveofGod.project@gmail.com
David
Friday, August 11, 2006
God’s Love Releases Grace
We’re going to further explore the reality of God’s love by examining God’s love for us being the starting place of His grace towards us.
In my reading about grace, I’ve come across a pretty consistent theme. Many have written that grace is the source of God’s love for us, that we were not worthy of love, but through God’s exercise of grace we become loved.
Unfortunately, God’s motives are often misconstrued. For example, Dr. Leon Morris is a first class scholar. He is one of the foremost expositors of the Scriptures and one of the few who have sought to write about God’s love from a scholarly perspective. He and his work are worthy of high esteem. Yet, look at this quote from page 30 of his book New Testament Theology: “God is indeed “rich in mercy” and thus loved us with a great love despite our sinfulness. (Ephesians 2:4)” Notice, in this instance Dr. Morris refers to mercy as the origin of God’s love for us. Yet, Ephesians 2:4 actually states something else. Let’s look.
Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Notice the important word because…because of His great love for us, He is rich in mercy towards us. Now this is the testimony of the Scriptures. This is the apostolic proclamation. Let’s joyfully explore this.
Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy,
Some are wealthy in the things of this world. Many of us have read about or seen pictures of multi-billionaires. God is rich in mercy. He is not running low; He has an extraordinary supply; He is not miserly with His mercy. How did God become so prosperous in mercy?
… being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Why is He rich in mercy? He is rich in mercy because He loves us with “great love.” His agape is the type of love which expresses itself in mercy. Some of us have a greater need for mercy than others. Does God have enough mercy to meet us where we are? Consider the source: the vastness of His love determines the richness of the resources of mercy to which we may appeal.
Matthew 20 records a story of two blind men that cried out for mercy from the Messiah, the Son of David. This was Jesus’ response: Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20:34) What a demonstration of mercy! When their eyes were open and they saw Him they could say, “Now that’s what love looks like!”
In Ephesians 2:4 we’ve seen that mercy proceeds from love. When did He begin to love us?
…even when we were dead in our transgressions…
He loved us when we were alienated. He loved us when we were ‘dead.’ This same theme is found in Romans 5:6,8,10:
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Look again at how the apostle describes this phenomena: “…His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. He acted because of mercy, proceeding from love, the source of this grace.
Grace here is speaking of God’s act which makes us alive together with Messiah. Paul reveals the order of this process. This favor is a result of mercy proceeding from a source: “His great love.” Grace proceeds from mercy. The mercy proceeds from love. His love provokes a desire to make “us alive.”
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Since we are loved, we were candidates for mercy. Mercy produced saving grace. This grace catapults us into a whole other category of relationship. This shall be a demonstration of the fullness of God’s favor and kindness into endless ages – that which will be seen in Messiah Jesus.
He gives us all the grace we need, and grace for grace, because of the overflowing wealth of His mercy. He is rich in mercy towards us because of His great love for us. A. W. Tozer got it right when he wrote, “Love is not the result of redemption; it is the cause of it.”
Your Creator loves you to the degree that He is moved to show mercy. How great is the grace offered at Golgotha? This grace is vast, mighty, effectual, and glorious. Let’s consider the source. What must the font of this grace be like? The origin is greater than the manifestation. Love is the well from which the spring of mercy flows and becomes a mighty river of grace.
Every time you experience grace you’re coming to know the result, not the origin, of His love for you. You were loved when you were dead in your transgressions, ungodly, helpless, at enmity with God. If He loved you then, doesn’t He love you right now?
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In my reading about grace, I’ve come across a pretty consistent theme. Many have written that grace is the source of God’s love for us, that we were not worthy of love, but through God’s exercise of grace we become loved.
Unfortunately, God’s motives are often misconstrued. For example, Dr. Leon Morris is a first class scholar. He is one of the foremost expositors of the Scriptures and one of the few who have sought to write about God’s love from a scholarly perspective. He and his work are worthy of high esteem. Yet, look at this quote from page 30 of his book New Testament Theology: “God is indeed “rich in mercy” and thus loved us with a great love despite our sinfulness. (Ephesians 2:4)” Notice, in this instance Dr. Morris refers to mercy as the origin of God’s love for us. Yet, Ephesians 2:4 actually states something else. Let’s look.
Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Notice the important word because…because of His great love for us, He is rich in mercy towards us. Now this is the testimony of the Scriptures. This is the apostolic proclamation. Let’s joyfully explore this.
Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, being rich in mercy,
Some are wealthy in the things of this world. Many of us have read about or seen pictures of multi-billionaires. God is rich in mercy. He is not running low; He has an extraordinary supply; He is not miserly with His mercy. How did God become so prosperous in mercy?
… being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Why is He rich in mercy? He is rich in mercy because He loves us with “great love.” His agape is the type of love which expresses itself in mercy. Some of us have a greater need for mercy than others. Does God have enough mercy to meet us where we are? Consider the source: the vastness of His love determines the richness of the resources of mercy to which we may appeal.
Matthew 20 records a story of two blind men that cried out for mercy from the Messiah, the Son of David. This was Jesus’ response: Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. (Matthew 20:34) What a demonstration of mercy! When their eyes were open and they saw Him they could say, “Now that’s what love looks like!”
In Ephesians 2:4 we’ve seen that mercy proceeds from love. When did He begin to love us?
…even when we were dead in our transgressions…
He loved us when we were alienated. He loved us when we were ‘dead.’ This same theme is found in Romans 5:6,8,10:
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Look again at how the apostle describes this phenomena: “…His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”. He acted because of mercy, proceeding from love, the source of this grace.
Grace here is speaking of God’s act which makes us alive together with Messiah. Paul reveals the order of this process. This favor is a result of mercy proceeding from a source: “His great love.” Grace proceeds from mercy. The mercy proceeds from love. His love provokes a desire to make “us alive.”
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Since we are loved, we were candidates for mercy. Mercy produced saving grace. This grace catapults us into a whole other category of relationship. This shall be a demonstration of the fullness of God’s favor and kindness into endless ages – that which will be seen in Messiah Jesus.
He gives us all the grace we need, and grace for grace, because of the overflowing wealth of His mercy. He is rich in mercy towards us because of His great love for us. A. W. Tozer got it right when he wrote, “Love is not the result of redemption; it is the cause of it.”
Your Creator loves you to the degree that He is moved to show mercy. How great is the grace offered at Golgotha? This grace is vast, mighty, effectual, and glorious. Let’s consider the source. What must the font of this grace be like? The origin is greater than the manifestation. Love is the well from which the spring of mercy flows and becomes a mighty river of grace.
Every time you experience grace you’re coming to know the result, not the origin, of His love for you. You were loved when you were dead in your transgressions, ungodly, helpless, at enmity with God. If He loved you then, doesn’t He love you right now?
Thursday, August 03, 2006
What Is God's Love Like? Part 2
Last month we established that God’s love is a real love. It’s not an imitation love, it’s not the semblance of love without the reality. It’s not a fake or a look-a-like. It is real love. This is clearly attested to in Scripture. It is seen in His commands to us (love the brethren sincerely, love the brethren fervently). It’s seen in His hatred of insincerity (don’t draw near with lip service, but with your heart). It’s seen in the extraordinary gift of His Son (But God demonstrated His love in this; while we were yet sinners Christ died for us). The love with which God loves us is real love.
This month, we’re going to look at a further testimony to the sincere nature of God’s love. This testimony to the reality of His love will also reveal something further to us: God’s love is MORE. This revelatory key to understanding God’s love is Anthropomorphic Language.
When we read a portion of Scripture which describes God as if He were human, or doing something human, we are reading anthropomorphic language. For instance, when one reads about God having ‘eyes’, this is an anthropomorphism. When we read about God having a human role in the 23rd Psalm, “The LORD is my shepherd,” we are reading an anthropomorphism. Many people look down their noses at this form of communication. They speak of anthropomorphisms as if they are conveying something which is untrue. To these individuals, anthropomorphic language is nothing more than giving a human face to something wholly foreign and unknowable about God; in other words, through anthropomorphic language God is humoring us by giving us something we can relate to even though it’s not really “true.” Yet, let’s test this against 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable. Since anthropomorphic language abounds in Scripture, we can assume God didn’t make a mistake by including it in the Bible. The psalmist, people and priests were not missing God when they celebrated God’s hand’s capacity to care for them in their hour of greatest need. Jesus was not deceived when He committed Himself to God and said, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit…” (Psalm 31:5a)
Far from being untrue, anthropomorphisms are the Spirit’s attempt to help us understand something about God. Take a look at this: The LORD hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3b) Does God come into awareness of what we are saying through sensing the vibrations carried by air to His inner ear? No. This is an anthropomorphism. Yet, what is it saying? It is saying this: in the same way we hear, God hears, only more. MORE. He hears MORE! This is a case of the original being more accurate than the facsimile. Just as a copy of a photo might be a grainy (and yet relatively true) likeness of the original, our capacity to hear mirrors something in God which is MORE than our hearing. So, when Scripture uses anthropomorphic language, it is pointing to the grainy copy to speak to us about the crystal clear Original.
Foundational Metaphors which describe God’s love for us are often stated in anthropomorphic terms. Here is an example from scripture: fatherhood. We are to understand our relationship with God as if He is our Father. In the same way a father is to protect, provide, disciple and discipline his children, so does God relate to us… only more.
Fatherhood, as we know it, proceeds from God’s original Fatherhood: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, (Ephesians 3:14-15) The Scripture informs us that God is like a father:
Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)
He will have more compassion! His heart will respond like the heart of a loving father—MORE! A human father’s compassion is like God’s compassion, yet the Creator of families, the Originator of Fatherhood, is MORE compassionate than a human father. This is wonderful news!
Anthropomorphic language in the Scriptures is highly revelatory. In it we receive an understanding of God to which we easily relate, and yet it conveys something beyond us. A father’s compassion—MORE! This is the God we serve.
I’ve heard from many about how disappointed they become when they consider their relationship with their own fathers. Speaking of God being like a father stirs up difficult and painful memories for them. If that’s you, why not turn from that pain for a moment. Instead of meditating upon how you were (or were not) loved, please think about your own love for someone else. Please take some time to look at your own heart? Who do you love? How do you feel about them? How does that love cause you to act? It is reasonable to believe that the way you feel about those you love is a hint as to how God feels about you.
Here is another example. The Scripture testifies that the LORD will restore Judah in such a fashion that we can relate to His emotions and motivations: "I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. (Jeremiah 32:41) Does God have a heart? Does God have a soul? Does God ‘rejoice’? This is anthropomorphic language. It is rich with meaning. We understand what it means to do something with joy. We understand something about whole hearted effort. God rejoices over us MORE, He puts His whole heart into His labor in a way and with a capacity that far exceeds our own.
Let’s look at: Psalm 94:8-10:
Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, even He who teaches man knowledge?
This verse delivers a strong reproof for those who choose to refuse God’s communication through anthropomorphic language: when will you understand, stupid ones? God is saying, “these things speak of Me! The ear speaks of My hearing. The eye speaks of My seeing.”
Now, Let me add my own “does He not” question to this list:
He who created the emotions, doesn’t He feel?
He created the heart, does He not love?!
Certainly, the God who created the heart of man feels, surely He loves. He gave us the capacity to feel and to love, and this speaks of His own capacity. Just as He sees more, just as He hears more, He also feels more, He also loves MORE! Anthropomorphic language can serve as a powerful testimony of the love of God for us. The truth is that He loves us with a real love!
Let’s pray: Living God, I agree with Jesus that knowing You is eternal life. Thank You for making me in Your image so I may understand Your heart. Thank You for describing Yourself through Your Word in such a way that I can relate to You. Now I pray that You would make these truths real to me. I ask for “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of” Yourself. Grant to me the activity of Your Spirit that I may consider the truths that You have made the human heart; You have created our emotions. Grant me the “power to grasp” Your love.
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This month, we’re going to look at a further testimony to the sincere nature of God’s love. This testimony to the reality of His love will also reveal something further to us: God’s love is MORE. This revelatory key to understanding God’s love is Anthropomorphic Language.
When we read a portion of Scripture which describes God as if He were human, or doing something human, we are reading anthropomorphic language. For instance, when one reads about God having ‘eyes’, this is an anthropomorphism. When we read about God having a human role in the 23rd Psalm, “The LORD is my shepherd,” we are reading an anthropomorphism. Many people look down their noses at this form of communication. They speak of anthropomorphisms as if they are conveying something which is untrue. To these individuals, anthropomorphic language is nothing more than giving a human face to something wholly foreign and unknowable about God; in other words, through anthropomorphic language God is humoring us by giving us something we can relate to even though it’s not really “true.” Yet, let’s test this against 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable. Since anthropomorphic language abounds in Scripture, we can assume God didn’t make a mistake by including it in the Bible. The psalmist, people and priests were not missing God when they celebrated God’s hand’s capacity to care for them in their hour of greatest need. Jesus was not deceived when He committed Himself to God and said, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit…” (Psalm 31:5a)
Far from being untrue, anthropomorphisms are the Spirit’s attempt to help us understand something about God. Take a look at this: The LORD hears when I call to Him. (Psalm 4:3b) Does God come into awareness of what we are saying through sensing the vibrations carried by air to His inner ear? No. This is an anthropomorphism. Yet, what is it saying? It is saying this: in the same way we hear, God hears, only more. MORE. He hears MORE! This is a case of the original being more accurate than the facsimile. Just as a copy of a photo might be a grainy (and yet relatively true) likeness of the original, our capacity to hear mirrors something in God which is MORE than our hearing. So, when Scripture uses anthropomorphic language, it is pointing to the grainy copy to speak to us about the crystal clear Original.
Foundational Metaphors which describe God’s love for us are often stated in anthropomorphic terms. Here is an example from scripture: fatherhood. We are to understand our relationship with God as if He is our Father. In the same way a father is to protect, provide, disciple and discipline his children, so does God relate to us… only more.
Fatherhood, as we know it, proceeds from God’s original Fatherhood: For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, (Ephesians 3:14-15) The Scripture informs us that God is like a father:
Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:13)
He will have more compassion! His heart will respond like the heart of a loving father—MORE! A human father’s compassion is like God’s compassion, yet the Creator of families, the Originator of Fatherhood, is MORE compassionate than a human father. This is wonderful news!
Anthropomorphic language in the Scriptures is highly revelatory. In it we receive an understanding of God to which we easily relate, and yet it conveys something beyond us. A father’s compassion—MORE! This is the God we serve.
I’ve heard from many about how disappointed they become when they consider their relationship with their own fathers. Speaking of God being like a father stirs up difficult and painful memories for them. If that’s you, why not turn from that pain for a moment. Instead of meditating upon how you were (or were not) loved, please think about your own love for someone else. Please take some time to look at your own heart? Who do you love? How do you feel about them? How does that love cause you to act? It is reasonable to believe that the way you feel about those you love is a hint as to how God feels about you.
Here is another example. The Scripture testifies that the LORD will restore Judah in such a fashion that we can relate to His emotions and motivations: "I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. (Jeremiah 32:41) Does God have a heart? Does God have a soul? Does God ‘rejoice’? This is anthropomorphic language. It is rich with meaning. We understand what it means to do something with joy. We understand something about whole hearted effort. God rejoices over us MORE, He puts His whole heart into His labor in a way and with a capacity that far exceeds our own.
Let’s look at: Psalm 94:8-10:
Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, even He who teaches man knowledge?
This verse delivers a strong reproof for those who choose to refuse God’s communication through anthropomorphic language: when will you understand, stupid ones? God is saying, “these things speak of Me! The ear speaks of My hearing. The eye speaks of My seeing.”
Now, Let me add my own “does He not” question to this list:
He who created the emotions, doesn’t He feel?
He created the heart, does He not love?!
Certainly, the God who created the heart of man feels, surely He loves. He gave us the capacity to feel and to love, and this speaks of His own capacity. Just as He sees more, just as He hears more, He also feels more, He also loves MORE! Anthropomorphic language can serve as a powerful testimony of the love of God for us. The truth is that He loves us with a real love!
Let’s pray: Living God, I agree with Jesus that knowing You is eternal life. Thank You for making me in Your image so I may understand Your heart. Thank You for describing Yourself through Your Word in such a way that I can relate to You. Now I pray that You would make these truths real to me. I ask for “a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of” Yourself. Grant to me the activity of Your Spirit that I may consider the truths that You have made the human heart; You have created our emotions. Grant me the “power to grasp” Your love.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
some thoughts on Volitional Love
There is an interesting Hebrew word that connotes attraction and attachment. It is plainly used to describe a common experience – and not a particularly ethically pristine one, at that. Here are two verses where it is used to describe human relationships:
Genesis 34:8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
Deuteronomy 21:11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself,
In these two verses the word chashaq is translated ‘longs for’ and ‘desire.’ The context is plain. The meaning is clear. Amazingly, this word is also used to describe the love of God to Israel, and the love of the psalmist to God.
Surprisingly, this word is used in one of the primary verses used to bolster the perspective of volitional love. The word chashaq is found in Deuteronomy 7:7. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples".
When the words ‘set His love on you’ are read, they are interpreted as pointing to God’s will-power. It seems to indicate that ‘His love’ was utilized through choice. Apparently God picked up His love and, through the use of volition, placed His love upon Israel. This view maintains that God chooses to love, and that this love is free from any loveliness found in the beloved. This outlook is often expressed by those who stress God’s sovereignty.
Notice, this verse is part of one sentence. It is not a complete thought. Many tend to use this part of the sentence to stress that there was nothing meritorious about Israel to warrant God’s choice. They reason that He loved the unlovely through choice and not attraction. However, the sentence continues, here’s the rest of it.
but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:8)
The reason Yahweh delivered Israel is because He loved them (He was attracted to them, He found them to be lovely) and kept the oath He swore to the patriarchs. The Hebrew word translated “set his love” is chashaq. As we have seen, this doesn’t imply volition, it implies ‘attraction and attachment.’ Young’s Literal Translation interprets chashaq as ‘delighted in you.’ That is a far cry from ‘set His love on you’, but a lot closer to the verse’s intent.
Things which might attract another ‘deity’s’ attention, the number of worshipers, did not figure into God’s equation. Something else attracted God’s love and it is not mentioned in this verse. However an aspect of this attraction is hinted at in vs. 8 when the covenant vows made to the patriarchs are brought to mind. As a matter of fact, this very word describes the same type of love the LORD had for the patriarchs. In Deuteronomy 10:15, it is translated ‘set His affection.’
"Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 10:15)
The word is also used to describe a relationship from man to God in Psalm 91:14. It is translated ‘loved.’ Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
Here are two other translations:
TNK Psalm 91:14 "Because he is devoted to Me …
YLT Psalm 91:14 Because in Me he hath delighted …
Let’s summarize what we find when we study the ways chashaq is used in the Bible to describe relationships. Twice it is used to speak of the attraction of a man towards a woman he finds to be beautiful. Twice it is used to inform the reader of God’s attraction to people: once to Israel and once to the patriarchs. Once it is used to portray the love the psalmist had for God which provokes a response in God towards the lover.
Deuteronomy 7:7, the verse popularly used to promote the view that God’s love has nothing to do with attraction, is in fact infused with a vocabulary that teaches the opposite. God saw, God delighted in, God gives Himself to the objects of His love.
Transgenerational Love
Covenant Between Friends
Not only did He love them, not only was He attracted to them and attached to them, but they were also loved because God loved their ancestors. The One who chose them said,
13 God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. (Genesis 15:13-14)
The LORD appeared to (Isaac) the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendents, For the sake of My servant Abraham." (Genesis 26:24)
And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. (Genesis 28:13)
Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." (Genesis 50:24)
This understanding continues into the New Testament. Paul wrote this: …they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; (Romans 11:28b)
This is similar to Jonathan and David’s covenant. This covenant had its origin in love:
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. (1 Samuel 18:3)
The covenant was valid from generation to generation.
Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" (1 Samuel 20:42a)
Covenant love Jonathan made David swear that he would care for Jonathan’s descendents.
The LORD loved Israel and also confirmed the oath that He had sworn to the patriarchs. They were the descendents of Abraham, the man who agaped God.
"Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? (2 Chronicles 20:7)
"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, (Isaiah 41:8)
In these two verses we find a key as to why God made an oath to Abraham. It was the patriarch’s love for God. Astonishingly, the emphasis in these verses is not on God’s love for Abraham, but Abraham’s love for God! He was the man who was God’s friend, the one who loved God enough to be His friend.
It brings to mind the verse we looked at from Psalm 91: “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will…” I wish it were not so, but love for God is a rare thing. Friendship towards God is precious to God. It moves God to faithful love which, according to Paul, can endure through the ages. The Lord has so constructed our relationship with Him so as to be mutual. Therefore it says, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8a)
We looked at Deuteronomy 7:7,8 to examine one of the primary verses used to demonstrate the concept of volitional love. Does that verse demonstrate that concept? No, what we find is attraction and covenant loving loyalty that goes on from one generation to the next.
Genesis 34:8 But Hamor spoke with them, saying, "The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter; please give her to him in marriage.
Deuteronomy 21:11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself,
In these two verses the word chashaq is translated ‘longs for’ and ‘desire.’ The context is plain. The meaning is clear. Amazingly, this word is also used to describe the love of God to Israel, and the love of the psalmist to God.
Surprisingly, this word is used in one of the primary verses used to bolster the perspective of volitional love. The word chashaq is found in Deuteronomy 7:7. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples".
When the words ‘set His love on you’ are read, they are interpreted as pointing to God’s will-power. It seems to indicate that ‘His love’ was utilized through choice. Apparently God picked up His love and, through the use of volition, placed His love upon Israel. This view maintains that God chooses to love, and that this love is free from any loveliness found in the beloved. This outlook is often expressed by those who stress God’s sovereignty.
Notice, this verse is part of one sentence. It is not a complete thought. Many tend to use this part of the sentence to stress that there was nothing meritorious about Israel to warrant God’s choice. They reason that He loved the unlovely through choice and not attraction. However, the sentence continues, here’s the rest of it.
but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:8)
The reason Yahweh delivered Israel is because He loved them (He was attracted to them, He found them to be lovely) and kept the oath He swore to the patriarchs. The Hebrew word translated “set his love” is chashaq. As we have seen, this doesn’t imply volition, it implies ‘attraction and attachment.’ Young’s Literal Translation interprets chashaq as ‘delighted in you.’ That is a far cry from ‘set His love on you’, but a lot closer to the verse’s intent.
Things which might attract another ‘deity’s’ attention, the number of worshipers, did not figure into God’s equation. Something else attracted God’s love and it is not mentioned in this verse. However an aspect of this attraction is hinted at in vs. 8 when the covenant vows made to the patriarchs are brought to mind. As a matter of fact, this very word describes the same type of love the LORD had for the patriarchs. In Deuteronomy 10:15, it is translated ‘set His affection.’
"Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 10:15)
The word is also used to describe a relationship from man to God in Psalm 91:14. It is translated ‘loved.’ Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
Here are two other translations:
TNK Psalm 91:14 "Because he is devoted to Me …
YLT Psalm 91:14 Because in Me he hath delighted …
Let’s summarize what we find when we study the ways chashaq is used in the Bible to describe relationships. Twice it is used to speak of the attraction of a man towards a woman he finds to be beautiful. Twice it is used to inform the reader of God’s attraction to people: once to Israel and once to the patriarchs. Once it is used to portray the love the psalmist had for God which provokes a response in God towards the lover.
Deuteronomy 7:7, the verse popularly used to promote the view that God’s love has nothing to do with attraction, is in fact infused with a vocabulary that teaches the opposite. God saw, God delighted in, God gives Himself to the objects of His love.
Transgenerational Love
Covenant Between Friends
Not only did He love them, not only was He attracted to them and attached to them, but they were also loved because God loved their ancestors. The One who chose them said,
13 God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. 14 "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. (Genesis 15:13-14)
The LORD appeared to (Isaac) the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendents, For the sake of My servant Abraham." (Genesis 26:24)
And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. (Genesis 28:13)
Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." (Genesis 50:24)
This understanding continues into the New Testament. Paul wrote this: …they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; (Romans 11:28b)
This is similar to Jonathan and David’s covenant. This covenant had its origin in love:
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. (1 Samuel 18:3)
The covenant was valid from generation to generation.
Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" (1 Samuel 20:42a)
Covenant love Jonathan made David swear that he would care for Jonathan’s descendents.
The LORD loved Israel and also confirmed the oath that He had sworn to the patriarchs. They were the descendents of Abraham, the man who agaped God.
"Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? (2 Chronicles 20:7)
"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, (Isaiah 41:8)
In these two verses we find a key as to why God made an oath to Abraham. It was the patriarch’s love for God. Astonishingly, the emphasis in these verses is not on God’s love for Abraham, but Abraham’s love for God! He was the man who was God’s friend, the one who loved God enough to be His friend.
It brings to mind the verse we looked at from Psalm 91: “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will…” I wish it were not so, but love for God is a rare thing. Friendship towards God is precious to God. It moves God to faithful love which, according to Paul, can endure through the ages. The Lord has so constructed our relationship with Him so as to be mutual. Therefore it says, Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8a)
We looked at Deuteronomy 7:7,8 to examine one of the primary verses used to demonstrate the concept of volitional love. Does that verse demonstrate that concept? No, what we find is attraction and covenant loving loyalty that goes on from one generation to the next.
Friday, June 02, 2006
God’s Love Is Real Love
Recently we embarked upon a brief study of the word, “agape”. Over the last two months we briefly answered the question: How does the Bible use the word ‘agape?” (If you don’t recall these posts, please scroll down and review them.) This began to provide a Biblical understanding of “love.” Through studying Scripture, we found that the love of the Bible is vibrant, intense, attached, affectionate, emotional, and very earthy; it is real love.
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Now, let’s ask a further question: What is God’s agape (love) like? We’ll begin to form an answer to that question over the next couple of months. Let’s start where we left off with the study of agape. Our overall contention is that the agape of the Bible is REAL love. If this is true in general, it is certainly true of God’s love.
God’s Love is Real Love
What is Real Love? Webster’s defines real as: not artificial, fraudulent, illusory, or apparent. Genuine: being precisely what the name implies.
Genuine is defined as: actually having the reputed or apparent qualities or character. free from hypocrisy or pretense : SINCERE.
And sincere is defined as: honest, pure, marked by genuineness: true
When we contend that God’s love is real, we are ascribing all these qualities to it. We are saying God’s love is not a pretense. It’s not artificial or illusory. It is genuine, and precisely what the name implies; God’s love is real love.
Now, so far you might be thinking “well of course God’s love is real love!” Yet, as with the Greek word agape, many believers have a concept of God’s love that is very unlike what we find in Scriptures. As with agape in general, many see God’s love as a high, holy, ethical, and detached love; something devoid of emotion and not very, well …, love-like.
Here are some common misconceptions about the love of God.
Many mistakenly believe that although God wouldn’t love you, per se, He would treat you like He loves you because of what Jesus has done for you, but not because He means it. In this view He doesn’t really love you, BUT you can experience what being loved by God really feels like for Jesus’ sake.
Others misplace agape completely within the province of the will. Since He is altogether good, wonderful, and perfect, He makes a moral decision to do what is right: to “love” us all. In this view, His love is an ethical choice and bares little resemblance to what we know as love.
Still others maintain that God's agape is "Unconditional Love." You didn’t earn it and you can never loose it; there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or less. It’s just a fixed state. In this view, once again, the “love” is not really about you at all. You’re not experiencing love because you are beloved or lovely, but because God’s nature is to love.
The problem with these concepts of God’s love is that they really have nothing to do with the objects of God’s love. In each instance, God’s love is based not on appreciation, attraction, emotion, delight and desire, but on something else. These concepts just don’t measure up to the love of the Bible-- vibrant, intense, attached, affectionate, emotional, and very earthy! The love of the Bible is what we would think of as love, what we experience as love. So too is God’s love. It is real love.
Before we begin looking at specific aspects of the love God has for you, let’s look at some evidence of a vibrant, intense, attached, affectionate, emotional (real!) love in God’s heart for YOU.
Some evidence: How we know His love is real
One of the ways we know God’s love is real love is that He calls us to whole hearted love and devotion. Are we being called to love God with a higher quality of love than the love with which He loves us? Read this verse:
“Mark
We’re being called to get really involved. Not just, love Him with your heart, and mind, etc. But with “ALL OF YOUR…” This is an intense verse! Yet, some would have us believe His love is disinterested, unattached, and essentially indifferent to those called to experience His love. How can this be?
Another indicator that His love is real can be found in the “Royal Law.” What is it and what does it tell us about the King?
The Royal Law is found in James 2:8:
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.”
The King’s law is a picture of the King’s heart. The Royal Law is a revelation of God’s love. God’s wants us to actually love the people around us. Why? Because He actually loves them and wants them to be loved.
Let’s look further: With what type of love are we called to love one another?
1 Peter
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
This call to earnest unfeigned love of the brethren conveys God’s heart of true love. We’re commanded to fervently and sincerely love one another. He’s not calling us to love in a way which is completely different that His own love! These verses reveal something to us about the love of God; His love for us is sincere and fervent!
One thing in Scripture, perhaps more than any other, speaks to us about the “real” quality of God’s love: God despises insincere love. The following is God’s response to insincerity:
Matthew 15:7-9 7 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"
Your King is not satisfied with acts of worship that mimic true devotion. (Why should anyone be satisfied with that type of love?) How can anyone imagine our Creator would be content to love us in the way He despises being “loved!” God is not a hypocrite. His love is intense. His love is more than an act of His will. His love is more than a benevolent unconditional manifestation of a loving heart. God’s love is real love.
The Reality Demonstrated: the Son
The greatest revelation of God’s love ever given to us was given through exposing God’s very heart: His Son. Please read John 1:18: No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. This Son, Who was in the bosom of the Father, exposed God’s heart! God’s heart vulnerably drew near to us. We responded. This Heart was brutalized, rejected and crucified. Yet God used this rejection as the means to forgive our sins. Why? He covers the multitude of our sins to deal with the alienation between us. He wants a relationship with us. He covers our sins which separate us from Him. This is real love! The crucifixion of Jesus is an incredible indicator of a deep love.
Recap
In this post, we have seen indications of the “real” nature of God’s love through His commandments, His hatred of insincerity, and the precious gift of His Son. Next month we will begin to look at specific aspects of what this “real” love is like.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Studying Agape
We’re continuing to explore a sacred topic. This is a foundational study that is worthy of your consideration.
Last month we began to examine the Greek word “Agape” and it’s usage in Scripture. We’re going to move on to define specific ways “Agape” is used over and over again in the text. But first, let’s rehearse:
Most people view “Agape” as something high, holy, and completely different from human love (“the God type of love”). They see “Agape” as being completely selfless and pure. Most believe that “Agape” is based upon a choice to act lovingly, and/or as being the benevolent overflow of God’s nature which is without conditions. Yet the Scriptures use the word “Agape” in a variety of verses in many different ways. At the very least, last month we established that “Agape” can be used of more than (or differently than) this common understanding.
Before launching into a fresh study of related Scriptures, it’s important to know the following: it is commonly taught that “Agape” was an infrequently used word in classical Greek and that this word must have been specifically chosen by the NT writers so they could invest in it a new and unique definition we have just explained. The problem with this statement is that although “Agape” was infrequently used in classical Greek literature, it occurs about 250 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (this is generally abbreviated, “LXX” due to the popular history that there were 70 translators of the Hebrew Scriptures).
The LXX was the Bible the authors of the New Testament would have read and with which they’d be most familiar. When these inspired authors quoted the Hebrew Scriptures, they were primarily quoting this Greek translation. In fact, even Jesus quoted the Septuagint. It was read aloud and studied in synagogues throughout the Roman Empire. It is not uncommon for scholars to ignore the fact the New Testament writers would have understood “Agape” in the light of the way it was used in the Septuagint. “Agape” is used consistently in both Testaments. Because of this, we’re going to look at both the New Testament usage of “Agape”, as well as “Agape” in the LXX. It is possible to get the meaning of the word from its context.
In the Bible, “Agape” is used of God’s love for His Son, Jesus.
Mark 9:7b … "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"
But it is also used of the love God has for us.
John 17:23b … You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
The same word (“Agape”) is used of a natural father’s love for a child.
Genesis 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering …"
And for paternal affection between Paul and those he served.
1 Corinthians 4:14 I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
“Agape” is the type of love God desires from us. Look at this:
Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
God also commands us to love each other. Here’s a quote from the Septuagint:
Matthew 22:39 "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
He tells us to love our enemies.
Luke 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
“Agape” can also be used for “devoted affection” between friends.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
1 Samuel 20:17 Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.
Or for natural love, like the love any person has for the people closest to them.
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
Exodus 21:5 "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,'
“Agape” can also be used of the affection of a nation towards its heroes.
1 Samuel 18:16a But all Israel and Judah loved David …
Or for love between a husband and a wife.
Genesis 24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Ephesians 5:28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
When we begin to really examine this word in Scripture we find an incredibly broad range of usage! In reality, if we use the Bible for our guide, “Agape” is an incredibly versatile word; it is in fact as versatile as the emotion we call “love.”
“Agape” is… love. To recap:
“Agape” can be an emotion of appreciation, attraction, regard for, or dedication to another. It is used to describe a wholehearted devotional emotional commitment to God.
“Agape” can describe paternal affection or a strong, committed, devoted affection between friends. The authors of Scripture often use “Agape” when speaking of the normal affection, devotion and care common to all of humanity (for family, friends, etc.)
This love can spring from gratitude and appreciation. (Luke 7:41-42 "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?") “Agape” can also describe marital love. (Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.) By the way, did you know that “Agape” is used nineteen times in the Song of Songs?
In addition, this word “Agape” can express the desire for or attraction to an object, quality, or goal. (John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me …)
Every one of these categories (and more!) can be used to describe the “Agape” of the Bible. We have barely begun to look at all the verses that contain the word “Agape”! In fact, just reading through the verses at 12 pt in Times would take 30 pages! There is a lot of overlap in these categories, and a lot of supporting verses I have not shared here. The point here is to begin to realize that perhaps our common definitions of “Agape” come short of the full reality of what this word means.
The “Agape” of the Bible is real love. It is exactly what we think of when we think of love. It is deep, intense, emotional, affectionate, dedicated, and attracted. It may contain elements of gratitude and appreciation. It can be towards the most sublime “object” (God!) and the most profane (Hosea 12:7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress.) It can be between lovers, friends, and members of a family. “Agape”—love—is an incredible thing!
Why have we spent all this time exploring the Biblical definition of “Agape?” This is preparatory for the next subject we are going to discuss: What is God’s “Agape” like? Next month we are going to begin to examine the love of God.
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Last month we began to examine the Greek word “Agape” and it’s usage in Scripture. We’re going to move on to define specific ways “Agape” is used over and over again in the text. But first, let’s rehearse:
Most people view “Agape” as something high, holy, and completely different from human love (“the God type of love”). They see “Agape” as being completely selfless and pure. Most believe that “Agape” is based upon a choice to act lovingly, and/or as being the benevolent overflow of God’s nature which is without conditions. Yet the Scriptures use the word “Agape” in a variety of verses in many different ways. At the very least, last month we established that “Agape” can be used of more than (or differently than) this common understanding.
Before launching into a fresh study of related Scriptures, it’s important to know the following: it is commonly taught that “Agape” was an infrequently used word in classical Greek and that this word must have been specifically chosen by the NT writers so they could invest in it a new and unique definition we have just explained. The problem with this statement is that although “Agape” was infrequently used in classical Greek literature, it occurs about 250 times in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (this is generally abbreviated, “LXX” due to the popular history that there were 70 translators of the Hebrew Scriptures).
The LXX was the Bible the authors of the New Testament would have read and with which they’d be most familiar. When these inspired authors quoted the Hebrew Scriptures, they were primarily quoting this Greek translation. In fact, even Jesus quoted the Septuagint. It was read aloud and studied in synagogues throughout the Roman Empire. It is not uncommon for scholars to ignore the fact the New Testament writers would have understood “Agape” in the light of the way it was used in the Septuagint. “Agape” is used consistently in both Testaments. Because of this, we’re going to look at both the New Testament usage of “Agape”, as well as “Agape” in the LXX. It is possible to get the meaning of the word from its context.
In the Bible, “Agape” is used of God’s love for His Son, Jesus.
Mark 9:7b … "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"
But it is also used of the love God has for us.
John 17:23b … You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
The same word (“Agape”) is used of a natural father’s love for a child.
Genesis 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering …"
And for paternal affection between Paul and those he served.
1 Corinthians 4:14 I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.
“Agape” is the type of love God desires from us. Look at this:
Matthew 22:37 And He said to him, "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'
God also commands us to love each other. Here’s a quote from the Septuagint:
Matthew 22:39 "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
He tells us to love our enemies.
Luke 6:27 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
“Agape” can also be used for “devoted affection” between friends.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
1 Samuel 20:17 Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.
Or for natural love, like the love any person has for the people closest to them.
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
Exodus 21:5 "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,'
“Agape” can also be used of the affection of a nation towards its heroes.
1 Samuel 18:16a But all Israel and Judah loved David …
Or for love between a husband and a wife.
Genesis 24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Ephesians 5:28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
When we begin to really examine this word in Scripture we find an incredibly broad range of usage! In reality, if we use the Bible for our guide, “Agape” is an incredibly versatile word; it is in fact as versatile as the emotion we call “love.”
“Agape” is… love. To recap:
“Agape” can be an emotion of appreciation, attraction, regard for, or dedication to another. It is used to describe a wholehearted devotional emotional commitment to God.
“Agape” can describe paternal affection or a strong, committed, devoted affection between friends. The authors of Scripture often use “Agape” when speaking of the normal affection, devotion and care common to all of humanity (for family, friends, etc.)
This love can spring from gratitude and appreciation. (Luke 7:41-42 "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?") “Agape” can also describe marital love. (Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.) By the way, did you know that “Agape” is used nineteen times in the Song of Songs?
In addition, this word “Agape” can express the desire for or attraction to an object, quality, or goal. (John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me …)
Every one of these categories (and more!) can be used to describe the “Agape” of the Bible. We have barely begun to look at all the verses that contain the word “Agape”! In fact, just reading through the verses at 12 pt in Times would take 30 pages! There is a lot of overlap in these categories, and a lot of supporting verses I have not shared here. The point here is to begin to realize that perhaps our common definitions of “Agape” come short of the full reality of what this word means.
The “Agape” of the Bible is real love. It is exactly what we think of when we think of love. It is deep, intense, emotional, affectionate, dedicated, and attracted. It may contain elements of gratitude and appreciation. It can be towards the most sublime “object” (God!) and the most profane (Hosea 12:7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress.) It can be between lovers, friends, and members of a family. “Agape”—love—is an incredible thing!
Why have we spent all this time exploring the Biblical definition of “Agape?” This is preparatory for the next subject we are going to discuss: What is God’s “Agape” like? Next month we are going to begin to examine the love of God.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
"Come Again?"
“Come again?”
Have you ever had one of those moments when you realized you were listening but not really hearing what someone else said? Generally we can do this for a while without being disturbed. It’s only when someone says something unexpected or outrageous that we are jarred back to reality and begin to pay attention again. “Come again? What did you say?”
I want to talk to you today about a subject we often listen to but rarely “hear.” That subject is AGAPE, the key Greek word translated as love in the New Testament. Now, if you’re like me, you’ve heard all kinds of teachings, read articles, and listened to sermons on the topic of love. Scholars, theologians, pastors, devotional writers, and the guy next door all seem to have an opinion about AGAPE (love).
Here are some common statements about AGAPE:
Agape is pure. There’s no selfish motivation in agape. It’s a perfect love, it’s a God kind of love. Agape is not natural to man. It’s so high above our kind of love. It’s sacrificial and always chooses what is best for the other person, no matter what the cost.
Agape is unconditional. We don’t do anything to earn it, there’s nothing about us that deserves it. It’s a constant outflow of who God is. In fact, Agape isn’t really about us at all. It’s not like there’s anything attractive or lovely about us. Agape is not an emotion, it’s a choice!
If we want to Agape, we have to be born again. Even then, it’s not like we “feel” agape towards everybody. It’s a choice we make to act in a righteous way towards others.
Other things people say include this: “You know, we cheapen the word love by applying it to such things as tennis shoes and chocolate cake. Really, since Agape is so holy, pure, and godly, it’s only rightly applied to the way that God loves us or to a pure perfect intense love for God. Agape is no common word! It’s no common love! It’s something completely OTHER.”
So, when we hear these things over and over it’s easy to feel like we’ve pretty much got it down when it comes to Agape and having a Biblical understanding of God’s love. But hold on a second…have you ever studied Agape in the Bible for yourself? Do you know how the Scriptures use Agape? Most of us would never even think that there is a necessity to do this. Well, allow me to give you a little food for thought on this topic.
Let’s look at a few New Testament scriptures that use the root word Agape.
“Come again?”
Here’s an interesting little verse in John.
John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Why did John feel it necessary to tell his readers that Jesus loved these three people? If God loves everybody the same, then why point out His love for these individuals? Is it possible that Jesus had a special friendly affection for these ones? But…if that’s the case, it means that Agape can be used to describe friendly devoted affection. That doesn’t sound like high ethical detached selfless love!
Here’s another verse:
2 Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
Here Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has a special love (a special Agape) just for them. Does this sound like a love that has nothing to do with specific care for the objects being loved?
This verse might really shock you:
Matthew 5:46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Jesus Himself tells us that even tax collectors, traitorous and despised outcasts of the Jewish community, could Agape! How does that relate to Agape being the God kind of love that is foreign to man?
If that verse didn’t rattle the common concept of Agape, try this one on for size:
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
“Sinners Agape?!? How can it be? Surely it’s a mistake!” Once again, this is Jesus speaking. He is conveying truth…sinners Agape too.
Here is a verse that calls into question the idea that God’s love is without conditions—neither earned nor deserved--2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
God Agapes the cheerful giver. Jesus also tells us the Father loves for specific reasons: John 10:17 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
In these verses we see that God’s love may be for “reasons.” If it can be for reasons, the unconditional concept can’t be the full story about His love, can it?
These verses teach us that our Agape can also be for a reason, in this instance love springs from gratitude. "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Luke 7:41-42
Now, when it comes to marital love, the common held concept is commonly taught. Have you ever heard this statement: “Love is not a feeling, it’s an act of your will.” Yet, in this verse, marital love is contrasted with another emotion—bitterness.
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Isn’t bitterness a feeling? Is it possible that Paul is saying “men, you should feel this way about your wives and not this other way?”
The following are some texts that talk about Agape being for the wrong things! Did you know you can Agape (love) that which is opposed to God? If Agape is the God kind of love, how can this be?
1. John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
2. John 3:19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
3. 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
4. 2 Peter 2:15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
5. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
What are these things some men agape? They agape the approval of men. They agape darkness. They agape this present cosmos. They agape the wages of unrighteousness. They agape mammon.
By now you might be mystified, confused, or fuming. You might think I’m trying to change what the Bible teaches, or promote my own agenda. In reality my desire is to bring people into a Biblical understanding. I want everyone to know exactly what the Bible has to say about Agape in all of its glorious heights and sordid depths.
Why? Why is this important? Well, if you believe God is loving you with disinterested unconditional love that only springs from His being holy (and always doing what is right), or if you believe that He loves you because He is love (and not because He really loves you!), or if you believe that His love really has nothing to do with you at all….I think you’re selling God’s love short. And I believe God WANTS you to know what His love is really like.
Let me offer a parting consideration: If Agape in the Bible (the word most often used to describe God’s love for us) can be used for devoted friendly affection, marital love (and even passionate desire!), is the natural experience of taxpayers and sinners, and can even describe a longing esteem for ‘things,’ could there be something with our definition of Agape (and therefore our understanding of God’s love for us?) I want to challenge you to believe that God’s love is no less emotional, personal, intense, involved, and longing that mans love! He loves us with a REAL love, and He wants us to know this love.
Next month we’ll take this topic up again. Ultimately, we’ll cover what the Biblical definition of agape is. We’re on our way to discovering what God’s agape is like.
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Have you ever had one of those moments when you realized you were listening but not really hearing what someone else said? Generally we can do this for a while without being disturbed. It’s only when someone says something unexpected or outrageous that we are jarred back to reality and begin to pay attention again. “Come again? What did you say?”
I want to talk to you today about a subject we often listen to but rarely “hear.” That subject is AGAPE, the key Greek word translated as love in the New Testament. Now, if you’re like me, you’ve heard all kinds of teachings, read articles, and listened to sermons on the topic of love. Scholars, theologians, pastors, devotional writers, and the guy next door all seem to have an opinion about AGAPE (love).
Here are some common statements about AGAPE:
Agape is pure. There’s no selfish motivation in agape. It’s a perfect love, it’s a God kind of love. Agape is not natural to man. It’s so high above our kind of love. It’s sacrificial and always chooses what is best for the other person, no matter what the cost.
Agape is unconditional. We don’t do anything to earn it, there’s nothing about us that deserves it. It’s a constant outflow of who God is. In fact, Agape isn’t really about us at all. It’s not like there’s anything attractive or lovely about us. Agape is not an emotion, it’s a choice!
If we want to Agape, we have to be born again. Even then, it’s not like we “feel” agape towards everybody. It’s a choice we make to act in a righteous way towards others.
Other things people say include this: “You know, we cheapen the word love by applying it to such things as tennis shoes and chocolate cake. Really, since Agape is so holy, pure, and godly, it’s only rightly applied to the way that God loves us or to a pure perfect intense love for God. Agape is no common word! It’s no common love! It’s something completely OTHER.”
So, when we hear these things over and over it’s easy to feel like we’ve pretty much got it down when it comes to Agape and having a Biblical understanding of God’s love. But hold on a second…have you ever studied Agape in the Bible for yourself? Do you know how the Scriptures use Agape? Most of us would never even think that there is a necessity to do this. Well, allow me to give you a little food for thought on this topic.
Let’s look at a few New Testament scriptures that use the root word Agape.
“Come again?”
Here’s an interesting little verse in John.
John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Why did John feel it necessary to tell his readers that Jesus loved these three people? If God loves everybody the same, then why point out His love for these individuals? Is it possible that Jesus had a special friendly affection for these ones? But…if that’s the case, it means that Agape can be used to describe friendly devoted affection. That doesn’t sound like high ethical detached selfless love!
Here’s another verse:
2 Corinthians 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.
Here Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has a special love (a special Agape) just for them. Does this sound like a love that has nothing to do with specific care for the objects being loved?
This verse might really shock you:
Matthew 5:46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Jesus Himself tells us that even tax collectors, traitorous and despised outcasts of the Jewish community, could Agape! How does that relate to Agape being the God kind of love that is foreign to man?
If that verse didn’t rattle the common concept of Agape, try this one on for size:
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
“Sinners Agape?!? How can it be? Surely it’s a mistake!” Once again, this is Jesus speaking. He is conveying truth…sinners Agape too.
Here is a verse that calls into question the idea that God’s love is without conditions—neither earned nor deserved--2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
God Agapes the cheerful giver. Jesus also tells us the Father loves for specific reasons: John 10:17 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
In these verses we see that God’s love may be for “reasons.” If it can be for reasons, the unconditional concept can’t be the full story about His love, can it?
These verses teach us that our Agape can also be for a reason, in this instance love springs from gratitude. "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Luke 7:41-42
Now, when it comes to marital love, the common held concept is commonly taught. Have you ever heard this statement: “Love is not a feeling, it’s an act of your will.” Yet, in this verse, marital love is contrasted with another emotion—bitterness.
Colossians 3:19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.
Isn’t bitterness a feeling? Is it possible that Paul is saying “men, you should feel this way about your wives and not this other way?”
The following are some texts that talk about Agape being for the wrong things! Did you know you can Agape (love) that which is opposed to God? If Agape is the God kind of love, how can this be?
1. John 12:43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
2. John 3:19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
3. 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
4. 2 Peter 2:15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
5. Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
What are these things some men agape? They agape the approval of men. They agape darkness. They agape this present cosmos. They agape the wages of unrighteousness. They agape mammon.
By now you might be mystified, confused, or fuming. You might think I’m trying to change what the Bible teaches, or promote my own agenda. In reality my desire is to bring people into a Biblical understanding. I want everyone to know exactly what the Bible has to say about Agape in all of its glorious heights and sordid depths.
Why? Why is this important? Well, if you believe God is loving you with disinterested unconditional love that only springs from His being holy (and always doing what is right), or if you believe that He loves you because He is love (and not because He really loves you!), or if you believe that His love really has nothing to do with you at all….I think you’re selling God’s love short. And I believe God WANTS you to know what His love is really like.
Let me offer a parting consideration: If Agape in the Bible (the word most often used to describe God’s love for us) can be used for devoted friendly affection, marital love (and even passionate desire!), is the natural experience of taxpayers and sinners, and can even describe a longing esteem for ‘things,’ could there be something with our definition of Agape (and therefore our understanding of God’s love for us?) I want to challenge you to believe that God’s love is no less emotional, personal, intense, involved, and longing that mans love! He loves us with a REAL love, and He wants us to know this love.
Next month we’ll take this topic up again. Ultimately, we’ll cover what the Biblical definition of agape is. We’re on our way to discovering what God’s agape is like.
