Love

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Love

• Teacher which is the great command?
• The greatest of these is?
• The Bond of Perfection?
• We do not know God if we do not know?
• It surpasses knowledge?
• It never fails?
• God is ?

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Love

• The great command Love Mt. 2236-40
• Greatest of these is Love 1Cor. 1313
• Love -Bond of Perfection Col. 312-15
• We do not know God 1Jn. 47-8
• Love surpasses knowledge Eph 314-19
• Love never fails 1Cor. 1313
• God is Love 1Jn. 47-8

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The Magnitude

• of Love

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The Great Command
Teacher, which is the great commandment in the
Law? 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. 38 This is the
great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is
like it, You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend the
whole Law and the Prophets. Mt. 2236-40 Love the
Lord your God Love your neighbor as yourself
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Love

• But now abide faith, hope, love, these three but
  the greatest of these is love, 1 Cor. 1313

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Love
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
put on tender mercies, kindness, humility,
meekness, longsuffering 13 bearing with one
another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has
a complaint against another even as Christ
forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above
all these things put on love, which is the bond
of perfection. Col. 312-15
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Love
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of
God and everyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know
God, for God is love. 1Jn. 47-8
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A Prayer for Love
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He
would grant you, according to the riches of His
glory, to be strengthened with might through His
Spirit in the inner man,. Eph 314-19
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A Prayer for Love
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through
faith that you, being rooted and grounded in
love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the
saints what is the width and length and depth and
height 19 to know the love of Christ which
passes knowledge that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God. Eph 314-19
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The Magnitude

• of Love

• Not Just any love agape-love

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A Brand New Command
A new commandment I give to you, that you love
one another, even as I have loved you, that you
also love one another. 35 By this all men will
know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another. Jn. 1334-35
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Never Given Before

• kainos... new a. as respects form recently
  made, fresh, recent, unused, unworn ... (Thayer,
  p. 317 2537)

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Even As

• kathos,...1. according as, just as, even as in
  the first member of a comparison ...2. in
  proportion as, in the degree that... (Thayer,
  p. 314 2531).

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in proportion as
You Love
As I Have
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No Longer

• You Love with all your heart, soul mind and
  strength.
• You Love as yourself.
• Subjective standards different for everyone
• No way to measure or quantify
• A New Command
• You Love in proportion as I have loved you
• Objective Measurable Command

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A Changed Word

• agape,... a purely bibl. and eccl. word... in
  signification it follows the verb agapao
  consequently it denotes 1. affection, good-will,
  love, benevolence... (Thayer, p. 4-5 26)

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A Changed Word

• agapao and agape  present the characteristic
  word of Christianity, and since the Spirit of
  revelation has used it to express ideas
  previously unknown, enquiry into its use, whether
  in Greek literature or in the Septuagint, throws
  but little light upon its distinctive meaning in
  the N.T... (Vine Vol 3 p 20-21)

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A Changed Word

• Basically, there are three expressions for love
  in pre-biblical Greek eran, philein, and agapan.
  1. eran is passionate love which desires the
  other for itself. In every age the Greeks sung
  glowing hymns to sensually joyous and daemonic
  eros
• ... philein/philia on the contrary, signifies for
  the most part the inclination or solicitous love
  of gods for men, or friends for friends. ...
• In the word agapan the Greek finds nothing of the
  power or magic of eran and little of the warmth
  of philein.

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A Changed Word

• agape ... Its etymology is uncertain, and its
  meaning weak and variable. Often it means no more
  than to be satisfied with something...
• But whereas eros consistently engages the
  thinking of poets and philosophers from Homer to
  Plotinus, agapan hardly ever emerges as a subject
  of radical deliberation.
• It is indeed striking that the substantive agape
  is almost completely lacking in pre-biblical
  Greek. a love that does not desire but gives.
  (Kittel TDWNT 25)

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agapao and agape

• purely Biblical and ecclesiastic
• Characteristic word of Christianity
• Expressing ideas previously unknown
• almost completely lacking in pre-Biblical Greek
• A love that does not desire but gives.

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• Greeks treasured selfish misuse of others for own
  pleasure more than sacrifice of self to please
  others.
• eros/eran indulged in pleasure regardless of the
  cost to others.
• This captivated the minds of the poets and the
  worldly then and now!
• This word/concept never used in NT!

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• phileo/philos also focus on joy/pleasure.
• philos...friendly... one who finds his pleasure
  in a thing...(Thayer, 5384)
• phileo... 1. to love to be friendly...
  delight in, long for, a thing... to love to do,
  i.e. to do with pleasure... Thayer, 5368)
• phileo/philos makes any hobby, job, wife or
  possession give pleasure and enjoyment.
• When phileo/philia fade, so do their value.

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A Brand New Command
A new commandment I give to you, that you
love(agapao) one another, even as I have
loved(agapao) you, that you also love(agapao) one
another. 35 By this all men will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love(agape) for
one another. Jn. 1334-35
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• Simon, son of Jonah, do you love(agape) Me more
  than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord You know
  that I love(philos) You. He said to him, Feed
  My lambs.  He said to him again a second time,
  Simon, son of Jonah, do you love(agape) Me? He
  said to Him, Yes, Lord You know that I
  love(philos) You. He said to him, Tend My
  sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon,
  son of Jonah, do you love(philos) Me? Peter was
  grieved because He said to him the third time,
  Do you love(philos) Me? And he said to Him,
  Lord, You know all things You know that I
  love(philos) You. Jesus said to him, Feed My
  sheep. John 2115-17

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Love

• By this we know that we love the children of God,
  when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For
  this is the love of God, that we keep His
  commandments. And His commandments are not
  burdensome. 1 John 52-4
• The real difference between agape / philos
• We dont allow human emotion to sway us when we
  truly want their best interests we do Gods
  commands!

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Love

• And this I pray, that your love may abound still
  more and more in knowledge and all discernment,
  Phil 19-10
• Agape-love cannot exist outside of expert
  knowledge and proper applications of Gods word.
• Only God knows what is in our best interests and
  how we can best serve.

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Loves Inspired Definition

• Love suffers long and is kind love does not
  envy love does not parade itself, is not puffed
  up 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its
  own, is not provoked, thinks no evil 6 does not
  rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth 7
  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
  things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.
  1 Cor 134-8

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