Love

The Judeo-Christian tradition has always been strongly family-oriented. Today, as the Christian family is under constant attack by secular and humanistic forces, the fondness people share for their relatives, especially love between parents and children, is very crucial. Paul uses the negative form of the word in Romans 1:31 "Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: " Thus wilful hardness is justly punished with judicial hardness.--To do those things which are not convenient. This phrase may seem to bespeak a diminutive evil, but here it is expressive of the grossest enormities; things that are not agreeable to men, but contradict the very light and law of nature. And here he subjoins a black list of those unbecoming things which the Gentiles were guilty of, being delivered up to a reprobate mind. No wickedness so heinous, so contrary to the light of nature, to the law of nations, and to all the interests of mankind, but a reprobate mind will comply with it. By the histories of those times, especially the accounts we have of the then prevailing dispositions and practices of the Romans when the ancient virtue of that commonwealth was so degenerated, it appears that these sins here mentioned were then and there reigning national sins. No fewer than twenty-three several sorts of sins and sinners are here specified. Here the devil's seat is; his name is legion, for they are many. It was time to have the gospel preached among them, for the world had need of reformation., and 2 Timothy 3:3 "Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good," See what a corruption of nature sin is, how it deprives men even of that which nature has implanted in them for the support of their own kind; for the natural affection of parents to their children is that which contributes very much to keeping up of mankind upon the earth.

Another interesting form of storge in the New Testament combines the "love-root" of this word with the next one we discuss. It forms the word philostorgos. Paul uses it to command us to be "kindly afffectioned one to another" (Romans 12:10 "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; As affectionate love:.. ) , That those are best able to prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, who are transformed by the renewing of their mind. A living principle of grace is in the soul, as far as it prevails, an unbiassed unprejudiced judgment concerning the things of God. It disposes the soul to receive and entertain the revelations of the divine will. The promise is, If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine. A good wit can dispute and distinguish about the will of God; while an honest, humble heart, that has spiritual senses exercised, and is delivered into the mould of the word, loves it, and practises it, and has the relish and savour of it. Thus to be godly is to surrender ourselves to God.

Fortunately for us, God never commands us to have this kind of love for everyone, because our reactions to different types of people are often beyond our control. However, if we do obey the comands to choose to love (John 3:35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things unto his hand.")He is Lord of all. The Father, as an evidence of his love for him, hath given all things into his hand. Love is generous. The Father took such a complacency and had such a confidence in him that he constituted him the great feoffee in trust for mankind. Having given him the Spirit without measure, he gave him all things; for he was hereby qualified to be master and manager of all. Note, It is the honour of Christ, and the unspeakable comfort of all Christians, that the Father hath given all things into the hands of the Mediator. God the Father loves the Son in both this affectionate way--He pleases Him so well (John 5:20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel." )--and in the love of choice. Works of greater power than the curing of the impotent man; for he should raise the dead, and should himself rise from the dead. By the power of nature, with the use of means, a disease may possibly in time be cured; but nature can never, by the use of any means, in any time raise the dead.

Just becasue it is so popular a word, agape has also been misunderstood by many. Commonly agape is called "divine" love. This is misleading because it is used for love from man to God and from God to man. It is also used for love between people. It is divine in the sense the love that God commands, the love of choice. Even if someone does not "appeal" to us we can still show agape to that person--, accept him, treat him right, and do all we can to help build up that person in the faith (if a believer) or to win him to the faith (if not).

1: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2: And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
3: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4: Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,
5: Does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
6: Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7: Beares all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8: Love never failes: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10: But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13: And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

The King James translators, partly because the Latin Vulgate had charitas there, and partly, no doubt, in an effort to lift to corrupt above the carnal connotatians of love in seventeenth-century England, chose "charity" to represent it. Unfortunately that word now has a restricted meaning that is most unsuitable for Christian love of the highest order. When we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves, the verb form of agape is employed. John 13-17, the intimately Christian "Upper Room Discourse," is full of both agape and philia.

In John 3:16 " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.", the verb "loved" expresses this concept of agape. God (even in our sin) decided to love us, because it is His nature to love. While it is wrong to turn the verse around (as some do) and teach that "love is God," it is quite true that "God is love" 1 John 4:8 "He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. Strange that God should love impure, vain, vile, dust and ashes! 2. That he has loved us at such a rate, at such an incomparable value as he has given for us; he has given his own, only-beloved, blessed Son for us: Because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.