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• Studies on Love (Part II)

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 Studies on Love (Part II)

In the last issue we saw that love is the product of our walk by the new nature i.e.
it is produced as we put on and utilise all the things that the Word of God says that we
are and we can do. In that issue we also examined some of what I Corinthians 13 says
about love. Today, we will continue with the consideration of some more passages of the
Word of God on the same topic, that will help us to appreciate the importance of love
better.

1. Love: the new commandment

To start this second part on love, we will go to the gospel of John. What we will
read happened in the night of the arrest of Jesus Christ. During that night, Jesus gave
many instructions to the disciples and a large portion of the gospel of John is exactly
devoted to it (John 13-17). Among the things that Jesus told the disciples that night was
also something that he characterised as a new commandment. John 13:34 tells us:

John 13:34
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another."

The new commandment that Jesus gave was to love one another. The great
importance that he gave to this commandment is showed by the fact that he repeated it
two more times the same night. John 15:12-17 tells us:

John 15:12-17
"This is my commandment, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are my
friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a
servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all
things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me,
but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit
should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name He may give you. These
things I command you, that you LOVE ONE ANOTHER"

Jesus Christ commands us to love one another, and in fact to love one another as
much as he loved us. But how much he loved us? Ephesians 5:2 tells us:

Ephesians 5:2
"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us AND [as a result of his love] given
himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma."

Jesus Christ loved us so much that he gave his life for us. It is with such kind of
love that he also commands us to love one another. "Love one another AS I have loved
you", he said. He characterised love for one another as a COMMAND, as something that
should necessarily be done. I Peter 1:22 also tells us:

I Peter 1:22
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in sincere love
of the brethren, LOVE ONE ANOTHER FERVENTLY WITH A PURE HEART"

Moreover: I Peter 4:8

"And ABOVE ALL THINGS HAVE FERVENT LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER"

Above all things we are to love one another. And in fact to love one another
fervently. So fervently as Jesus loved us.
2. Love: the fulfillment of the law

In John 13:34 we saw that Jesus characterised love for one another as a new
commandment. This may have made some of us to wonder why he characterised it as
such. Was it because it was commanded for first time? Obviously not for it is contained
in the book of Leviticus that was written hundreds of years earlier. Really, Leviticus
19:18 tells us:

Leviticus 19:18
"you shall love your neighbour as yourself"

Literally speaking therefore, the commandment that Jesus gave was not a new
commandment. Why therefore he called it new? The simple reason is that though love
was a commandment of the law, till then it was not possible to be kept. Really, love
being a product of the new nature, it needs the new nature to be produced, and till that
day, the new nature was not available. Thus though people were commanded to love one
another they couldn't actually keep this commandment. However, from the day of
Pentecost onwards people can freely receive the new nature by confessing with their
mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in their heart that God raised him from the dead, and
thus they can love. That's why Jesus called love for one another a new commandment. It
was not new because it was commanded for first time but because soon (from the day of
Pentecost) it would become possible to be kept.
In fact, the commandment to love one another was not the only commandment of
the law that it was impossible to be kept, because people lacked the new nature. Romans
8:3 characterise the whole law as "weak through the flesh [the old nature]". The problem
with the law was not that it was bad. In contrast, Romans 6:12 tells us that it was "holy
and just and good". However, there was no way to be kept and the reason was that the
new nature was not available. As Romans 6:4 says: "the law is spiritual" but its subjects
were "carnal, under sin". Thus people couldn't keep the law. However, from the day that
the new nature was made available, one can love and by this he automatically fulfills all
the law. Indeed, Romans 13:8-10 tells us:

Romans 13:8-10
"Owe no one anything, except to love one another, FOR HE WHO LOVES ANOTHER
HAS FULFILLED THE LAW. For the commandments, "You shall not commit
adultery," "You shall not murder," You shall not steal," You shall not bear false witness,"
You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment are ALL summed up in this
saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself" Love does not harm to a
neighbour; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Also: Galatians 5:13-14

"For you brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity,
but through love serve one another. FOR ALL THE LAW IS FULFILLED IN ONE
WORD, EVEN IN THIS: "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS
YOURSELF"

Jesus Christ by his sacrifice, ended the administration of the law, opening at the
same time a new administration, the administration of grace1. However, many of the
things that the law said continue to be valid in the present administration as well. For
example, the commandments that we should not steal or commit adultery, or murder, or
lie are also commandments of our administration2. Now, according to the above passage
to fulfill any commandment of the law, which may also be commandment of our
administration, what is needed is nothing else but LOVE. As the passage says: LOVE is
the fulfillment of the law and all the commandments are all summed up in the
commandment to love one another as ourselves. We don't have to focus our minds on a
list of do and don'ts like, "I should not steal, I should not murder, I should not commit
adultery, I should not lie etc...." but we love and all these are not going to happen. For
when we love we will neither lie, nor steal, nor murder etc. We don't start pointing out
1
For more on this see: Biblical Insights, Vol.1, Iss.8, August 1996
2
See for example Galatians 5:19-23 Colossians 3:5-14 and Ephesians 4:17-32.
the negative (I should not do...) but we love and the negative will be eliminated. As
Galatians 5:16 says: "Walk by the spirit [the new nature] and [as a result] you shall not
fulfill the lust of the flesh [the old nature]". When you walk in love, you walk by the
spirit, the new nature, and as a result you will not fulfill the lust of the old nature i.e. you
will not steal, murder, commit adultery or do anything else that is a product of this
nature.

3. Love: necessary to know God

Another passage that shows us the importance and the necessity of love is I John
4:7-8. There it says:

I John 4:7-8
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of
God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love"

As the passage says: "he who does not love does not know God". Truly, God gave
us the Scripture to know Him since there He reveals Himself. Nevertheless, as it is clear
this cannot be done by head knowledge alone. It also needs LOVE. Even if someone has
full head knowledge of the Scripture, he will not know God if this knowledge is not
accompanied with love. As I Corinthians 13:1-3 tells us:

I Corinthians 13:1-3
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have
become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have prophecy, and
understand [Greek: "know"] all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow
all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not
love, it profits me nothing."
 This passage does not say that prophecy, the great faith, the speaking in tongues
etc. are bad or that the speaking in tongues and the other operations of the spirit (see I
Corinthians 12:8-10) are not in existence now and should not be done. What the passage
says is that if I do all these without love I'm nothing. It doesn't profit. Even if I have
rightly divided all the Bible and I'm a monster of knowledge, a "concordance", I'm
nothing if I don't love. Even if I spent all my life and money for God, I'm nothing, if I
don't love. Even if I have given my body to be burned, i.e. even if I'm so much
committed to God, I'm nothing if I don't love. For if I don't love I'm still ignorant of God,
who is love. People that know less and love more will know God better than I. As I
Corinthians 8:1-3 says:

I Corinthians 8:1-3
"Now concerning things offered to idols: we know that we all have knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but loves edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he
knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by
Him."

The knowledge is not bad. However, when it is not accompanied with love, it will
not result to a knowledge of God but rather to a puffing up. Moreover, the same passage
in combination with I John 4:20-21 makes clear that the argument goes also the other
way round i.e. if we don't love one another not only we will not know God but also we
will not be known by Him.

I Corinthians 8:3
"if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him"
I John 4:20-21
"If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not
love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And
this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also"

We cannot say that we love God when we don't love one another. In other words,
love for one another is a prerequisite to love God. Since now love towards God is a
prerequisite to be known by Him and since it first requires love for one another we can
easily conclude that love for one another is a prerequisite to be known by God.
Therefore, what does it take both to know and to be known by God? The answer is
LOVE.

4. Love: not by words

We saw previously that Jesus Christ loved us, and he showed it by giving himself
for us. From this it is evident that love takes action, giving. You may give the Word, you
may give encouragement, part of your time, money etc. but the thing is that love is ready
to give and to really support when it is needed. I John 3:16-17 tells us:

I John 3:16-17
"By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother
in need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how does the love of God
abide in him?"
(NKJV-KJV)

Jesus showed His love for us BY GIVING his life for us. We know by this that he
loves us. Similarly we should also love one another and show our love by the
corresponding acts when it is needed. For really for what love we could speak if we see a
fellow member of the body, a brother or sister in Christ, to be in need and we are
indifferent, when we know that we can help? Obviously this does not constitute love.
Love is not a theoretic concept but something that has to be manifested in acts. As I John
3:18 says:

I John 3:18
"My little children, let us not love in word or in a tongue, but in deed and in truth."

Our love is not to be in words but in deed and in truth. It is not to be in theory but
in practice. It is not to be like in James 2:15-16:

James 2:15-16
"If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them,
"Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give to them the things which
are needed for the body, what does it profit?"

It is so easy to love in words, to know all the "theory" about love. To say "God
bless you." No it is not bad. But it has to be accompanied by the necessary actions when
it is needed. As Galatians 5:13 tells us we ought to SERVE one another through love. We
are not to be indifferent to one another, and run away when a fellow member of the body
needs our support.
Having said all these, some people may ask, how can we know whether someone
genuinely needs our support, and how can we know whether someone whose needs we
don't know exactly or at all, needs us? The answer is through God's spirit. God has put
His spirit in us, so that He can tell us what to do, if to do, when to do, how to do. As
Philippians 2:13 says:

Philippians 2:13
"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure"
 God has put His spirit in us and works through it. We have therefore to listen to
the promptings of God's spirit and to leave it to work in us. Love does not mean I do
whatever comes in my head, because I may esteem it as beneficial. What love means is
that I'm ready, available, to do through love whatever the spirit of God in me prompts me
to do, for whoever he prompts me. Thus, I don't give to the whoever comes in my way
and asks money, for he may not actually need it. Instead I give to that man or for that
purpose that God tells me. God knows who has a genuine need and who hasn't. He
knows who needs support and who doesn't. He knows how to utilise our love with the
best way for His interests.

5. Love: it should be honest

Though from the previous part and generally from the discussion that we have
done by now it should already be clear that love cannot be but only honest, based on a
genuine interest and concern for the fellow members of the body, let's also go to Romans
12:9 to see it better. There we read:

Romans 12:9
"Let love be without hypocrisy"

The phrase "without hypocrisy" is one word in the Greek: the adjective
"áíõðüêñéôïò" (anupokritos) that is composed of the word "an" a prefix that gives to a
word a negative meaning, and the noun "hupokrisia" from which the English derive the
word "hypocrisy". "hypocrisia" means to pretend to have a quality that you don't actually
have or to be something that you aren't. For example, II Corinthians 11:13-15 tells us that
Satan "TRANSFORMS himself into an angel of light" and his servants "TRANSFORM
themselves into the ministers of righteousness". This transformation of Satan and his
servants to something that they aren't is called hypocrisy3.
Returning now to Romans 12:9, it asks us to not pretend that we love having
probably in mind something else, but to honestly love. Only honest love is real love. The
same is also said in I Peter 1:22

I Peter 1:22
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit in SINCERE
[anupokritos] LOVE of the brethren, love one another fervently WITH A PURE
HEART"

Our love is to come from a pure heart, to be sincere and true. To be not in word
but in truth and in deed. To be fervent.
May therefore we grow in our love towards one another and in our appreciation
that we all belong to one and the same body, the body of Christ, and to one and the same
family, the family of God and we are brothers to each other. May we put love above
everything else for love "is the bond of perfection" (Collosians 3:14). May, we overlook
the weaknesses that each one of us has and love one another out of a pure heart, honestly
and without hypocrisy.

Tassos Kioulachoglou

A classical cast of people that Jesus characterised as hypocrites were the scribes and the
3

Pharisees. See Matthew 23:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29.