"LOVE" in the Bible: What is it?

Ron Gurley said:

"LOVE" in the Bible: What is it?

LOVE / loving is the most desirable quality and character trait that we believers can possess.
It is assessed as being greater than faith, and greater than hope in the Bible. Let's Look!

To Love (agape') is NOT optional..."LOVE" are COMMANDMENTS!
To be spiritually UN-loving is SIN.
Unregenerated Man is incapable of spiritual "agape'"... a "love" by Man acceptable to God.
Goats cannot be "loving" nor acceptable to God. Only sheep can.
Man on his own can only: "philos" (brotherly man-to-man) and/or "eros" (erotic man-to-man)...be nice-nice.

The TRI-UNE God unconditionally LOVES (agape') us sinners...enough to save us through the "substitutional atonement" of Jesus of Nazareth, The Christ, The Divine Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man.The God-Man.

God unconditionally loves sinners both before and after their salvation.

How do believers return to God that LOVE (agape')???...OBEY! TRUST! FOLLOW! etc through God the Holy Spirit.
No where does Jesus say or imply that Man can use their non-spiritual "love" of UN-believers to be saved. It is spiritually impossible for an UN-believer to "love" unto "eternal life".

The Bible clearly and directly teaches that: BOTH
A. spirit-led BELIEF/FAITH unto salvation
...THEN...
B. FOLLOWING after salvation (~SANCTIFICATION=BEING SET ASIDE FOR GOD)
>>are required.<<
John 3 + Ephesians 2 + Matthew 16: 24-27 (ALL CITES ARE NASB)

Jesus commanded his disciples to "love "ONE ANOTHER""...mutual and reciprocal love.
John 13:34-35; John 15; 1 John 2:3-6 (NASB)

Spiritual "Brotherly love" comes from God,...NOT from the heart of unregenerated/unsaved Man.

1 John 4:7, 11 [ God Is Love ]
Beloved, (believers)
let us love "ONE ANOTHER",
for (spiritual) love is FROM God;
and everyone who loves (ONE ANOTHER),
is born of God (saved)
and knows God....
Beloved, (believers) if God so loved (agape) us,
we also ought to love "ONE ANOTHER"....

Romans 5:5
and hope does not disappoint,
because the "love of God" has been poured out within our hearts
THROUGH (God) the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of (God) the (Holy) Spirit is love...

1 Peter 4:8
Above all , keep fervent in your LOVE for "ONE ANOTHER" (believers) ,
because love covers a multitude of sins.

The "BIG TWO" is the underlying basis of Moses' "BIG 10" and many other "LAWS".

Luke 10...Jesus answers the unbelieving lawyer's questions...
25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying,
"Teacher, what shall I (the lawyer) DO to inherit eternal life?"
26 And He (Jesus) said to him, (an answer with a question!)
"What is written in the Law? (The Law of Moses!) How does IT read to you?"
27And he (the lawyer) answered,

(BIG ONE
"YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH ALL YOUR HEART (spirit), AND
WITH ALL YOUR SOUL (personality), AND
WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, (body)
AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; (emotions+reason+decision)....AND

(BIG TWO
(YOU SHALL LOVE) YOUR NEIGHBOR AS (just like) YOURSELF."

28 And He (Jesus) said to him (the lawyer),
"You have answered correctly;
(YOU) DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE."
29 But wishing to justify himself, he (the lawyer) said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

ANSWER: Read: The "Good Samaritan" Story which answers by story and illustration.
...The one who showed MERCY/Love to a stranger!...

Jesus commanded his disciples to "love each other": John 13:34-35; John 15
34 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.”
...apart from me you can do nothing....
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love.
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

1 John 2: 3-6 (NASB)
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him (Jesus), if we keep His commandments.
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the LOVE of God has truly been perfected (made mature). By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he ABIDES in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Paul points out that the "LOVE" commandments are the summation of all commandments, See: Romans 13:9-10....
“9 The commandments...,
“Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,”
and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

And see similar: Galatians 5...Walking by the Spirit
..do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh,
but through LOVE, SERVE one another.
14 For the whole (Mosaic) Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement,
“YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

And See: Ephesians 4:2
...with all humility and gentleness , with patience, showing tolerance for one another
...in love...

"The Power of Love"

The Bible tells us that a real power of love among believers is that it never fails!
And it never fails because it is not self-seeking for its own personal advantage.
Real love seeks to serve others, rather than to be served by others.
True Love unconditionally gives and commits self without any expectation of return

1 Corinthians 13:4-8...How Man should LOVE Man
“4 Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.”

Love never fails because it always perseveres!
Love never fails because it is patient and kind.
Love never fails because it keeps no record of wrongs against others that have let us down.
Instead, love moves on and overcomes the need for bitterness and revenge!
Love always protects, always trusts and always hopes.

Real love is indeed a powerful force to be reckoned with.
Love can change our personal world, profoundly,
if we will observe and honor its precepts with devotion.
It can motivate us to live together in harmony and holiness.

1 Peter 4:8...
Above all , keep fervent in your LOVE for "one another" (believers) ,
because love covers a multitude of sins.

Proverbs 10: 12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.

1 Cor. 13...SUMMARIZED / ORGANIZED

LOVE is .....

P A T I E N T
K I N D
N o t J E A L O U S
N o t B O A S T I N G
N o t A R R O G A N T
N o t I N D E C E N T
N o t S E L F I S H or I N C O N S I D E R A T E
N o t E A S I L Y P R O V O K E D to A N G E R
F O R G I V I N G... it keeps no record of wrongs
R E J O I C E S in the T R U T H, not evil...AND it
B E A R S ....
B E L I E V E S ....
H O P E S....
E N D U R E S....A L L T H I N G S

LOVE never Fails!

QUESTIONS:
1. Is "love" just an EMOTION of the SOUL?
2. What are the 3 Greek words for "love"?
3. What are Jesus' "BIG IF's" concerning "love".
4. Define "love" that should exist among husband and wife and family?
5. Explain: "God is love!"
6. I love God. I love puppies and ice cream. What is the difference?
7. all other questions and comments with citations to Scripture PLEASE!

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bling said:

All mature adults intentionally do stuff that hurts other people for mostly selfish reasons, these are not what God describes in Lev. as being unintentional sins and we know this because these acts burden our conscience (they are sins).

God can easily forgive these sins if we turn to him for help (forgiveness) and accept that forgiveness as pure charity. But there is more needed to truly feel justified before God and that is where atonement comes in.

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Hethatreadethit said:

Ok. Paul intentionally, killed Christians but ignorantly but was forgiven, He became a believer. Without the calling of faith, most people are not moved to change from their ways whether they know it is right or wrong. Traditions carry mentality blindly to do a lot of dumb things. How can prejudism be justified? Yet people will intentionally get violent and do what they will. Even those people who know they are doing wrong, have maybe no concerns until their belief system is changed. A change of heart is driven by faith and knowledge with understanding, and before Christ, whether they did it intentionally or not, it did not matter for faith in the truth about Christ was not there. The point is this: Why should I change if I don't believe or as Paul wrote:

1Co 15:32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

Why cease from sin if there is no hope and no resurrection? SO, if there is no hope, no resurrection, whether you sin accidently or intentionally, everyone is going to die and there is no reward for good over evil. So, let us sin all the more for there is no benefit to the well doer.

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bling said:

All mature adults start out doing stuff that hurts others and to begin with this burdens their conscience. The only true relieve of the burden is forgiveness from God, but man can and sometimes does learn to live with that burden by taking drugs, alcohol, sex, become a workaholic, and other stuff that hardens the heart.

All mature adults have a God given faith that allows them to place their trust in others and even things, but they can take this trust (faith) and direct it toward the creator to have a saving faith.

The nonbeliever sinner does not have to “change” himself, but his situation over time will bring him to his senses (maybe many times) as he spirals down to the pigsty of life. At these moments of being brought to his senses he can choose to wimp out, give up on self and surrender to his enemy (God), or he can hang in there, pay the piper and eventually die in a pigsty.

Unselfish Love has little personal rewards in this life if this life is all there is and not worth the hardships, but it can be fun allowing the holy Spirit to work through you.

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Hethatreadethit said:

Paul in Corinthians 15 is making a Great Point about the Gospel, addressing sin and the resurrection and this fact being: if Christ had not been resurrected, we would all be living in our sins with no hope. Knowing that this is just "here say" and that Christ and His resurrection may or may not have happened; How important are the scriptures that witness the event?
We all grew up with church's all about us, and all having much hype, but who among us have really witnessed the resurrection?

Without faith in the truth, without REALLY knowing the resurrection, and seeing Christ and His purpose, just going to Church does one thing: Feeding the Beast. Faith will not survive without the Word of faith. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what that is. Satan has done a great job at confusing the world. But, he is really only playing into God's hands. So, how are you so assured of the resurrection? Have you witnessed it? What is the gospel according to Paul in Cor. 15:3,4 ?
I have never received any good answers; woe for us; and all the great leaders of Christian faith gather to collect their substance for which they deceived so wondrously.

Dan 8:12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

The truth was substituted for what the sinners really wanted to imagine, and that is:

CHRIST DIED IN YOU PLACE, AND TOOK YOUR PUNISHMENT UPON HIMSELF SO YOU COULD DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.

WC Fields was wrong and under estimated how often succers were born and how many.

We first talked about the substitutional sacrifice of Christ ( you did not think the jews used substitution) the Jews killed lots of animals to pay for their sins. Was God pleased?
Have not religious leaders done the same with the death of Christ?

Mic 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Man made a point to separate himself from the death of Christ and has deceitfully done a spectacular job to separate himself from the truth.

The overall answer is simple: TURN THOU FROM EVIL, DO WHAT IS GOOD.

Psa 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

But where is the faith to believe it? Cause: IT IS THE EVIL THAT KILLED CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD!

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bling said:

How have you been crucified with Christ? Where you one of the thieves?

Was God being crucified while Christ was on the cross?

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Apex said:

Agape is best understood as moral goodwill that proceeds from esteem, principle, or duty rather than attraction. It is this "love" that describes the nature of God and provides the basis of Christian ethics. This explains not only how we can love our neighbor, but also our enemy.

"Paul’s description of love in action includes liberality, acts of mercy, and hospitality; avoidance of revenge; sympathy; rejoicing with others; sharing of weakness, shame, or need; restoring, supporting, and edifying others, giving them all honor, kindness, forgiveness, encouragement; restraining criticism, even of the divisive, overscrupulous “weaker brother”—the list is almost endless. More generally, love is revealed as a quality of activity, of thinking, and of suffering (1 Cor 13:4–8). In brief, love does no harm and omits no good; it is God’s law [Law of Christ]."

Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 828.

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