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PERFECTING
OUR LOVE BECOMING
a Christian is an unparalleled
experience of love, as the repentant
sinner through God’s mercy and grace is brought into the kingdom of
God’s love
(Colossians 1:13). That great and familiar section of Scripture, John
3:16,
declares this compelling love of God. The last part of Revelation 1:5,
speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, says, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us
from our
sins in his own blood.” And 1 John 4:19, emphasizing our responding
love, asserts,
“We love him, because he first loved us.” Romans 5:5 tells us that “the
love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost [Spirit] which is
given unto
us.” Then, summarizing the accomplishment and outworking of this grand,
conversion experience, 1 Peter 1:22-23 states, “Seeing ye have purified
your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of
the
brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart
fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (These are parallel
words
to what Peter had preached on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38). Yes,
“We know
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren…” (1
John 3:14). The
Priority of Love
But in spite of
this great experience, we cannot expect the new Christian to know all
that love
entails. He has encountered a radical change. Time is needed for him to
fully
grasp (or at least to more fully grasp) what has taken place and
through the
power of God to augment it. In 1 Thessalonians 3, faith, love and
holiness are
repeatedly highlighted and enjoined as important elements that these
new
converts were to “increase and abound in.” (Read the whole chapter).
And even
though the church had been at Philippi for several years, the apostle
Paul
still felt it appropriate when writing to them to say, “And this I
pray, that
your love may abound yet more and more…” (Philippians 1:9,10). Yes,
this
priority is ever before us that we move on unto perfection (maturity)
in all
areas of our life as a Christian, and especially in love, since love
itself “is
the bond of perfectness” (Colossians 3:14, KJV). In another translation
(RSV),
Colossians 3:14 is even more explicitly rendered, “And above all these
put on
love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” As love is
more and
more perfected in a Christian’s life, it more effectively accelerates
and
brings about completeness and perfection in all other areas of his life. The
Meaning of Love If love is so important, and we are
admonished to perfect it, it would be
good to know what love means in the original language of the
Scriptures. In the
New Testament we find two words for love, agapao
and phileo (both verbs). Agapao
becomes a noun in the well-known word, AGAPE.
On the other hand, we find no
noun for phileo love (interestingly,
noun spin-offs are seen in words
translated “friend” and “kiss”). Agapao
(AGAPE) love involves
the intellect and the will; it involves esteem and purpose; it involves
choice.
It can be commanded. However, phileo
love is the love of natural
inclination; it is instinctive; it is the love of emotion. It is
spontaneous,
involuntary. For the most part, it just happens. Of the two words, AGAPE
(verb, agapao) is the primary word
used in talking about a Christian’s
love (whether for God or for another Christian). The
meaning
of a word can be more clearly seen in noticing its antonym. Therefore,
what is
the word, or words, opposite in meaning to love? There are two words
that come
to mind, hate and selfishness, which are antithetical to love. Hate is
a
hostile negative feeling that is directed outwardly toward others.
Selfishness
is likewise negative, but it is contained and experienced more in an
inward
sense (a person is all
wrapped up in himself). Both are the opposite of love. True love is
unselfish and reaches out to others with the utmost consideration and
kindness. The
Object of Our Love Although
our love as a Christian
is one, it is projected in two facets, the love for God and the love
for fellow
Christians (and others). These two categories are evident, even under
the Old
Testament, when the lawyer questioned Jesus, “Master, which is the
great
commandment in the law?” Then we read, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy
mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like
unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all
the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40). These two categories of
our love
are also made plain in 1 John 4:20 and 21 where it says, “If a man say,
I love
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his
brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this
commandment have we from him. That he who loveth God love his brother
also.”
So, in looking into “perfecting our love,” we will approach it from
these two
angles, the love of God and the love of man. Many times we will find
they
overlap and are considered together. I.
PERFECTING OUR LOVE FOR GOD The
“All” Aspect of Loving God An
effort to
comprehend God’s love and what is commanded will help us realize the
need of
perfecting our love. God is Almighty. He is all knowing, and the
inspired
writer plainly said, “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16). It was this
infinite Being
who said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark
12:30). And
the apostle Paul would seem to expand upon this imperative injunction
in
Ephesians 3:17-19, when he prays for the Ephesian Christians “that ye
being
rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints
what is
the breadth, and length, and depth, and height [of this love]: And to
know the
love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with
all the
fullness of God.” As we surrender our “all” in love to God, whose
attributes
are all prefixed with “all,” we will be filled with all His fullness.
Paradoxically, we are commanded to “know the love of Christ, which
passeth
knowledge.” That being the case, this love is best known through
experience. Our
love
is perfected in focusing on the “all” aspect of loving God. Other loves
that
clash or that are competitive with God will either be eliminated or, if
not
sinful, will fall into the background. Notice these relevant Scriptures. l “Love not the world, neither the things
that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John
2:15,16). l “No man can serve two masters: for
either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). l “For the love of money is the root of
all [kinds
of] evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God,
flee
these things…” (1 Timothy 6:10,11). l “For men shall be lovers of their own
selves,
covetous, boasters, proud…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God…Having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”
(2
Timothy 3:1-5). l “He that loveth father or mother more
than me is
not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is
not worthy
of me” (Matthew 10:37). l “And because iniquity shall abound, the
love of
many shall wax cold” (Matthew 24:12). l “For Demas hath forsaken me, having
loved this
present world…” (2 Timothy 4:10). l “Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because
thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art
fallen,
and repent, and do the first works…” (Revelation 2:4,5). Let
us
take the lessons to be learned from these Scriptures to heart. “Keep
My Commandments” The
apostle John in his first
epistle makes a defining statement about perfecting our love for God.
It reads,
“But whoso keepth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby
know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:5). This echoes what Jesus said
more than
once earlier in John’s gospel account. In John 14:15, the Lord says,
“If ye
love me, keep my commandments.” And further on in this chapter, John
14:23,
Jesus says, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father
will love
him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” He
continues, “He
that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings…” John 15:10 reads, “If ye
keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love…” Now going back to the epistle
of 1st
John, chapter 5 verse 3, we find sort of a summary statement, “For this
is the
love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are
not
grievous [burdensome].” Yes, God’s love is perfected in us when we keep
His
commandments. In fact, the apostle Paul really ties it all together
when he
says, “Now the end [goal] of the commandment [itself] is charity [love]
out of
a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1
Timothy
1:5). Let us eagerly seek to know and do what God commands. “His
Love is Perfected in Us” A very choice section of Scripture is
also found in 1 John chapter 4 about
perfecting our love for God. Let us highlight some of the verses here.
“No man
hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us,
and his
love is perfected in us…And we have known and believed the love that
God hath
to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and
God in
him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the
day of
judgment: because as he is, so are we in the world. There is no fear in
love;
but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that
feareth
is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If
a man
say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that
loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not
seen? And
this commandment have we from him. That he who loveth God love his
brother
also” (1 John 4:12,16-21). He goes on to say that those who believe on
Christ
are born of God, “and every one that loveth him that begat [God] loveth
him
also that is begotten of him [other Christians]” (1 John 5:1). Two
things stand out here in
reference to God’s love being perfected in us. Perfect love casts out
fear, and
our love for God is perfected when we love one another. “Perfect
Love Casteth Out Fear” Paul
tells us, “For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15); notice
Hebrews
2:13-15 also. Yet this same Paul more than once ties fear in with being
a
Christian. This is seen in 2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 5:21, and
Philippians
2:12 (and other Scriptures). But John said that “perfect love” casts
out fear.
How are we to understand this? Evidently they are talking about two
different
kinds of fear. Perhaps John is talking about an enslaving kind of fear
(“spirit
of bondage”) like felt by slaves of which Paul spoke, and not the kind
of fear
we would now experience as God’s children. Our fear now would be more
like a
child who has a deeply engrained respect for his father, not wanting to
displease him in any way (not the fear of a slave in bondage). Fear has
punishment, as John said, but now as children of God, living in His
grace and
surrendered to His will, perfect love casts out this kind of fear.
Having been
forgiven, we have this blessed assurance from God, “And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). Love
God, Love One Another But
the overall thrust of the
Scripture in 1st John chapter 4 is that our love for God is perfected
by loving
one another. Notice again 4:12, “No man hath seen God at any time. If
we love
one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
Notice 4:20
and 21, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a
liar; for he
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom
he hath
not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God
love
his brother also.” And 5:1 tells us that “every one that loveth him
that begat
[God] loveth him also that is begotten of him [other Christians].” So,
perfecting our love for God involves perfecting our love for one
another.
Remember Jesus said, “Insomuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). We need to
work on
this. Another
Great Lesson Another
great lesson in loving
the Lord is to be found in a case involving Simon Peter. It merges well
with
the thought that our love for God is perfected in loving one another.
This
happened after the resurrection of Christ. This was in “Feed
My Sheep” “So
when they had dined, Jesus saith to
Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He
saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
my
lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou
me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He
saith unto
him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of
Jonas,
lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third
time,
Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things;
thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep.” This
conversation is highly
interesting. But we don’t get the full force of it in our English
translations.
When Jesus is questioning Peter about loving him, and Peter is
answering, Jesus
is using one word for love and Peter is using another. Jesus is using
the
higher word for love, agapao. Peter is
responding with the
lower word for love, phileo. The word
Jesus uses is the
more elevated word, implying intelligence and esteem, with
corresponding
purpose. Peter’s word simply means that he liked Jesus and had
affection for
him (no intelligence or higher purpose being implied). (See “The
Meaning of
Love” earlier in this article). Three times “lovest thou me” is asked.
The
first two times the agapao word is
used by Jesus. But the last time this is asked,
Jesus drops down to the word Peter has been using, phileo. Peter had not
responded with the higher word used by the Lord, and now Jesus comes
down to
Peter’s level of talking. Do you even like me, Peter? That seems to be
what the
Lord is saying. This really got next to Peter. And the three times
Peter was
questioned is parallel to his denying the Lord three times (Luke
22:34,54-62).
The first question had been, “Lovest thou me more than these [the other
disciples, Mark 14:29,30]?” Peter couldn’t help but get the point. He
is now
ready to be fully restored. Actually
Two Lessons Actually
two lessons on
perfecting our love for God stand out here. By Peter doing what the
Lord said,
the love of God would be perfected in him, as pointed out earlier (1
John 2:5).
Jesus had said before his crucifixion, “If ye love me, keep my
commandments”
(John 14:15). The Lord now repeatedly pointed him to taking care of his
sheep,
a labor of love, showing love for the Lord in loving and caring for
others.
“Lovest thou me?” Then, feed my sheep. First he says, “Feed my lambs.”
Next he
says, “Feed my sheep.” Loving the Lord, it was to be shown in tending
all of
the Lord’s flock, taking care of his sheep and leading them in the
right
direction. As an apostle of Christ, Peter perfected his love in doing
this. Let
us likewise perfect our love for the Lord in obedience and in loving
one
another. x |