And This Is Love
Introduction
From time-to-time we've all asked the question "what is love?"There have been more books written about the subject of love than any other topic, yet we seem to have less and less love in the world. We've even tried to change the definition of lust to make it sound like love. We've been indoctrinated to believe that love is expressed in its deepest sense through physical contact but this is neither true nor scriptural. Let's look at what the Holy Spirit told John about love.
I. The Power Of Love Revealed, Vs. 6
A. The Definition Of Love, Vs. 6
And this is love... vs. 6. The word love is the Greek word agape. This word is translated as love 86 times, as charity 27 times, as dear 1 time, as charitably 1 time and as feast of charity 1 time. But listen to this! In the definition of this word the important word is not love! It is "is". The word "is" is in the present inolicative in the Greek and that means it's a statement of fact that we can express daily! The word agape is from the root word fee los and carries with it the idea of an action shown to another person. Not only do we see the definition of love we also see the expression of love.
B. The Expression Of Love, Vs. 6
...that we walk after his commandments... vs. 6. I'm going to try to make life simple for you. I believe with all my heart if your affections toward God are right your affections towards everything else will be right! John is warning us here that there are going to be those who will tell you things that will change your affections towards God. "You don't have to go to church to be a Christian." "Jesus drank wine as an intoxicating beverage." "We don't all have to believe the same thing." In other words he's warning us against diluting the word of God! Church, beware! Keep your love for God strong! Obey His word!
Never change, dilute, ignore or doubt God's word! Listen! Changing God's truth will change your feelings toward Him. Not only do we see the power of love revealed but also the power of love released.
II. The Power Of Love Released, Vs. 6
A. God's Love Released To Us, Vs. 6
...as ye have heard from the beginning... vs. 6. This is the second time John uses this phrase because he wants us to know... Listen now! NOTHING CHANGES! When God released his love on mankind it was permanent! It was perfect! It is precious! Man has tried to change God's love into something we earn, into something we use for our gain. Man has made God into Santa Claus, big brother or some fictitious character. Listen! God is holy. Holy then love and it's never going to change! Love without holiness is lust or greed. God released to us a holy love. Not only do we see God's love released to us but also our love released to God.
B. Our Love Released To God, Vs. 6
...ye should walk in it., vs. 6. This is a reflective phrase or an object clause. It points to agape. It's in the normative case. That means it names something and that something is us loving God to the extent that it significantly affects someone's life. A walk is perpetual motion, it doesn't end. Don't give up on God's eternal truth! Let Him live His life through you. Stay true to the old, old story that we have loved so long!