TEACHING NOTES Introduction Today we’re going to talk about the biblical definition of love. As with the other words we have covered in this series, it is vital that we understand the Bible’s definition of love. If we misunderstand and misuse love, we are bound to end up in deception and unhealthy relationships. So, let’s start with our culture’s idea of love and then we’ll see what the Bible has to say. ‌ "Love is a mystical feeling; it is impatient; it gets jealous; it is proud; it insists on getting its way and keeps a record of when it doesn’t; it avoids conflict at all costs; it gives up when the feelings fade." — 1 Opinions 13 (ALSB) ‌ “Love” in the Bible ‌OT Heb. חֶ֥סֶד (hesed) - loyalty, faithfulness, goodness. ‌NT Grk. ἀγάπη (agape) - faithful close relationship. ‌ How God Defines Love ‌ Exodus 34:6–7 ESV 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” ‌ Steadfast love = Heb. hesed - Various English translations render this word as loyal love, faithful love, and lovingkindness. Most English Bibles try to preserve the element of faithfulness behind the Hebrew word. ‌ Faithfulness = Heb. emet - trustworthy, truthful, reliable. ‌ Forgiving = Heb. nasa - to carry, lift up, take away. Notice that God’s loyal love is not described as a feeling but is shown by His actions toward those He loves. God demonstrates His love in how He treats His people. ‌ By no means clear the guilty = God’s love also drives Him to discipline His people so that evil is not left unchecked. While God’s justice seems negative to us, it is actually positive and based in His love for humanity. Without justice, evil is left unchecked. God’s love leads Him constrain evil and prevent chaos. ‌ Visiting iniquity = Heb. poqed - to inspect, see, take inventory. Because God loves us, He refuses to be absent. God visits us in our sins in order to lead us to repentance. If we refuse to repent, God will allow us to experience the consequences of our choices. ‌ To the third and fourth generation = This is often wrongly interpreted as evidence that God punishes sin with generational curses. This is wrong. God is saying that He visits the iniquity to the third and fourth generation. What does He do when He visits? Everything mentioned above; mercy, grace, patience, love, faithfulness, forgiveness, and justice. God will be all of those qualities for every generation. ‌ God’s love also calls us to love Him in return. ‌ Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ‌ Hear, O Israel = The Hebrew word for “hear, listen” is shema, which means to listen and obey. The Shema became the daily prayer of the Israelites. ‌ The LORD our God, the LORD is one = This can also be translated, “Yahweh is our God, Yahweh alone.” The nations around Israel worshiped other gods. Israel’s declaration is that they worship Yahweh alone. The Old Testament teaches us that the other gods are rebellious spiritual beings and must never be worshiped. ‌ Love the LORD = Any healthy relationship includes love from both parties. God loves us first and calls us to love Him in return. ‌ Heart, soul, might = We are not called to merely feel love for God in our hearts. Loving God begins inside (soul, heart) and is shown by how we live. To love God will all your might is to live and behave according to His Word. ‌ The next few verse explain what it means to love God. ‌ Deuteronomy 6:6–9 ESV 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. ‌ How to Love God: - Follow His Word. - Teach His Word to your family. - Bind yourself to His Word. ‌ Jesus quoted Deut. 6 when asked an important question. ‌ Matthew 22:34–36 ESV 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ‌ Matthew 22:37–40 ESV 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” ‌ The greatest commandment = Apparently, Jesus believed there were some commandments greater than others. Why? Because if one loves God, they will desire to follow the other commandments. ‌ The second is like it = Loving God is the greatest commandment. Loving your neighbor is next in line. In fact, John tells us that these two commandments are inseparable. 1 John 4:19-21 “19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” ‌ How to Love Your Neighbor ‌ 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 ESV 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ‌ Where did Paul get this definition of love? The short answer is that the Holy Spirit led Paul write this definition of love. But God did not turn off Paul’s mind to write this passage. God used Paul’s training and experiences with God to shape the text. Paul was born and raised as a faithful Israelite. As a former leading Pharisee, Paul was immersed in the Old Testament. Paul’s definition of love was based on God’s description of His character in Ex. 34:6-7 and all the other passages related to that description. ‌ Patient = Love gives people time to change or improve. Love also gives its time to others. To love God or another person is to give them your time. Time is something that is constantly running out and you can’t get it back. Therefore, giving your time is sacrificial and one of the greatest displays of love. ‌ Kind = In the Old Testament, God’s love (Heb. hesed) is described as lovingkindness. This tells us that love is much more than a feeling, but a verb that does good to others. ‌ Is not proud = Whenever love is connected to pride, it has ceased to be love. In fact, pride is the enemy of love. Pride and selfishness is the foundation of sin and ruins all relationships. But in our modern culture, pride and love are celebrated together as one in the same. Unfortunately, Christians are buying into the culture’s celebration of pride. ‌ Does not insist on its own way = Love is not selfish nor does it demand what it wants. However, people who claim that “love is love” or “you need to just love people” are the same people trying to force their views on everyone else and trying to criminalize those who disagree. ‌ Does not rejoice at wrongdoing = Literally, “love does not celebrate unrighteousness.” Our culture wants us to celebrate unrighteousness and if we refuse we are told that we need to love everybody. If you refuse to celebrate unrighteousness you are labeled as unloving. But the biblical definition of love is that it refuses to celebrate sin. To celebrate sin is the opposite of love, according to the Bible. ‌ Rejoices with the truth = Notice the article “the” before “truth.” Love does not celebrate sin, nor does it celebrate some alternate or new version of truth. Love rejoices with THE truth. Love never seeks to ignore, compromise, or redefine the truth. Love lives by and in the truth. ‌ Whenever we sacrifice truth for love, we lose both truth and love. ‌ Love never ends = No matter what a person does or doesn’t do, we never stop loving them. We may have to end a relationship for some serious reason, but that does not mean that we stop loving and praying for them. We can love someone while also disagreeing with them. The Psalms tell us repeatedly that God’s “love endures forever.” Christians should follow God’s example by loving even our enemies and doing good even to those who hate us. ‌ The Highest Form of Love ‌ Romans 5:8 ESV 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ‌ Conclusion Today we worship a Heavenly Father who’s love for us endures forever. Our proper response is to give Him our lives and our worship. Worship and Communion is our way of returning love back to God and a sign of our faithfulness to Him.