Many believers talk about the love of God.  It is a common theme in many circles of conversation, even amongst unbelievers.  Throughout the scriptures we hear about this amazing love, but many times we do not take the time to really understand what this means.  This article will attempt to identify the true meaning of God's love.  Please read with an open mind because the conclusion is probably not the one you expect.

Why the confusion?

          Many believers today do not understand the meaning of love in the scriptures.  It is commonly taught that there are two types of love in the Bible, phileo love and agape love.  Phileo love is taught to be a brotherly love one has towards another, but agape love is taught to be a divine love from God.  The confusion is with agape love.  This is unfortunate because the true definition of agape is not a divine love at all.  If this were true, then how could it be used in a love towards evil?  In John 3:19, the Messiah said that, "men loved (agapē) darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."  This is right after He said, "For God so loved (agape) the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  How could agape possibly mean divine love from God when men use it to love darkness?  The fact is, agape love is not divine love, but something entirely different.

          The word agapē means "love, that is, affection or benevolence" (Strong's Concordance - G26).  This, however, is an oversimplification of the word and not a good definition.  A more thorough definition is, "Love, affectionate regard, goodwill, benevolence.  With reference to God's love, it is God's willful direction toward man.  It involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D.).  This definition changes what agape means.  It is not just an affectionate feeling towards someone, but involves a thought out plan of affection.  Professor William Barclay adds to this understanding in his book New Testament Words when he said, “Agape has to do with the mind: it is not simply an emotion which rises unbidden in our hearts; it is a principle by which we deliberately live.  Agape has supremely to do with the will.  It is a conquest, a victory, and achievement.  No one ever naturally loved his enemies.  To love one’s enemies is a conquest of all our natural inclinations and emotions.”   Agape is not a feeling.  Feelings arrive passively based upon our emotions.  Agape has to be cultivated.  We are not responsible for our feelings because we can’t help how we feel, but we are responsible for our agape because agape is an act of will.  Barclay continues by saying, agape “is not simply a wave of emotion; it is a deliberate conviction of the mind issuing in a deliberate policy of the life; it is a deliberate achievement and conquest and victory of the will.  It takes all of a man to achieve Christian love; it takes not only his heart; it takes his mind and his will as well.”    This is a very different understanding of agape than simple affection toward another.  Feelings are triggered by external events such as the weather, people’s actions, or internal processes such as digestion or thought.  Liking is a feeling, agape is a commitment, independent of our likes and dislikes.  To put this in modern terms agapē  love is what we might call today "tough love."  It is a love that causes you to do what is right, even when what is right is very difficult to do.  Parents need this "tough love" or agapē love when disciplining their children.  It is not easy to spank your children when needed, but it does show that you agapē love them.

The Scriptural Definition:

           The scriptures are not unclear in the definition of words.  There is always a verse that gives us the definition, we just need to search for it.  Remember, the Bible is a law book, written in legal code.  Isaiah 28:9-14 tells us so.  As Isaiah states, "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little"  (Is. 28:10).  We need to read each verse pertaining to the subject of love and understand the immediate context of the verse, which is what Isaiah means by "precept upon precept; line upon line."  Then we need to take every verse on the subject and put them together, which is what Isaiah means by "here a little, and there a little."  The question is, where is the definition of love in the scriptures?

          In 1 John 5:2-3, the Apostle states, "By this we know that we love (agapaō) the children of God, when we love (agapaō) God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love (agapē) of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."  This is echoed in other passages as well.  In fact, if you do a search for love in the scriptures, you might be surprised how often love is compared to God's law.  You can't have one without the other.  In John 14:15, the Messiah states, "If ye love (agapaō) me, keep my commandments."  The Messiah repeated this again in John 15:9-10 when He said, "As the Father hath loved (agapaō) me, so have I loved (agapaō) you: continue ye in my love (agapē).  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love (agapē); even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love (agapē)."  It seems clear that the Messiah understood love to be when someone keeps the commandments of God.  In fact, a proper study of God's law will reveal the same.  In Ex. 20:6, God said He shows "mercy unto thousands of them that love [Him], and keep [His] commandments."  This is repeated in Deut. 30:16; " . . . I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments."  Over and over in the Old Testament it mentions those who "Love God and keep His commandments" (Ex. 20:6, Deut. 5:10, Deut. 7:9, Deut. 11:1, Deut. 11:22, Deut. 19:9, Deut. 30:16, Josh. 22:5, Dan. 9:4).  John was simply quoting the Old Testament.  To love God is to keep His commandments.

          If to love God means to keep His commandments, the logical next question is, how does God love us?  The scripture is not silent on this matter.  In Prov. 3:12, the author states, "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."  This is repeated in Rev. 3:19 and Heb. 12:6-9.  God will discipline all His children when they do wrong (sin).  Though God disciplines His children, He also blesses them as well.  In Deut. 7:13 Moses said, "And [God] will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee."  God will bless His children when they do good and discipline His children when they do wrong (sin).  These blessings and disciplines (or curses) are from the Mosaic covenant.  In Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, God tells us that if we love Him (keep His commandments) He will bless us (Lev. 26:3-12, Deut. 28:1-14), but if we do not love Him (break His commandments) then He will curse us (Lev. 26:13-40, Deut. 28:15-45).  This is what love is, the keeping of a contract.

Love is a contract?

          The concept of love being the keeping of a contract may seem odd.  Keep in mind, though, that the word contract is new and nowhere found in the scriptures.  The word used for contract in the scriptures is covenant.  God offered this covenant/contract on Mount Sinai thousands of years ago.  The terms of this contract are found in Exodus chapters 19-24.  The Israelites agreed to this contract by saying, "All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient" (Ex. 24:7).  The parties to this contract are God and the Israelites (or anyone who practices God's law).  Each party has a duty under this contract, which are explained in the scriptures.  Our duty is to "walk in [His] statutes, and keep [His] commandments, and do them" (Lev. 26:3, Deut.28:1).  Solomon put it this way, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (Eccl. 12:13).  Our duty under this contract is to obey God and keep His commandments.  This is clear, but what is often forgot is that God has a duty as well.

          God's duty under this same contract is listed in Exodus 23, Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.  God gives blessings and curses based on this law.  If we obey God and keep His commandments, He will bless His people (Lev. 26:3-12, Deut. 28:1-14).  If we do not obey God and keep His commandments, He will give curses (discipline) to His people (Lev. 26:13-40, Deut. 28:15-45).  This is a duty that God is required to perform under this contract.  This is why Moses described God as "the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations" (Deut. 7:9).  Our job is to keep His commandments and God's job is to provide blessings and curses based on our performance.  This is the contract of love.  God loves us by keeping His end of the contract, and we love Him by keeping ours.  This is why the Messiah summed up the law and the prophets with two commandments, to love God and love our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40).  Every commandment in the scriptures fits under these two commands.

          The problem we have is we are not able to keep our end of this contract.  We can try and try, but we will always fail.  The scripture is clear on this.  The Apostle Paul tells us that, "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).  This is why God sent His Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit was sent to "reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness" (John 16:8).  The Holy Spirit is our "Comforter" to "abide with [us] for ever" (John 14:16).  The Greek word for "Comforter" is paraklētos which literally means "called to one's side, called to one's aid" (Thayer's Greek Definitions - G3875).  This word is the word for an advocate who stands beside you to defend you in court.  The Holy Spirit comes to our side so we can "walk in the Spirit" so we do not "fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16, Gal. 5:25).  The only way we can love God and keep His commandments is to walk in His Spirit.  Ezekiel 37:26 tells us that the Spirit was given that we might "walk in [His] statutes, and ... shall keep [His] judgments, and do them" (Eze. 36:27).  The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to "reprove the world of sin" and "put [God's] law in [our] hearts" (Jer. 31:33).  The end result is we will "walk in the spirit" to aid us to "walk in [His] statutes ... and keep [His] judgments, and do them."  Not only does God keep His end of this contract, but He also helps us keep ours.  God has come along side us to help us love Him and practice His law.  The Holy Spirit strengthens our faith (1 Cor. 12:9, 2 Cor. 4:13).  This faith helps us to keep God's commandments.

Faith:

          Faith is the answer to keeping God's commandments.  Faith is the Greek word "pistis."  This word has a different meaning than most might think.  Faith means, "persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction" (Strong's Dictionary - G4102).  Those that have faith have a strong moral conviction to be faithful in keeping God's commands.  This is the difference between the Old and New Covenants.  When speaking of the Old Covenant the writer of Hebrews said, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Heb. 4:2).  The Old Covenant failed because they did not mix it with faith.  Over and over again God pleaded with Israel to believe in Him (Ex. 4:5, Ex. 19:9, Num. 14:11, Deut. 1:32, 2 Kings 17:14, 2 Chron. 20:20).  Those in the Old Covenant needed to start with faith.  After all, faith "establish[es] the law" (Rom. 3:31).  Israel needed to first have a moral conviction and a strong fortitude to keep God's commands.  This moral conviction (faith) is easier under the New Covenant because we have seen God's promise.  The writer of Hebrews listed several faithful believers in the Old Covenant in chapter eleven.  At the end of the chapter he said, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise" (Heb. 11:39-40).  Those before Christ did not receive, or understand, the promise of faith.  They did not understand the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, yet they still had faith that God would forgive their sin.

          To better understand this we need to identify the three main covenants.  There is the Abrahamic Covenant, the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant.  Abraham is the father of faith.  He was given the Covenant of Promise.  Abraham "believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6, Gal. 3:6).  God then gave him the covenant of promise because of his faith.  This promise was given to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 9:9, 12:7, 13:15-16).  The Apostle Paul explained it this way, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Gal. 3:16).  Abraham's seed is Christ and those who believe in Him.  This is why the writer of Hebrews said, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. " (Heb. 11:39-40).  Abraham was given the promise, but he did not see it except through faith.  This is why the Messiah said, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad" (John 8:58).  Abraham did not physically see the Messiah, but he did see him by faith.  We have something better because we have seen God's plan unfolded through the Messiah.  Abraham knew God was going to forgive his sins, but he did not know how.  We know how.  This makes it easier to have faith because we know God's plan.  The New Covenant is what the Old Covenant was supposed to be.  The New Covenant is the Old Covenant mixed with the Abrahamic Covenant.  The New Covenant is the Old Covenant mixed with faith.

Conclusion:

          This is a hard concept to understand.  The modern definition of love is so different than God's definition of love.  Love is not a feeling that one places on something, but an action one does as a result of something.  That's what faith is for.  Faith is having the moral conviction to obey God's commands.  Faith is having the moral conviction to love (agapē).  Just as a good father disciplines his children when they do wrong and blesses them when they do right, so God disciplines us when we sin and blesses us when we do right.  This is what God calls love.  We can't just say we love God, we must show it also.  As the modern saying goes, actions speak louder than words.  God knows we love Him by our actions of keeping His commands.

By Steve Siefken

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth

not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV