Love is concentration and isolation from the masses. John 13:34; John 21:15-17

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

 

The New Testament vocabulary for love only contains two words. The Koine Greek of the NT presents two words in both their verb form and noun form.

 

/a)gapaw, the verb form. The cognate is a)gaph. By definition this is a specialised love related to the mentality of the soul that has virtue from years of doctrine. \

 

/Agapao always depends on the mentality of the soul of the subject, the one loving, and therefore it is commanded.\

 

It never depends on the response of the object. This is why Jesus loved His own, even to the end. And in the end they were bickering with one another concerning their personal greatness, they lived in fear, they scattered from Jesus rather than sticking by His side, and one of them was an unbelieving traitor.

 

/Christ’s love is agapao and it will operate in the believer who has developed virtue and it will not depend on the response of the object.\

 

When used in connection with God it has a broader expanse, it means that God loves us in spite of the fact that He knew ahead of time what we were like. So it is related to the omniscience of God.

 

/The agapao love of God towards the believer does not depend on his spiritual status, but on the omniscience of God in knowing that we will be sons of glory.\

 

I quote from Col. Thieme’s book “The Unfailing Love of God” in the introduction.

 

“1John 4:19, We love because He first loved us. The unfailing love of God is the key to our motivation in the spiritual life! When we discover God’s love for us in eternity past, that He knew about us and graciously provided for us long before we ever existed, long before Jesus Christ created the universe, we will stand in awe. Our response to this overarching love of God becomes our love for God. This is the true motivation that must accompany the inculcation of Bible doctrine to advance to the high ground of spiritual maturity.”

 

/Love is maximum concentration towards someone so as to exclude them from the masses. The capacity to love is related to the capacity to concentrate without MAS’s.\

 

/God is not common. He is unique and therefore a separatist. Doctrine isolates God’s perfect integrity. A lover of God isolates Him from all else as top priority.\

 

1 Peter 3:13 And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? [is anyone greater than God?]

 

1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,

 

/Fear and stress are mental attitude sins that elevate the creature above the creator. When you elevate you separate.\

 

/John 14:27

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. \

 

You live in the peace of Christ when you separate Him as your top priority. This is simply another way of stating that you love Him.

 

/Separate Christ as top priority or Lord.\ That is to love Him.

 

1 Peter 3:15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence [love for them];

 

/ “sanctify” - aorist active imperative of ‘agiazo[hagiazo] - to set apart as holy or full of the one true integrity and power.\

 

/ “Lord” - kurios [kurios] - supreme in authority, Lord, Master.\

 

Satan has tried to depict God as common. This is promoted in Hollywood and the secular media and literature. This universal false doctrine depicts God as the tree, the earth, the sky, the water, the energy flow, etc. Ying/yang, chi, environmentalism, mother earth, psychology, etc. all make God seem very common and most grossly, earthly and human.

 

God is not common. He is Kurios. Though He is omnipresent I do not see Him in a tree, a lake, a mountain scene, in the clouds, or in my own mind. I can only see God through the word of God. That is separatist. 

 

And when I separate or love God it has nothing to do with emotion.

 

/Love is thought while passion is emotion. Passion follows both virtue love and human love and lust and therefore proves nothing. \

 

All love is meaningless and disappointing if we don’t have personal love for God first. This love for God still falls under the word agapao, but it takes on a different connotation than impersonal love. It is a mental attitude love based on knowledge of doctrine and never on emotion.

 

The ability to love God comes from Him in that He loved us first.

 

/1 John 4:19

We love, because He first loved us.\

 

How do we come to know that God loved us first?

 

/Love for God comes from knowing Him through doctrine, ROM 5:5.\

 

/ROM 5:5

the love of God [love for God] has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. \

 

We are to reciprocate that love back to God. More often than not, agapao is also used in the scripture of our reciprocal love back to God, and not phileo. This is again because your love for God must be based on your understanding of doctrine and not any personal idea of God that is often erroneous for all but the mature believer.

 

Once you are mature then the capacity to phileo love God will increase dramatically through which love you will possess the greatest problem solver in the universe, occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

All believers have glimpses of phileo love for God here and there, but there must be many years of doctrine, many tests and trials, suffering and prosperity tests before God becomes fully the object of phileo love.

 

/Filew,[phileo]the verb, and the cognatefiloj[philos].This is a love that relates to all facets of the soul. It is also used in physical expression of love. This type of love is more mature, more separatist, and expresses greater capacity for love.\

 

In human relationships phileo love can be a major problem manufacturer and that’s why all human relationships must depend on agape love.

 

But in relationship to God, phileo love is the greatest motivator in life.

 

Cf. John chapter 21, the indignation of Peter.

John 21:15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" [the Lord uses agapao] He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love [phileo] You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs [gently teach the new believers]." 

 

Peter is insulted and indignant that the Lord would ask him this question so he counters with phileo.

 

John 21:16He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" [again to an exasperated Peter the Lord uses agapao] He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." [Peter sticks to his guns and replies with phileo] He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep [clobber as a pastor the stubborn sophomore believers]." 

 

John 21:17He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" [Now the Lord uses phileo] Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him," Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You [phileo again]. "Jesus said to him," Tend My sheep [teach to adult believers].  

 

Peter denied the Lord three times. Now the Lord playfully but with all truth asks Peter three questions. The Lord knows all and He knows that Peter loves Him.

 

After his recovery from the guilt of denying the Lord Peter is motivated to be a leader, a pastor, and a teacher and he will fulfill the command to teach and pastor and lead the sheep of the RFOG and with the correct motivation from mature love for Christ.

 

/ The a)gaph [agape] mental attitude love towards God becomes the filoj[philos] stronger love towards God when the essence of God becomes more attractive to you than anything else.\

 

This connotes a general soul love with more capacity.

 

/Essence box slide\

 

/Philos love means a strong report between the believer and God. Jesus Christ becomes the believer’s best friend. This is the strongest motivator in life, the greatest problem solving device in life, and the greatest power ever given to a creature.\

 

This can also be termed the resurrection life. Notice the similar patterns presented that we have already seen in Heb 10, Heb 4, Eph 4, and now in Phil 3.

 

Phil 3:9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith [non-meritorious faith - all sin is forgiven and I am made holy and righteous at the moment of salvation],

 

Phil 3:10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

 

Phil 3:11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 

The summary of the distinction.

 

/The noun a)gaph [agape] is mental attitude love. The noun filoj[philos] is stronger and connotes a general soul love with more capacity.\

 

All believers are commanded a)gaphlove—it is a mental attitude.

 

It is fulfilled under the principle of Romans 5:5; Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians 13.

 

Filojis not commanded for all believers because it is a grace capacity for love and no normal, sane person will love everyone under filoj, it is impossible.

 

However, there will be a few that you will phileo; right man/woman or best friends. These are exclusive and very separatist relationships.

 

With maturity, God will become your exclusive and separatist relationship above all others. This is when Christ becomes your best friend.

 

However, when God is the object of phileo love it is highly recommended with consequences.

 

/The reason we don’t see phileo commanded of the believer with the frequency and force of agapao is because it is a natural result of spiritual maturity, the reason why we are here, to bring glory to God through the exploitation of our election. \

 

Make no mistake that we have a jealous God and as a separatist He desires all of you, all your heart, and therefore, His consequences when a believer’s election goes unfulfilled are dire.

 

/1 Cor 16:22

If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed. Maranatha.\

 

In mankind a)gaphis limited to the mentality; filojextends to every facet of the soul.

 

Erroneous conclusion: a)gaphrefers only to divine love. While God is the subject of a)gaphmany times, we have also the fact that man is the subject—man is commanded to love.

 

In John 3:19 even the unbeliever is capable of a)gapaw. The unbeliever’s a)gapawis darkness rather than light.

 

God must be the subject of any verb before that verb connotes divine love. God is the subject of a)gapawin John 3:16. God is also the subject of filewin John 16:27.

 

/John 3:16

"For God so loved [agapao] the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. \

 

/John 16:27

for the Father Himself loves [phileo] you, because you have loved [phileo] Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. \

 

The disciples had glimpses of phileo love for the Lord, but both the Father and the Lord in hypostatic union knew that all of them would come to a mature phileo love of the Lord.

 

They never denounced the Lord or His doctrine even when all of them were faced with martyrdom. That’s true love. Laying down your life.

 

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

 

“you love one another” - a)gapaw. This is strictly a mental attitude only. “One another” is a reciprocal pronoun. It is in the genitive case here—a)llhlwnmeans one another of the same kind.

 

The genitive case is objective genitive to show we belong in the same family. The accusative is not used (which would indicate we are not in the same family).

 

The genitive case says we belong together because we are all members of the family of God when we believe in Christ.

 

God as the motivating factor in category #1 love found in 1 John 3:11; 4:19.

 

“as I have loved you” - a)gapaw, gnomic aorist. A gnomic aorist is used to indicate something that is an absolute and becomes axiomatic. The fact that God loves you as a believer is an absolute.

 

“that” introduces a result clause.

 

/“you love one another [of the same kind]” - keep on loving, present active subjunctive. The subjunctive is not only potential but introduces a result clause. Every word for love that is used in this verse is for mental attitude love only. \

 

John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."