Grace Bible Church Pastor Teacher Robert R. McLaughlin Wednesday May 7, 2014 Everything for the believer begins when there is first of all, personal love for God. When there is love for God, there is love for self which is noted as confidence, or elpis, referring to your confident relationship concerning your relationship with God. This is followed by your impersonal unconditional love for all mankind, especially members of the Royal Family; MAT 22:39 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When we are called upon to exercise a divine characteristic like agape love and when the sufficient power is provided for us to do so, it is not asking too much to expect the believer to manifest that characteristic. Meno - to stay in a given place, state or relationship, to remain, to abide, to continue, to maintain unbroken fellowship with one. The word by definition also means to be continually operative in Him by His divine influence and energy, (as in JOH 14:10), also meaning to persevere; to endure. JOH 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. We know agape love by this, that He laid down His life for us; John indicates the agape love for the lost which led to the sacrifice on the cross. Verse 17, having indicated also the lack of love in the one who makes no sacrifice for others, the Apostle John states, how does the love of God abide in him? God labelled His love For the World, JOH 3:16; 1JO 2:2. God channelled that love to earth through the person of His Son. He channelled that love into our hearts through the person of the Holy Spirit. He would channel that love out to needy men everywhere through the person of His redeemed children. Thus love is the key to His redemptive program: received, it becomes our salvation; responded to, it becomes our sanctification; released to others, it becomes our service. And, let us remember it well, love has no substitute. PRO 17:9, He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. MAT 5:44, But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you LUK 6:27, But I say to you who hear, love Your enemies, do good to those who hate you, JOH 14:15, If you love Me, you will keep my commands. JOH 14:21, He who has My doctrines and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; JOH 14:24, He who does not love Me does not keep or guard My doctrines; 1PE 4:8, Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. JAM 2:8, If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. It is important to note that agape love is NOT the love of God. Agape love is a certain type of love OR A CERTAIN WAY TO LOVE. When Gods love is in view, agape love is simply a mental attitude love requiring the thoughts in the Bible concerning how to handle different situations. It is a way in which God loves and a way in which we are to love. Agape love has power and is graceful as Gods love but agape love is not automatically the love of God. JOH 3:19 And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men [agaped or they loved] the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. JOH 12:43 for they agaped [they loved] the approval of men rather than the approval of God. Agape love is not automatically the love of God, it is a certain way to love and that way to love is defined for us in the Bible. When we talk about agape love we are talking about that impersonal unconditional agape love which is a certain way of loving, and it all has to do with thought not feelings or emotions. When someone says I dont love you anymore, they better be talking about phileo or personal love not agape. Because to say you dont agape someone is to say that you have mental attitude sins in your soul toward that person and youre the problem not him or her. Gods love for us is based upon who God is not who we are. Just like agape love in us is based upon who we are not the ones were showing love to. God loved us billions and billions and billions of years ago for no reason and without strings attached. How can God love losers? How can God love the carnal believer? All losers and winners have the perfect righteousness of God given to them at the moment of salvation. You must understand that is why God loves you. When you and I love with this impersonal unconditional agape love, we are literally loving with the very nature of God. Peter answered that in 2PE 1:3 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to this life and the spiritual life, through the epignosis knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue. 2PE 1:4, For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them [His promises and doctrines] you might become partakers of the divine nature, When you understand that God loves you and why He does, you will be truly free. ROM 8:38-39, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Impersonal unconditional agape love is the love of 1CO 13:8, the Love which never fails; It means that when you love with impersonal unconditional agape love, IT NEVER FAILS YOU. It is a problem solver that will protect you from becoming bitter, or angry, or jealous or vindictive. Gods love is not an emotion, or instinct, or feeling, it is a system of thinking with virtue. 1CO 13:13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. The first purpose of this impersonal unconditional agape love is for problem solving. The second purpose of love after problem solving is to give the believer perfect happiness and contentment. Agape love does not think with evil thoughts, 1CO 13:5, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong {suffered,} Lets take personal love or what the Bible calls phileo love. Impersonal unconditional agape love is meant to solve problems, personal love, phileo, creates problems. Personal love produces problems when it is directed toward man. It is agape or impersonal love which solves problems with mankind. Agape love or virtuous love can only be developed in your life by personal love toward God or personally falling in love with TLJC. MAR 12:30, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. MAT 6:33, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. ROM 8:28, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Love is a system of thinking! Not an emotion. This virtue love is a result of a maximum love from metabolized doctrine in the field of soteriology, Christology and all things pertaining to our Lord Jesus Christ. Personal love always emphasizes the object of love, I (subject) love you (object). Impersonal love always emphasizes the greatness and virtue of the subject, I love you! Personal love in the human race is always conditional; there are always strings attached. Impersonal love is unconditional, no strings attached. The only love that solves the problems of human interaction is impersonal unconditional agape love whereby the object can be acceptable or unacceptable, attractive or unattractive, obnoxious or pleasant. Personal love is directed toward a few people in friendship, romance, and hopefully in marriage.......though thats not true in many cases. On the other hand, impersonal love is directed toward all mankind. Personal love toward human beings has no built-in virtue, and it has no virtue guarantee. Impersonal love contains built-in virtue and therefore has capacity for true love in friendship, romance, marriage, and all other human interaction. ROM 5:5 The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us. Personal love is based on attractiveness and rapport with the object. Impersonal loved is based on the virtue of the subject. Personal love is a possessive and subjective attitude toward a few. Impersonal love is an objective and relaxed attitude toward the human race. Personal love is the expression of mans ego. Impersonal love is the expression of mans virtue. Personal love is vulnerable to arrogance and hypersensitivity. Impersonal love is free from arrogance, including jealousy, hatred, bitterness, vindictiveness, guilt, self-pity, implacability, and revenge. Personal love only has virtue as it relates to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The virtue of impersonal love is the great problem solving device toward people. Personal love in friendship, romance, or marriage must depend on something outside of that love for its virtue. For this reason, personal love in romance or in marriage has no stability and no perpetuity. gbible.org
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 16:15:08 +0000
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