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- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2
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CHRISTIAN VIRTUE:
LOVE (2Pe 1:7) 9-30-12 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. ADD MORAL EXCELLENCE II. ADD KNOWLEDGE III. ADD SELF-CONTROL IV. ADD PERSEVERANCE V. ADD GODLINESS VI. ADD BROTHERLY KINDNESS VII. ADD LOVE A. Sacrificial Aspect of the
Meaning of Love (Aga,pê) 1. A brief
history of the usage of the Greek words aga,pê
reveals that in Pre-biblical Greek,
it was not used extensively nor was it elevated as is the case in Biblical
Greek (koinê). 2. The most popular usage for love was e,rōs which was
a general love of the world seeking satisfaction wherever it can. It was also
used of sensual love including the erotic religion with sensual intoxication
as a supreme form of ecstasy through temple prostitution. Phi,los was used
to refer other types of love from friendship to love for the gods and man. Storgê, was generally used for natural familial
love. However, if there is a particular nuance of aga,pê from
Pre-biblical Greek it emerges with a sense of affection or the benefit of
another. Included in this nuance is the choice of the will with a higher aim
than self. 3. Hellenistic Judaism had much to do with
prescribing a higher meaning to aga,pê
when it was given to the main OT
word for love (bhea' aheb) in the LXX. It included God’s love in association
with His choice and benevolence (Deu 7:7-8). 4. Aga,pê
is fully defined by Jesus and the
apostles as the highest form of love because it is the love that God
possesses, is a selfless and sacrificial love, and seeks to benefit another. Aga,pê is not
without emotion or affection but it is not based or driven by them. Rather, aga,pê is based on a higher aim and the sacrifical choice
to benefit and meet the needs of another. B. Sacrificial Aspect of
Christ’s Love (Aga,pê) 1. If love
can be measured in degrees, the greatest degree of love is a self-sacrificial
love. Jesus Himself taught His disciples that the greatest (mei,zona - comparative in number, intensity, or degrees) degree of love was to “lay down” (tithêmi -
set, place, or lay down) one’s life for another (Joh 15:13). It is this
greatest degree of agapê that Jesus affirmed to His disciples by
laying down His life for them (Joh 10:15-17). 2. But Jesus did not merely euthanize
Himself, but had a higher aim or greater purpose for which He sacrificed
Himself. Jesus’ voluntary sacrifice was for the purpose of making atonement
for the sin of mankind. Christ died to be man’s “propitiation” (hilasmo,s - satisfaction or appeasement) to God for man’s sin (1Jo 4:10). The righteous
indignation of God towards man’s sin was appeased and satisfied by Christ’s
substitutionary death on the cross. Christ took man’s punishment for sin upon
the cross and God was completely satisfied. This was the greatest
demonstration (sunistêmi - lit. put together, show or bring out) of
love because through Christ’s death, He met man’s greatest need of sin (Rom
5:8). In so doing man is able to receive forgiveness of sins (1Pe 3:18) and
eternal life (1Jo 4:9; Joh 3:16). C. Sacrificial Aspect of the
Believer’s Love (Aga,pê) 1. The
Principle of Love in the Believer a) If there
was ever a foundational truth in Scripture it would be that that the
attributes, character, and virtue that Christ possesses must be exemplified
in the believer. Repeatedly Scripture argues that if believers are God’s
people, and God possesses certain characteristics, then it is spiritually
reasonable that believers must possess those same qualities (this includes
love). b) This truth is argued from: (1) The
creation and nature of God (Gen 1:26-27; Act 17:29) (2) The will of God (Rom 8:29; 1Th 4:3) (3) The admonitions from God’s Word (1Jo 2:6;
1Pe 1:15-16) (4) The character of God in the believer (2Pe
1:4; 2Co 3:18) (5) The gratefulness of the believer (1Pe 1:8;
2Co 5:14-15) 2. The
Precepts of Love for the Believer a) Therefore if God possesses sacrificial
love (aga,pê), then it necessitates that believers must act with
the same sacrificial love (aga,pê). For
this reason God admonishes the believer in His Word to have sacrificial love
(Joh 15:12, 17; Rom 13:8). b) The believer is admonished to have
sacrificial love as described by “laying down his life” for the brethren (1Jo
3:16). The believer knows and continues to know what sacrificial love is by
the example of Christ who laid down His life for the believer. “Lay down” is
the Greek word ti,thêmi and here means to
place one’s life down on God’s altar to accomplish His will, even unto death
(Joh 10:11). Christ laid down His life at God’s disposal (willing to
do as God pleases, even unto death) for accomplishing man’s redemption. In
the same way believers are to lay down their lives (possessions, priorities,
purposes, and goals) at God’s disposal for the purpose of meeting the needs
(physical and spiritual) of others. c) The believer’s “walk” (peripate,ō - fig. manner of life) is to be
characterized with sacrificial love “just as” Christ did (Eph 5:1-2). Christ
“gave Himself up” (paradi,dōmi - deliver or hand over) as an “offering and sacrifice” to God and on man’s
behalf. The believer is universally obligated and commanded to walk in
sacrificial love in every aspect of life and death (Rev 12:11). 3. The
Practice of Love for the Believer a) The
universal obligation to walk in sacrificial love has many practical aspects: b) In Relation to God (1) By
sacrificially loving God with our whole being (Mat 22:37). (2) By keeping and obeying God’s Word (Joh
14:15, 21, 23) (3) By not loving worldliness (1Jo 2:15; 2Ti
4:10). c) In
Relation to the World (1) By having
a burden for the lost (Joh 3:16) (2) By sharing the Gospel (2Co 5:18-20) (3) By loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Rom
13:10; Jam 2:8) d) In
Relation to Believers (1) By
edifying one another (Eph 4:15-16; Joh 21:15-17) (2) By meeting needs in sincerity (1Jo 3:17-18) (3) By forgiving one another (1Pe 4:8) e) In
Relation to Relationships (1) Wives
(Tit 2:4 phila,ndros - husband lover; Eph
5:22-24) (2) Husbands (Eph 5:25, 28; Col 3:19) (3) All men (Mat 5:44) 4. The
Portrait of the Love of the Believer a) Since God
could not create or desire anything contrary to His nature, sacrificial love
(aga,pê) is an evidence of regeneration (1Jo 4:7) and a
portrait of a true believer (1Jo 3:14). b) Since true believers will inherently
resemble God, true disciples of Christ are distinguished by their portrait of
sacrificial love toward one another (Joh 13:34-35). |
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