(All scripture references are NASB and all references to “Law” are Torah (Mosaic law) unless otherwise noted. I usually capitalize “law”, only because I am using it as a proper noun, not as a special status.)
My previous major article, prompted by the other two articles about unconditional love, has encouraged me to do a study of love in general, but specifically agape, in scripture.
In my search there is just simply too much for one article. And as you already know if you have ever read anything of mine, I tend to be too long-winded anyway.
Just because I enjoy reading long format doesn't mean everyone does.
So, I'm going to make a great effort to switch up for a bit and present my findings in a shorter format, but possibly more frequently depending on how much time I have.
I encourage you to at least read my previous article about the unconditional love of God first. I know it is long, but there are some key principles covered.
These first findings of my in depth study of agape are interesting and surprising however, and despite publishing recently, I wanted to get this out there quickly. I hope you will be as intrigued as I was.
Agape is not Always Used Positively
In my study, I was curious to find that agape is not always used to reference God's love directly, and it is sometimes used in a negative sense.
I have seen this before where an attribute of God is used in scripture in reference to humanity.
This is often negative (i.e. stop trying to act like or be God), or used for emphasis, but sometimes it simply means that the human interaction is expected to have God like quality.
Of course, this is only possible when God has gifted it to you first, as I have made clear in all of my posts.
A Report of Infidelity that is Used as an Excuse for Divorce (under Law) Must have a Divine Level of Truth to It.
I know a passage on divorce is a weird place to start, but stick with me please.
An interesting example of using a divine word for a human interaction is in Matthew 5:32.
This the famous passage about divorce in the sermon on the mount where Christ is vividly portraying to His Jewish audience how they are not even coming close to keeping the Law.
But I'm not interested in the passage itself at this time, but how Christ uses the word “logos” which means “word”. I will cover this word in detail later (it plays a big role in John 5:38-40), but it most often refers to the very words emanating from God Himself.
When John chapter 1 refers to Christ Himself as “The Word”, this is the Greek word used.
When this 'word' is used, it indicates the strength of God's own being and creative power behind it. It is not used lightly.
Yet, Christ uses it in a passage on divorce. He indicates that only a “logos” equivalent report of sexual immorality is a good enough reason to divorce under the Law.
You see, the Jews, and particularly the Pharisees, had parsed the Law and come up with all sorts of reasons that the men could initiate a divorce that often put the women in a bad place.
There is so much to say here, but my point is Christ used a God equivalent word to indicate that if you are going to use infidelity as an excuse for divorce, then the report of that must be as certain as the very words of God.
Again, not a treatise on divorce. We live under grace, not Law, and Law is the context of this verse. Divorce is not good, as marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and the church, but it is still a sinful condition taken away by the blood of Christ.
My point is to show how Christ cleverly indicated that if you are going to divorce your wife frivolously and still think you are keeping the Law, then you are delusional.
The Pharisees were class A delusional, but so can we all be at times.
When Agape Goes Wrong
As I discussed in the last article, agape is a word that indicates a love that has a divine quality to it. This love stands above all other forms of love. Yet, let's examine 1 John 2:15:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
In every case in this verse, a form of 'agape' is used. Interesting. Let's examine.
Is This Verse Pointed at Believers?
I don't know about you, but in my experience, nearly every teacher or preacher I have heard discuss this verse uses it in a condemning sense towards believers - like you watch too much TV, or you play too much golf, etc.
Thus, the focus of your activity, or the level of activity within that focus, determines your love of the world vs. God. Of course, what specific activities, or exactly how much of it makes this definition, is unclear.
This is always the issue with these type of messages. The requirements are always open-ended, thus they condemn by default.
There is always the requirement to do something more or less than you are currently doing, keeping you in a constant state of anxiety if you are honestly trying to follow the teaching.
You can always let go of more of the world, serve more and better, discipline yourself more, be more obedient, love better, etc. There is simply no place for trust and relaxation in this mindset.
This is not healthy focus on growth, it is just simply self-focus. And it is honestly being discontented with the “works” you have been gifted from the Father.
Who are we to say that the opportunities presented to us to reflect Christ every day are not worthy? Or if we seek more 'worthy' opportunities, are they of God or us?
Often you find that the activity most often mentioned is one the speaker struggles with and thus they are speaking out of guilt. But I digress…
This Verse is Not for Believers - and Agape Proves It.
The problem is that the person in this verse who is “loving the world” does not have the love of the Father in them. We just discussed Romans 5:5 in my last article. Maybe I should quote it here:
“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Emphasis mine).
Does this describe someone with, or without, the “love of the Father in” them? It's a simple question. So, thus, anyone who teaches this for believers is simply wrong. This is not about enjoying golf too much.
If you have the Holy Spirit, you have the “love of God” in your heart. Paul does not waver on this, the word ‘because’ leaves no condition on us and 'has been' done doesn't leave room for something in the future that we are working on.
An Agape Strength 'love' For the World is In Focus
Another key evidence is to recognize the usage of 'agape'.
This is a person with a “God like” quality of love for the world. John is using this in a negative sense on purpose. He is demonstrating that these folks love the world so strongly it indicates hatred of God.
There are other reasons to be concerned if you have an unhealthy golf addiction. Perhaps your relationships are suffering, or your budget, etc. But this verse is not one of them.
As a believer, with God's love in your heart, this verse is not aimed at you. It is instructive to you, useful, but not aimed at you.
It is aimed at deceivers in the church who have such a love for worldly things that literally hate the gospel and actively fight against it, often in subtle ways.
Another Example
Christ used this in a similar way in Luke 11:43 - “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places.”
These Pharisees, the highly regarded spiritual leaders, the preacher and teachers of the day, had a God like love for the spotlight. This was not a temporary mindset, this was an all consuming, God replacing, love.
These folks, despite their outward appearance of spirituality, were the enemies of Christ and thus everything Godly. These folks were exactly the type that John is referring to in 1 John. They loved the worldly fame and fortune with a God like love.
Again, this is a level of 'love' that replaces God in their hearts and makes them His enemy.
Agape is Not Used to Indicate a Believer's Temporary Mindset
We all know as believers we can suffer from a mindset of addiction, etc. We can have a temporary mindset of loving worldly things in a harmful way. I will be doing an entire article on this.
Yet, for believers, unlike those being described above, this is only a mindset to overcome and allow Christ to renew, it doesn't indicate the utter and complete corruption of the heart.
This is important to recognize. A believer has a new heart, given by the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we can do to corrupt it. We can certainly ignore it, but we cannot foul it up.
Honestly, the main problem for believers is they are either ignorant of their new heart, they ignore it, they don't know how to live from it, or they are aware of these truths from scripture, but have little faith in them.
It is this very issue that I am all about in a nutshell! Learning to live from my new heart has utterly changed my life. Yes, it is a gift from Christ, He gets all the credit, but I still must let the Holy Spirit teach me.
These passage are describing someone utterly bereft of God's agape love within them, not a believer. Now, if this is you, then heed the warnings and come to Christ for life and love. Run to the cross.
Yet, for the believer, do not let anyone twist these scriptures to condemn you falsely. This is from the enemy, our accuser day and night.
He wants to minimize our faith in the agape love within our hearts, and he loves to use scripture to do it. Anyone who teaches in this way is doing enemy bidding, accidentally or innocently or not.
A believer does not “love the world” in an agape way, they simply cannot. Christ has changed them so significantly this is impossible.
But we can have a condemning mindset that keeps us mired down and works to prevent the genuine love from being expressed. Or, as I covered above, we can ignore the influence of our new heart in various ways.
I hope this encourages you to see yourself as the Holy Spirit has created you to be in Christ. You cannot be in love with the world in the same way you are with Christ, it is impossible.
Don't be fooled by lies that want you to ignore the profound and amazing work Christ has done in you. When we do this, we are actually demeaning Christ and His finished work.
Set your mind on this truth, and act accordingly. I guarantee this will begin to keep you from worldly mindsets that cause you to act like someone you are not.
But when we try to avoid 'worldly' things from a fear or condemnation perspective, then it simply pushes us into a different worldly way of achieving that goal.
Live from your new heart gifted by Christ. It will pay dividends you never would expect.
Happy Easter!
Without the resurrection of Christ, none of this would be possible. Romans 4:25:
“He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.”
Yes, the cross wipes the slate clean, but only the resurrection saves. Christ must be alive in order to indwell us. And that is what saves. It is our permanent union with Him, payed for by the cross, but enacted by the living Christ.