The Apostle Paul’s explanation of divine love in his letter to the church in Corinth, in view of the love of Christ Jesus revealed in the gospel, is the kind of love which we as Christians are commanded to give to everyone, even our enemies. Because of the way our culture defines love, the thought of loving an enemy brings to mind the idea of enjoyment or having a sense of endearment or affection toward our enemies.
Let’s be honest – mustering up a feeling of endearment toward our enemies is pretty much impossible and borderline psychopathic.
This concept of showing love to an enemy starts to make sense when we understand the Greek word Paul uses in his letter, ‘agape’, which describes a kind of love that is very different from the love defined by our culture. The word agape describes a love that is a matter of will, not of emotion. It’s an intentional and conscious action. It is a choice.
Let me explain…
Two of the words Paul uses to explain this kind of love is patient and kind.
The Greek word Paul uses for patient is makrothumeo; makro meaning “far away” and thumeo meaning “temper”. Paul explains that living in this type of love, we are far from losing our temper with one another. We exercise forbearance with one another. We endlessly forgive one another.
The Greek word Paul uses for kindness is from the word charomai, which means “to furnish what is needed”. The love in which we are commanded to walk seeks to meet the needs of others. We see what is needed, and without expecting anything in return, we strive to meet the need.
We must keep in mind, however, that there will be many people who will sin against us, disrespect and take advantage of us. Let us hate their actions, but do not hate them as individuals. Let’s promote the destruction of their sin, but not the destruction of themselves. We are not commanded to always love the actions of others – we are commanded to always look out for the best interest of others, be long suffering with them, help them meet their needs, and encourage them to be the best they can be in Jesus.
Doesn’t this kind of love seem impossible, or extremely difficult at best? Fortunate for us, the love Paul describes as Agape does not come from us. We have no ability to generate this love on our own. John MacArthur provides a profound statement on the source of this kind of love for the Christian:
“Agape is impossible for the unconverted to manifest this divine love & in fact it is impossible even for a believer to demonstrate it in their own strength. It can only be exhibited by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. A believer has this love (divine nature) within (Col 1:27) and it is progressively manifest more and more as fruit by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22) as we obey God’s truth. Agape love willingly engages in self-sacrificing action to procure the loved one’s highest good…
Love’s perfect expression on earth is the Lord Jesus Christ and He defines this sacrificial love for He left heaven, came to earth, took on a human form, was spit on and mocked, was crowned with a crown of thorns, nailed to a cross, abused, and had a spear thrust into His side. He loved the church enough to die for her. That’s sacrificial love.”
GREATER DEPTHS 