READ 1 John 2:7-11 KIDS: Name three different words for love in Greek.

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1 1 John 2:7-11 Old and New July 23, 2017am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN READ 1 John 2:7-11 KIDS: Name three different words for love in Greek. Reader s Digest recently re-produced its 50 Dumbest Laws in Every State. I have always enjoyed reading these, and I assumed you would too. Did you know that it is illegal to throw a snowball in Topeka, Kansas? According to state law, it is unlawful to throw any stones, snowballs, or any other missiles at any person or property in Topeka. A law that has been on file since 1917 in Massachusetts makes it illegal to dance to The Star Spangled Banner. In 1971, a state law was passed which made it a misdemeanor to operate, run, or participate in any activity where a pig is oiled up and released with the object of being recaptured. Knowing how many of our college students like frisbee golf, in Helena, Montana, it is illegal to play frolf (that s Frisbee golf ) anywhere Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 9

2 not deemed a sanctioned frolf course. Not adhering to the law could earn you a $500 fine or six months jail time. Oklahoma has a law which makes it illegal to promote, engage in, or be employed by a horse tripping or bear wrestling event. I have to quote the magazine on this one; it is just too good. It is illegal to poach a Sasquatch in at least two Washington counties. In 1991, Whatcom Country declared its roughly one million acres of land an official Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area, giving our nation its first Bigfoot Sanctuary. If Bigfoot exists, lawmakers reasoned, it would be an endangered species, and therefore in need of protection. For this reason, Skamania County has considered Bigfoot-poaching a felony since 1969 still punishable by a $1000 fine. On and one they go. From no skunks as pets in Virginia, to the Vermont law which states that it is illegal to make a law prohibiting the use of clotheslines. Laws, which to us, right now, seems absolutely absurd, but at one point in time, TO A GROUP OF ELECTED OFFICIALS they seemed necessary to write. Most of them are just a knee-jerk reaction to a very specific issue, but a lot of the crazy laws which are still recognized are just antiquated. John opens up verses 7 and 8 of 1 John 2 by what seems to be a contradiction about new and old laws: 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 9

3 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. I write no new commandment Again, a new commandment I write to you What?! Maybe you were like me this week and read it couple times over thinking that you must be misreading the passage. It s not new it s old ancient even but it s new What is this old/new commandment? Love your brother. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Before we get into that apparent contradiction, I want us to focus on that first word in verse 7, because I believe it sets the standard for the quality of love that we are to have. Brethren or Beloved agaphtoi John uses affectionate terms extensively all throughout this small epistle. Little Children seems to be his favorite, but here, he uses a very specific term agapetoi agaphtoi to call Christians. As you may know, the Greek language is very descriptive, much more Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 9

4 than English. It has numerous words for love, but we find only three of those in the New Testament. Eros Physical Love (Lustful Love) Phileo Brotherly Love (Natural Love) Agape Divine Love (Love that does not make sense) It s the Greek word for deep, caring, faithful, self-sacrificing, in-it-for-the-long-haul-committed- love. Agape isn t fickle or temporary. It isn t driven by emotion, it is determined by the will and the will then bears the fruit of emotion and affection. 1 Biblical agape isn t about attraction, it s about determination. 2 We could learn something from just that one word without even getting into the rest of the verses that concern this old/new commandment to love your brother. LOVE IS A CHOICE. It is not an emotion. Church, we often times have a very fluid idea of what love is. It is more I ll scratch your back if you scratch mine. That is not love. We have contentions among Christians for one reason and one reason only Someone does not love like they should. Someone hurt you, and you will not let it go? The first fault is on them, but the continued holding of love from them is on you. I would love them if they just apologized. I would love them if they just loved me back. 1 2 Stephen Davey. Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Real: I John (David C. Cook, 1972), p. 56 Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 9

5 I would love them if they just. That s. not. love. That is not agape. What would the church look like if we loved each other like Christ loved us? Remember, He loved us before we loved Him. Remember, He loved and died for us for our sin WHILE we were yet sinners. He loves without any ifs. Do you remember the last wedding you attended? What were the vows? "I,, take thee,, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, [If?! So long as?! Unless you?! NO. In fact, most vows go on] for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. Christ loves without any ifs. True love does not have any stipulations, yet I fear that is not the case within the church. John sets the extent of our love in order in just the first word that he writes. What about the whole This is no new commandment it s old but it s new to love your brother? ANCIENT 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. The most ancient command of all is to love God. Before writing was ever introduced to the human race as a form of communication, God Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 9

6 etched it into our hearts. When God commanded Adam and Eve to not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, He was saying, I am enough for you. Do not find pleasure in anything aside from Me. So long as that law was upheld, every other law fell in place. If you love God supremely, you will love your wife correctly. If you love God perfectly, there is no room for pride, murder, jealousy, etc. But once Eve ate the fruit and Adam joined her in her treachery, do you remember what happened? Not only did they lose their perfect love for God, but they also lost it for each other. As soon as God confronts them about their sin, Adam, whose job was to tend, keep and care for all of creation (including Eve), immediately leaves Eve out alone before God. Genesis 3:12 Then the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. It s not me it was the woman and YOU gave her to me so The most basic guideline of Love God and love others was destroyed that very second. As time wore on, we see the very antithesis of the command to love your brother lived out in the person of Cain. Cain, whose sacrifice was just as disingenuous as his heart towards God, was mad at his brother Able because he lived a pure life and that was reflected in how he worshiped the Lord. He was so angry that he invented the sin of murder. Having never seen it before, his heart was so darkened with hate that he contrived this most heinous of sins against his own brother. Do you remember what happened when God confronted him? Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 9

7 Genesis 4:9 Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? He said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? While God does not answer Cain s question exactly, the answer is implied. Of course, you are. You ought to love and protect your brother. But sin clouded the vision of Cain, and so it does to us millennia later. As ancient as creation itself, the law to love your brother remains. It is no new commandment, but then John says NEW 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. Again is an ancient colloquialism that is better understood today as On the other hand or At the same time. We get a little insight as to what John means when he calls this ancient commandment of Love your brother a new commandment, when we read John 13. To put this passage in context, Jesus has just instituted the Lord s Supper. He has already washed His disciples s feet, and He has just dismissed Judas Iscariot to betray Him. In this Upper Room Discourse, Jesus leans close to the remaining eleven and says, John 13:33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, Where I am going, you cannot come, so now I say to you. Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 9

8 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. It is an ancient command to love your brother, but Jesus is the new definition of love. We ought to love as Christ loved. Sacrificially Reputation and Goods Many of you know of the rise and fall of televangelist Jim Bakker convicted of financial miss-dealings and fraud sentenced to prison where he would serve for a number of years. He as interviewed by Christianity Today years ago after being released from prison. He said that Franklin Graham had visited him and told him that if he ever got out of prison, he and his family wanted to sponsor him with a job and a car. He said, I thought it over and then told Franklin... Look, if you do this for me, it will hurt your [reputation]... your family doesn t need my baggage. Franklin insisted. And when Bakker was released from prison, the Grahams paid for his lodging and a car. His first Sunday out, Ruth Graham called the halfway house owned by the Salvation Army and asked permission for Bakker to drive to their church in Montreat, North Carolina and attend services with them. Bakker said, They gave me permission, and when I arrived at the church, I was seated with the Graham family two rows of them aunts, uncles and cousins Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 9

9 were all there. Then, in walked Ruth Graham. She walked down that aisle and sat next to me inmate and told the whole world she was my friend. After church, she invited me up to their cabin for dinner. There in their cabin home, she asked me for some addresses and I pulled this envelope out of my pocket in prison you re not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked me, Don t you have a wallet? I said, Well, yeah, this is my wallet after years in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She just got up and walked into another room and then came back and said, This is one of Billy s wallets... he doesn t need it... here, you can have it. 3 Sacrificially Reputation (made Himself of no reputation) and Goods (He became sin) 3 The Re-Education of Jim Bakker, Christianity Today ( ) used by Stephen Davey. Corey M. Minter Page 9 of 9