Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. I Corinthians 14:12

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1 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. I Corinthians 14:12 Will the Real Meaning of Love Please Stand Up! Ephesians 4:15,16 shows that the Body of Christ is designed to work in an environment of genuine love. Then real growth can occur. We also have seen the importance of genuine love in Romans 12. We can handle whatever life throws at us and still perform our functions in the body to ultimately overcome evil with good. But this love, like everything else we have received from God since we became part of a body does not just have a vertical component. It also has a horizontal component towards one another. We will now explore this horizontal facet because it is so important for us to understand at this point of our growth. I Corinthians 8:1,2 I d rather not know and love, than to know and not love. Agap! is the noun form of love and agapa" is the verb, to love. Before large caches of Koin!, Greek papyrus documents were discovered, Bible scholars thought that the word agap! was a special word coined by the holy spirit. But agap! does have secular uses. It basically means devotion. Many of us were originally taught that agap! meant the love of God, but some of us were later told that it meant the love for God. What is its real meaning? I think that the best definition I have ever heard is The love of God is a relentless devotion stemming from the absolute admiration of One so great that we are absolutely sure of our commitment to Him. It is to point our lives like a pointed Damascus steel sword unalterably toward the goal. 16 Often when we were taught how to do word-studies, the example was to figure out a way that all the occurrences of a word could fit into one meaning. However, that is an invalid assumption. Look in an English dictionary and see how many words only have one meaning. There are only a few words per page that only have one meaning and many of those are obscure words. So when you are doing a word-study and find a contradiction in meanings, that often indicates the presence of an alternate meaning. We were taught that agap! only meant the love of God. There actually are alternate meanings. John 3:19 But how can one have the love of God for darkness??? As far as the meaning love for God is concerned, only 10 percent of the occurrences of the verb, agapa", have God as their direct object. (A direct object receives the action of 16 Fruit of the Spirit (Tape 522), Wierwille, Victor Paul,

2 the verb.) Only a few are intransitive, having no direct object. The vast majority are where others receive the effects or action of our love. So to insist that the love for God is the primary meaning is inaccurate. The three basic meanings of the word are: John 3:19 John 3:16 I John 4:19-21 Devotion to something God s devotion to us Our response to God s devotion (to Him vertically and to others horizontally) Agap!, love is personified by God. He is its origin. Therefore, it is the love of or from God. It is spiritual. When we become born again we receive that capacity to love with the love of God and we reflect it back to Him and we reflect it to our brethren. John 13:34,35 John 17:23-26 I Corinthians 13:8 The love of God is not an emotion for it is commanded. It is spiritual capacity you receive with the new birth. It is an unfailing commitment. God s unconditional love is the most wonderful thing in the world. It is: I love you. I have decided to love you, and there is nothing you can do to make me stop! 17 Imagine having that kind of undiluted love for one another. You have the capacity to love like that for you have God s spirit within. Love is the model for all the great things we have received from God. We receive it vertically and are to reflect it horizontally. We are to do the same with all the rest of the great blessings from Him. His grace that we receive, we are to reflect horizontally with the same divine favor. His peace that we enjoy with Him, should be reflected horizontally in the body. His Word which comes to us from Him is to be shared horizontally to mankind. The same is true with all the other things we receive from Him, the blessings, the goodness, the light, etc. All the greatness that God is to us we can be toward one another. So I declare to all who say they love God, show the proof of your love by deciding to manifest it horizontally to your brethren! Romans 12:9 I Peter 1:22 Matthew 6:22 Philippians 2:1-4 James 3:14-18 Love without hypocrisy, not two-faced, not acted out, but genuine. Unfeigned without ulterior motive, without false pretence Single = no duplicity, free from pretence, not folded (nothing hidden), single hearted, without complexity: simple 18 Having the same love. Nothing done by strife or vainglory. No strife. We want the genuine article. 17 One-Body-Minded, Nessle, Jon, Ibid, Thayer, p

3 II Corinthians 2:17 Colossians 3:14 I John 4:16-18 Romans 13:8-10 Romans 13: 11-13a Sincerity = Our true colors showing in the light of day. The phrase in the sight of God also is very significant. The bond of perfectness binds the body together perfectly. Perfected = ended. God s initial investment produces the intended result. When we decide to get committed there is no room for fear. The law of love is greater. It doesn t mean it violates the lesser. Honestly = in a well formed manner The word honestly is a relative of the word conformed in Romans 12:2. Instead of being conformed to the world we are to be re-formed into a new shape, a new mode, a new fashion. What shape is that? The form of the body of Christ! Romans 13:13,14 In light of the leadership context, these take on a new application as things for leaders to specifically avoid for they ll affect others. The Role of the Mature in the Body Now we will open the forgotten chapter in the epistles. Because of certain excesses of the mature, this section has been covered up by illogical doctrine in an effort to excuse questionable behavior by the mature. We shall learn otherwise! Romans 14 speaks of how we should handle the inevitable differences in maturity within this body. It deals with this issue from the standpoint of the offender, not the offended, covering the subject of legalism versus license. The remote context of keeping our love genuine which began in Romans 12:9 is still an issue here. (A parallel passage to this is in I Corinthians 8:1ff where it states that knowledge puffs up but the love of God builds up.) If our knowledge hurts a younger believer, what good is it? Our maturity should not drive those with needs away. If genuine, our love and good should produce positive results, not a wake of destruction. Romans 14:1-4 weak = weak because of immaturity or injury The word translated receive in verses 1 and 3 is proslamban! in the Greek. It means to accept someone into your heart, home, circle, or society as a companion or full partner. 19 Since we are all parts of the same body, this is required. This uncommon word is repeated in Romans 15:7 which brackets the verses in between as a unit of thought. We are to not judge each other s idiosyncrasies or maturity. We are to work together. One of the divisive issues of that day concerned certain foods previously excluded by the law of Moses or meat sacrificed in the pagan temples and then sold in the marketplace. Was it permissible to eat them now? Ibid, Bauer, p See also Philemon 12, I Corinthians 8:1-13 parallels Romans

4 Romans 14:5-7 I Corinthians 12:13 Fully persuaded - regarding matters of culture Since we now are in a body, everything we do will have a vertical component and a horizontal component. We cannot even die unto ourselves, for we are part of a family. This is not speaking of things that are clearly sins. Just barely a chapter earlier in Romans 13:9,10 it stated that if we truly love, we would not do the things listed there: adultery, murdering, stealing, lying, coveting, etc. so Romans 14 is not a loophole where the mature can get away with that stuff This is concerning behavior in matters of culture. In God s eyes it did not matter where the meat came from as verse 8 clearly states. The application of this truth in today s terms might be concerning matters of culture like the prohibition of dancing, or kinds of music, clothing, smoking or the consumption of certain foods or drinks. Sure we have liberty, but will we use it to the detriment of others? Another similar issue both at that time and now concerned the observation of holy days. Romans 14:8-13 Romans 14:14-16 Judging one another is not our job. Walking in the love of God is not grieving your brother. Verse 14 is not a loophole allowing the mature to get away with behavior prohibited elsewhere in Romans simply because they can do mental gymnastics to handle it It actually defines the walk of love to include deference to others less mature in the body. In the context of a body what is good for you may indeed be detrimental for another because of degrees of maturity. Therefore, one cannot presume that his acts should not hurt another simply because he did not intend for them to be injurious. That thinking isn t good enough because we now are part of a body. The mature can handle this responsibility, else God wouldn t charge them with it. In Romans 14:14-16, this subject of legalism versus license is related to the overall themes of love and good. In order to walk in love we must consider others in the body. What amounts to good now for us must also result in good to the body. 21 God structured this body to build itself up and to heal itself, if everyone does what they should. He honors the one body by backing those who honor it. He gave us methods and provided functions in this body to handle all the events which can happen in a body. He instructed us on how to handle misunderstandings and keep focused on our own functions. But then if problems do occur, they are to be rectified by us speaking the word, not being vengeful or divisive, and stopping the evil before it goes further. Furthermore, He also set leadership in this body to oversee these processes and functions especially so that evil does not overcome the good. The body s health, however, is not the responsibility of the leaders only. He also instructs the more mature believers that there is a duty that goes with the privilege of their greater knowledge. That responsibility is to use their knowledge with wisdom, being family oriented. Then our true knowledge won t puff us up and possibly result in evil. 21 Good is redefined: Ephesians 2:10; 4:29; Colossians 1:10; Galatians 6:10; Philemon 6 20

5 I Corinthians 8:9-13 Don t sin against the brethren and against Christ. Individual s lives in the one body are at stake. We who live the Word and experience the abundant life daily would surely want others to grow and enjoy what we have discovered. It is unfortunate but one unthoughtful act on our part could spoil everything for an immature believer. We must be attentive to each other, to the Word of God and to the spirit of God so that we are not a cause of stumbling but a catalyst for growth. Think back to the time you got into the Word. Someone spoke it to you. Someone cared enough for you to follow up on you after it was spoken. Someone was there at the right times speaking the right words or doing the right things time and time again and here you are still standing. Be that someone for someone else. Don t you owe it to the body, which has nurtured you? Romans 14:17-18 Acceptable is well pleasing. Here it is again, the twofold nature of the renewed mind walk: acceptable to God vertically, approved to the body horizontally. Do this and you are serving Christ. Romans 14:19 Romans 14:20,21 Therefore indicates practical application of the preceding. Don t do anything to weaken or cause to stumble. Again the all things spoken of is not all without exception. It s all things with distinction, that is all the things spoken of in this context in Romans 14, that being matters of culture. This is not another loophole for mental rationalization gymnastics Ephesians 2:10 Colossians 1:10 Galatians 6:10 Good is being redefined in reference to the Body. All kinds of good works. It needs to be good, not only for me alone, but for the Body. I Corinthians 10:23,24 Let no man seek his own This concurs with Romans 14:20. The all things aren t all without exception. King James missed it on verse 24 improperly supplying the word wealth. The obvious ellipsis left out for the purpose emphasizing it even further should be the word edification. Romans 14:22,23 Alloweth = dokimaz!, to test for purity Our walk before God is based on individuality. Our walk before others is based on interdependence. Therefore, we must be one-body-minded, walking in this greater love, looking for the greater good so that what may be good for us won t be destructive to others. If we know something is potentially destructive to others we should curb it or enjoy it in private. This is the context of the greatly misunderstood Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. It is not talking about allowing yourself the indulgence of a sin and making praiseworthy the ability to sear your conscience of the fact that it is sin. The context here is matters of culture in the one body regarding that which 21

6 may offend. The word alloweth is the Greek word dokimaz!. It means to test for purity. It is the same word as prove in Romans 12:2. So whatever you allow in your life must prove to be good, acceptable and perfect according to the will of God. 22 That should close all the loopholes! It is not maturity to be able to handle willful sinning and try to walk away from it without consequence. That is arrogance! Hebrews 5:14 Romans 15:1,2 Having the senses exercised to discern good and evil, not commit it If we don t defer to helping the weak, we are just pleasing ourselves. The duty of the mature and the standard for behavior which is good, pleasing, and edifying is to be one-body oriented. Our attitude cannot be condescending to the less mature, or giving tacit support, or hard hearted neglect. We let them walk on our feet until they can walk on their own. When they are injured, we don t condemn them or put them on probation or tell them it must have been their fault; we receive them to ourselves and help them. The community is not so important that the individual gets eclipsed. All are individuals with different degrees of maturity and different needs, strengths and weaknesses. The individuals must be allowed to participate in the body of Christ of their own free will. When people are weak or injured, they must still be valued as individuals, because hopefully they won t stay weak and because that is walking in love. If we force them to grow, we will be just trading one form of weakness for another. Therefore, we must follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and patiently minister and encourage genuine growth. Romans 15:3,4 Jesus Christ is our example. Verses 3 and 4 state that we will need to follow the examples of Jesus Christ and the Old Testament in order to carry this out. It will take patience, and we ll need encouragement at times. We ll also need to be cognizant of the hope of Christ s return and the rewards that will make it all worthwhile. That hope is the equalizer, when we have to sublimate what we might ordinarily enjoy for the sake of the less mature, the rewards will make up for it. Romans 15:5 The God of patience and encouragement He is the God of these things because He is the origin of these things. This is true for all the occurrences of the phrase God of peace, hope, patience, grace or comfort. 23 It is emphasizing God as the origin, because you re going to need to tap into them to achieve like-mindedness. He ll supply these abundantly to the mature who carry out His charge. Colossians 1:27 The Body and glory are related. When we walk together properly glory results. 22 Dokimaz! also is used in Ephesians 5:10; I Thessalonians 5:21, and I John 4:1. Whatever we allow must fit these too. 23 See Romans 15:13,14, Philippians 4:9 22

7 I Corinthians 2:7 Romans 15:6 When we walk together in the Body, applying the mystery practically glory results. With one mind and one mouth glorify God The grand conclusion is for the glory of God. What is glory? An inspection of the term shows that it goes hand in hand with the mystery of one body. 24 Romans 15:7 Wherefore - Practical application of Romans 14:1-15:6 The glory of God is the great goal. When the body of Christ works together properly as coworkers it will be able to accomplish things far beyond the mere sum of its parts. Then when we sit back to view the accomplishment after all is done, we ll see His hand, not just the efforts of a few, and we ll give Him the glory. The flash of the explosion, the sheen of perfection, the crowd s cheers and amazement, the attraction of manifested power, that s what glory is. God is the One who is worthy of it for He put it all in motion. Let s each do our part in the body as full partners to glorify Him, one body minded. 24 See Colossians 1:27; I Corinthians 2:7,8; I Peter 5:10; II Corinthians 1:3,4; 3:7-11; 4:15; Ephesians 1:18. 23