Different Definitions Matter
What Does It All Mean?
When it comes to the different types of love we discussed earlier this week, one can’t help but ask the question, ‘Why does this matter?’ With all the different uses of the word love in the Bible and all the different definitions, what was the author’s intent when these were written and why does it matter that we get these translations right? That is what we will be discussing today. While on the one hand, we aren’t meant to be confused by love whenever we read about it in scripture, on the other hand, we can gain a much better understanding of this word if we study what it originally meant in its Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic language. Knowing the difference between how God uses love and how everyone uses love is vitally important when reading scripture and applying it to our everyday lives. This is why John Piper so beautifully states, “The difference between secular love and Christian love is that secular love is not rooted in the cross of God’s Son, and is not sustained and shaped by the power of God’s Spirit, and is not acted for the glory of God the Father. So the source of it is different, the sustaining power of it is different, and the goal of it is different.” With that being said, let’s dive in.
Cultural Context
I think one of the most important reasons for us to view the definitions of love in the Bible is because of how shallow we have made the word love seem in our own lives. We’ve all heard it said that saying, ‘I love my mom’, and ‘I love pizza’, have two drastically different meanings, however, when we look at the definitions from last week, none of the three meanings fit this second example. To say ‘I love pizza’ in the way we do now would have never even made sense to the people back in biblical times. Neither eros, philos, or agapē, would even fit this sentence. And the reason for this is because of how our culture uses this word now. Love is thrown around like a common word that everyone uses in the same way and barely has a powerful effect anymore when said. Now I’m not saying that our society is incapable of loving others in a romantic or brotherly way, I’m just saying with how often this word gets thrown around, it’s hard to perceive it being used in this form. In 1 Peter 4:8, we are told “8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” I highly doubt that we love a slice of pizza in the same way that we love a brother or significant other. Furthermore, there is no conceivable way that we could love any object like we could a human being because according to this passage, there is no sin that an object could commit against us like another person could. All of this may seem like common sense, but I think you get my point as to why this is important to address. The way in which we use the word love in this day and age is drastically different than how it was used in biblical times and it’s unfortunate how it has made us immune and shallow to the very power of this word and action. I hope when you read God’s Word and you see how He and His followers use and act upon love, that you notice a stark difference between what we call love and what the Bible calls love.
Godly Character
On top of all this cultural context, another huge reason the definitions of love are important is that we see our God in a beauty and splendor that we could not see before. Again, I know we can love others in a romantic way and in a brotherly way, but what about this agapē way? What is it about this sacrificial love that makes it so common in scripture and yet so rare in the world today? Look at what John tells us in his gospel in John 15:13 “13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” This is the type of sacrificial love that our Lord has shown us in His gospel and this is also the type of love that sadly gets glossed over when we don’t realize how amazing, deep, and powerful it is. The vastness of God’s love for us is so difficult to comprehend that our minds would rather gloss over its incomprehensibility than wrestle with the richness it has to offer us. This is why R.C. Sproul warns us, “The human experience and the human manifestation of affection and feelings that we have, we exalt love as that which makes the world go round and it becomes a God for us.”
We never want to admire what love is in our culture, what love even means to us, or how it makes us feel. Whenever we acknowledge love, may it always be in a way that points us back to the amazing beauty and flawless character of God. As a matter of fact, the only reason we are able to love at all is because God has given us the ability to and because He revealed it to us first. Look at 1 John 4:19-20 says, “19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” The only means we have of loving others and loving God Himself is because God first showed us what true love really is. The very meaning and definitions of love are of vital importance, not just because of how we have watered down this word, but because of how great God has shown it through His character. I hope and pray that as we study His word this week, we won’t just notice His love in a different light, but that we will love this world in a way that can only be described through a biblical worldview and not a cultural one.
Sources
[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.
[2] Piper, J. (2024b, February 2). What makes Christian love different? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-makes-christian-love-different
[3] God is love | Ligonier Ministries. (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts/ultimately-with-rc-sproul/god-is-love
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