What is Love?
Sometimes when we take the scriptures at face value, they don't mean exactly what we think they do, because the translation can at times miss out. That does not mean in any way we cannot all understand the basics of scripture, however with some digging it allows for some golden nuggets of truth to be discovered by all who are willing to invest the time and effort. A simple example of what I mean is the word "love" in the New Testament. In the original Greek they had a number of words which meant love, but depending on which word they used you could tell exactly what they meant. They didn't have to add adjectives to words the way we do now, because the description was included in the word they wanted to use. This study might seem a bit like a lesson in biblical Greek, but it's necessary in order to come to a full understanding of some passages.
1) LOVE-(agape) - the word here for love means one that is out of choice, whether you feel it or not. It's a love that is out of "rightness", and not always in accordance with your will; a deliberate assent of the will. It is in contrast to the word "theleo" which is a type of love that wants and desires whether right or wrong, and "phileo" which is purely the emotion of love that is sometimes felt in "agape". Another word for love used in the Greek is eros, the word we derive erotic from, purely a physical and sexual attraction.
In a marriage relationship the one of the three that cannot be part of it is theleo, other
wise the other three must be exhibited, with the highest standard being agape. As we will see, love cannot be
selfish in any way.
Basically, if your enemy came to you for help, you would demonstrate love for them
and help them anyway, even if deep down inside you couldn't stand them. It is very possible to love some
one and not like them at all.
2) SUFFERS LONG-(makrothumeo) - to be patient.
3) is KIND-(chresteuomai) - to act benevolently, to make oneself useful in helping to fill another's needs; to make an employment of helping others.
4) doesn't PARADE itself-(perpereuomai) - to boast, to be egotistical, to make yourself look better than everyone else, to belittle others by and while asserting your own greatness, to be puffed up.
In 1 Cor 8:1 it says that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. The word for edifies here means to build
up, and is literally tied in to the act of building a house. It means to confirm and embolden.
The entire
book of 1st Cor is a letter to a bunch of people as instructions on how to live the life of love
which they weren't doing, so you can bet that when the apostle Paul wrote that love isn't
prideful, he would have been referencing this verse in 8:1, among others. In short, love builds people up, and
doesn't build itself up. In a love relationship, it should never have to build itself up.
5) doesn't behave RUDELY-(aschemosune) - to behave unseemly or shamefully.
To be honest, I haven't been able to grasp the full meaning of what the scriptures mean when referring to what is shameful. Here is a list of verses that talk about shame for a bit of a start; Heb 6:6 and 12:2, 1 Cor 6:5, Phil 3:19, Rom 9:33, and Acts 5:41.
6) Doesn't SEEK it's own-(zeteo) - to plot your gain above another's, to want what you want when you want it, to think that your happiness is paramount.
This word implies thought life and heart life; it hasn't even put it into actions yet because it's still in the head.
7) is not PROVOKED-(paroxuno) - to exasperate, to sharpen along side of, to stimulate or provoke.
This comes from 2 other words, 1-para- which means in close proximity to, and 2-oxus- which means swift and sharpens, and ties into the use of acid to burn. This verse basically means that love does not wig out real quick on other people.
8a) THINKS-(logizomai) - to take inventory of, it's actually an accounting term which
means to keep an active record of.
8b) no EVIL-(chamets) - to be grieved, a harsh colour, dyed, to be soured or fermented.
Put a and b together and we end up with the translation that "love keeps no record of wrongs", as is found in the N.I.V. translation of the bible. It is not saying that you can't be angry if some one hurts you, paints you with the wrong brush, or intentionally sets themselves against you, but it is saying that you can't harbor resentment or intend revenge for it, if you are to be a person of love.
9a) doesn't REJIOCE-(chairo) - to be joyful, well off, to be glad with, wish God-speed,
basically it means to cheer on.
9b) INIQUITY-(adikia) - means the unjust, wrong, or treachery, the legal term for injustice.
In simpler terms, love does not get excited in any way when any law, ours or God's, is broken. Always keep in mind that as a Christian God's law supercedes ours because sometimes they do conflict.
10a) REJOICES-(sugchairo) - to encourage, to congratulate, to sympathize with.
10b) in the TRUTH-(aletheia) - truth, verity, as not concealing.
I get the picture that even though you're not happy about the consequences, love takes joy in the fact that the truth has come out.
11) Love BEARS all things-(stego) - to put a roof over, to cover with silence, to endure patiently, to suffer, to bear or forebear.
It means protecting others from further harm as they suffer, bearing their suffering, and enduring it with them. It stops people from getting kicked when they are down and takes the kicks yourself.
12) BELIEVES all things-(pisteuo) - to have faith in, to commit to trust, to believe.
It trusts and hopes that all things will work together for the good no matter how bleak.
13) HOPES all things-(elpizo) - to expect, to confide in, hopes, trusts, to have hope, and things hoped for.
For context read Hebrews 11.
14) ENDURES all things-(huppomeno) - to bear trials, to stay under trial.
It comes from the Greek word meno which means to abide and another Greek word meaning beneath. It is actually a military term, it means to protect the fort so all others can get to safety, pretty much the same way a captain is the last one off a sinking ship. It is the attitude/belief that no wounded soldiers get left behind on the battle field.
15) LOVE NEVER FAILS-(ekpipto) - it means to be driven off ones course, to fall as in from flight.
It comes from the Greek word ek which means point of origin and the word pipto which means to fall. It means you will never be knocked off your horse when in the heat of battle and you never loose your bearing when crossing the ocean with no instrumentation.
I find it important to point out that not once do the verses mentioned here describe, in any way, what love looks like. If you glance back over this study you might notice that every one of these words in Greek are a verb, an action. 1 Cor 13 is hailed as the love chapter by all who claim to be a student of the bible, yet rarely does any one notice that it is really instructions by God of what love in it's highest form is made of, and not what it looks like. I was going to try to show examples of how Christ, when he was here on earth, exhibited all of these. It didn't take very long before I realized that no one has to dig past a brush of the hand depth to see that Christ did nothing but act according to this standard of love. Scripture tells us that no one can love more than to give up his life for another, which is the end result of what He did for us. The most amazing part is that He was so perfect the grave could not hold Him. He is just as much alive today as He ever was, and He waits with outstretched arms to recieve anyone to Himself who will come.
I hope and pray that you get to know a fuller amount of what God's love is all about, little by little each day.
Arron.