What is Love?

Bible Study and Teaching on the meaning of Love

Love is one of the most searched words on the internet. Love is more famous than Elvis!

Everybody thinks about it and talks about it. Everybody wants to be loved and loves to be loved. Yet, nobody knows what love really is. The best known principle in the world is actually the most mysterious and unknown.

Some say true love is unconditional, but is it really?

There are so many questions about love, so let's look in the Bible to find some answers. For the purpose of this study, we will focus on the New Testament.

When we come across a Scripture like:

1 Corinthians 16:14 - "Let all that you do be done with LOVE."

...we understand that, in the Bible, love is a Commandment, as the verb in this passage is in the imperative mood, which denotes that this is not a suggestion, we are actually commanded to do all things with love.

So, we quickly realize that love is not just important, but should be center in our life. All our thoughts, words and actions should be characterized and moved by love.

Then we come across Galatians 5:22-23 where we find the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. And we find that the first fruit of the Spirit is LOVE!

Galatians 5:22-23 - "The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

In other words, Galatians 5:22-23 confirms 1 Corinthians 16:14. As Christians, if we are conformed to God and filled with His Spirit, everything we do should express the character of God, we should bear fruit and the first fruit is LOVE.

In the New Testament, what is the word for Love in Greek and its meaning?

In English, we only have one word for love. With this word, we casually describe how we feel about things and people. For instance, we can indiscriminately express our love for ice cream, for our children or for our spouse.

The Greek language has seven different words to express the equivalent of the word love.

In the New Testament, we find two Greek words translated as love: Agape and Philia, when they are nouns, and Agapao and Phileo, when they are verbs.

Philia and Phileo come from the root word philos, which means friend or beloved; they indicate a type of feeling, and it can be translated as brotherly love, in the sense of affection between friends or believers.

Agape and Agapao express the concept of supreme and perfect love, and it's the highest form of love we find in the Bible. It's not a feeling or an emotion, it's love by will; it implies serious commitment and responsibility.

Let's look at the context of Agape and Agapao to better understand this concept. In all Bible verses found in this study, the word translated as love is always Agape or a derivative of Agapao in the Greek text.

What is the meaning of Love according to the Bible?

The Biblical definition and meaning of Love is found in:

2 John 1:6 - "This is LOVE, that we walk according to His (God's) Commandments. This is the Commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it."

To walk according to God's Commandments means to obey God's Law and live by the Principles of His Kingdom, as opposed to our personal opinions, or the principles we learn from our family or pick up from our society and culture.

How do we Love God according to the Bible?

John 14:15 - "If you LOVE Me, keep My Commandments."

Plainly and clearly stated. This is how you love God. By keeping His Commandments.

More proof? Here we go, in Jesus' very own words!

John 15:9 - "As the Father LOVED Me, I also have LOVED you; abide in My LOVE."

And how can we abide in Jesus' LOVE?

John 15:10 - "If you keep My Commandments, you will abide in My LOVE, just as I have kept My Father's Commandments and abide in His LOVE."

John 14:21 - "He who has My Commandments and keeps them, it is he who LOVES Me. And he who LOVES Me will be LOVED by My Father, and I will LOVE him and manifest Myself to him."

In other words, God will love someone who keeps His Commandments and will not love someone who does not keep His Commandments.

Is Agape Love Unconditional Love?

Quite the opposite!

Agape Love is actually always conditional and based on reciprocity. God loves us if we love God. We love God if God loves us.

The New Covenant is a contract between two parties with clearly stated terms and conditions. If one party fails to keep his part of the Covenant, the other is under no obligation to keep his.

We know that God is an oath keeper and not a Covenant breaker. There is no sin in God! The party that might fail to comply and keep their part of the Covenant is always mankind.

Jesus gave us two Commandments for the New Covenant in:

Matthew 22:37-38 - "Jesus said to him: 'You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great Commandment."

Matthew 22:39 - "And the second is like it: 'You shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself'."

Matthew 22:40 - "On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

This means:

Keeping the Law + Obeying the Prophets

Loving God + Neighbor as Yourself

This is also confirmed by:

Galatians 5:14 - "All the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'."

We just can't ignore it! Love is the sum total of the Old Testament.

The Law is still an integral part of the New Covenant. Jesus did not abolish the Law; He actually came to fulfill it by giving us a living example that it can be done without fulfilling the ritual requirements of the Old Testament.

What He abolished were, in fact, all the ritual requirements and the ritual requirements only, such as animal sacrifices, Jewish holidays, pilgrimage to the Temple, circumcision of the flesh, dietary laws, etc.

Matthew 5:17 - "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill".

Of course, we should know and understand what the "Law of God and the Prophets" are in order to keep our part of the Covenant. The Law is a specific and well-defined concept in the Bible. It is not just about the 10 Commandments, because if it were so, we would already be right with God, as pretty much everyone follows most of these Commandments.

Whether we are Christians, Buddhists, atheists, or of any other religion or none at all, we all do not kill, do not steal, and behave "well" according to the moral laws of the land, but... are these the "Law and the Prophets," "the precepts of God," and "the Commandments" of which the Bible speaks?

The 10 Commandments are just guidelines, the tip of the iceberg, and encapsulate much more. But that is a topic for another article.

We fulfill the Law when we LOVE, which is when we conform to the holiness of Jesus.

Love is the sum total of the Old Testament (= Law + Prophets) without the ritual requirements, which were the shadow of things to come. Now Jesus is the image, the real thing.

Why is obeying God's Commandments Love?

Because obeying God's Law means to live in righteousness and respect towards our neighbors and the Lord. Sin is not Love, as sin always hurts someone, as plainly stated in:

Romans 13:8 - "Owe no one anything except to LOVE one another, for he who LOVES another has fulfilled the Law."

Romans 13:9 - "The Commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet', and whatever other Commandment there may be, are summed up in this statement: 'You shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself'."

Romans 13:10 - "LOVE does no harm to a neighbor; therefore LOVE is the fulfillment of the Law."

Here we find the same definition for Love that we find in 2 John 1:6, expressed with different words, but both passages have the same exact meaning.

Sin, ultimately, creates a breach in relationships and separates us from others and God, but when we keep God's Law, we conform to the image and likeness of Jesus, who was sinless. We manifest His character and, therefore, His sinless Love, thus, repairing the breach originally created by sin.

1 John 4:7-8 - "Beloved, let us LOVE one another, for LOVE is of God; and everyone who LOVES is born of God and knows God. He who does not LOVE does not know God, for God is LOVE."

What are the Characteristics of Love?

The characteristics of Love denote that Love is about holiness and sinlessness and they are listed in:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV) - "Love suffers long (= is patient) and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."

Let's analyze this passage with a study from the Greek text.

Love suffers long - makrothymeō = Love perseveres patiently and bravely, and continues in God's Law always and in all circumstances;
And is kind - chrēsteuomai = Love uses kindness, not anger, control or judgment;
Love does not envy - zēloō = Love does not boil with envy and hatred, seeking to destroy our neighbor;
Love does not parade itself - perpereuomai = Love does not boast, brag, or show off;
Is not puffed up - physioō = Love is not lofty, proud or arrogant;
Does not behave rudely - aschēmoneō = Love does not act unbecomingly, or inappropriately;
Does not seek its own - zēteō + heautou = Love is not selfish and self-centered; Love does not seek what is convenient and profitable for self, Love does not seek after self-interest; Love is selfless;
Is not provoked - paroxynō = Love is not prone, inclined, predisposed to sin;
Thinks no evil - logizomai + kakos = Love does not entertain sin and iniquity which is evil;
Does not rejoice in iniquity - chairō + adikia = Love is not happy with lawlessness, wrongdoing and acts of unrighteousness, when a deed violates the Law of God and justice;
But rejoices in the truth - sygchairō + alētheia = Love is happy with Truth, the true knowledge of God and the principles of His Kingdom, righteousness and Law keeping;
Bears all things - stegō + pas = Love bears up, perseveres and gets through every obstacle;
Believes all things - pisteuō + pas = Love believes everything in the Biblical sense of believing and having faith, which is "being faithful", so Love is faithful in everything; please refer to our study on the subject of Faith to better understand this concept;
Hopes all things - elpizō + pas = Love has a Biblical expectation of good things to come; again please refer to our study on the subject of Faith to better understand this concept;
Endures all things - hypomenō + pas = Love is strong in the Lord and persevere in every situation, even under trials and holds fast to faithfulness in Christ;
Love never fails - ekpiptō = Love never fails, because obedience, which leads to righteousness, holiness and conformity to Jesus, always overcomes sin and makes us more than conquerors over sin through Christ.

In other words: There is no sin in Agape Love! Love is sinless! Love is holy! Love is conformity to God and conformity to Jesus! God is Love and when we conform to Him, we conform to love and sinlessness.

Furthermore, Jesus explains that by this principle, Christians are known for being His disciples and followers in:

John 13:34-35 - "A new Commandment I give to you, that you LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that you also LOVE one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have LOVE for one another."

If we live according to the Principles of God's Kingdom, and LOVE one another without sin, people will recognize that we indeed are the Disciples of Jesus.

Vice versa, if we don't live according to the Principles of God's Kingdom, and don't LOVE one another without sin, everybody will know that we are not the Disciples of Jesus!

Is the Truth about Love being taught?

No, it is not! That's why nobody knows what LOVE is. It's a mystery and the best kept secret!

But it's no surprise that nobody teaches the Truth about Love. Have you ever heard anyone else bringing these Scriptures to your attention and pushing you to think outside the "church box"?

Have you ever heard anyone telling you there is no love without the Law? Have you ever heard anyone saying: you are not a disciple of Jesus without obedience?

Look closely at what Jesus said about the Last Days.

Matthew 24:11-12 - "Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the LOVE of many will grow cold."

1 Many false prophets will deceive many Christians

2 And because nobody cares anymore about keeping God's Law

3 The LOVE of many Christians will grow cold!

In this order!

Yet, if you ask these Christians if they keep God's Law, with one voice, they will all answer "No, this is the New Testament and we are saved by Faith through Grace".

And, if you ask them if they love God, with one voice, they will all answer "Yes".

According to the Bible, this is a contradiction. You can't have one without the other.

These are the Last Days, and there's no one left to tell you these things, except us, and our hope and prayer is always the same:

Philippians 1:9 - "This I pray, that your LOVE may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment."

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