Christian love

God’s word

When he was asked the question, “Which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36), Jesus summarized the Mosaic Law by stating, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). The key ingredient in both of these commandments is love. 1 John 4:16 tells us that “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Love is a part of God’s essential nature and can be known only from the actions it prompts. “God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son (1 John 4:9, 10)…Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:10; 1 John 2:5; 5:3; 2 John 6). Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God. Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren , or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” (G26). Christian love is depicted in the book of Ruth by Ruth’s devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17), Boaz’s generosity and kindness toward Ruth who was a foreigner from the land of Moab (Ruth 1:22; 2:8-9, 20), and Ruth’s selection of Boaz as her kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 3:10).

Abraham’s covenant with God was based on him having a personal relationship with the LORD. The Hebrew word that is translated kindness in Ruth 2:20, cheçed (khehˊ-sed) “means ‘loving-kindness; steadfast love; grace; mercy; faithfulness; goodness; devotion.’ The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But cheçed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement the promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law” (H2617). Chesed appears in Deuteronomy 7:7-12 where Moses explained God’s choice of the people of Israel and his expectations for them. It states:

^“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.”

Moses indicated that the people of Israel had to not only understand the rules that God had given them, but also to keep and do them (Deuteronomy 7:12). The three verbs: listen, keep, and do; suggest a progressive type of obedience that results in one’s behavior being completely conformed to the rules that have been established.

The Apostle Paul talked about believers being conformed to the image of Christ in his letter to the Romans. Paul said of God, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Paul went on to talk about spiritual worship and said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). The Greek words that Paul used in Romans 8:29 and 12:2 are both translated conformed, but have different meanings. Summorphos (soom-mor-fosˊ) and suschematizo (soos-khay-mat-idˊ-zo) are both derived from the root word sun (soon) which denotes “union; with or together” (G4862). Each of these words shows us that being conformed is a joint effort, but the important thing to note is that our human tendency is to be conformed to the world, rather than to the image of God’s Son. Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2 emphasis mine). The Greek word that is translated transformed, metamorphoo (met-am-or-foˊ-o) is “spoken literally of Christ’s transfiguration on the mount (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:2)” and is “spoken figuratively of our being transformed in mind and heart (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18)” (G3339). Paul indicated the way that believers are transformed is “by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2, emphasis mine). “Anakainosis means ‘a renewal’ and is used in Romans 12:2 ‘the renewing (of your mind),’ i.e. the adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life; and stresses the willing response on the part of the believer.” A synonym of anakainosis is palingenesis (G3824). “Palingenesis stresses the new birth; whereas anakainosis stresses the process of sanctification” (G342). “Anakainosis (G342) is the result of paliggenesia. The paliggenesia is that free act of God’s mercy and power by which He removes the sinner from the kingdom of darkness and places him in the kingdom of light; it is the act by which God brings him from death to life. In the act itself (rather than the preparation for it), the recipient is passive, just as a child has nothing to do with his own birth. Anakainosis, by contrast, is the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

Sanctification is mentioned throughout the book of Exodus in connection with worshipping God. When something was sanctified or consecrated, it was considered to be holy (H6942). A sacred anointing oil was used to “anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand” (Exodus 30:26-28) And Moses said, “You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy” (Exodus 30:29). The Greek word hagiazo (hag-ee-adˊ-zo) means “to be made holy, be sanctified” (G37). In his high priestly prayer, shortly before his death, Jesus asked his Father to keep his followers from the evil one through the process of sanctification. Jesus prayed:

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:14-17)

Jesus asked that God would sanctify us in truth and said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Greek word that Jesus used that is translated word is logos (logˊ-os), which refers to “something said (including the thought)…also reasoning (the mental faculty or motive)…the reasoning faculty as that power of the soul which is the basis of speech” (G3056). John described Jesus as the Word or the Logos. John said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). When he was tempted by Satan, Jesus quoted Old Testament scripture in order to defeat his opponent. In response to the tempter’s suggestion that he turn stones into bread, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Greek word that is translated word in this instance is rhema (hrayˊ-mah). “The significance of rhema, (as distinct from logos) is exemplified in the injunction to take ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,’ Ephesians 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture” (G4487).

Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” The Hebrew word that is translated stored up, tsaphan (tsaw-fanˊ) means “to hide (by covering over); by implication to hoard or reserve” (H6845). The idea that the psalmist was trying to convey was creating a surplus of truth that he could draw on in the future. One of the illustrations that Jesus used to describe the process of taking in and processing God’s word was seed that is sown on different kinds of soil. Jesus told the parable of the sower to a great crowd that was gathering as he and his disciples traveled from town to town. Afterward, Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples in private. Jesus said:

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:4-15)

Jesus indicated the way that God’s word is stored up or to hold it fast is by having an honest and good heart. The Greek word kalos (kal-osˊ), which is translated honest, speaks of that which is good because it “is well adapted to its circumstances or ends” (G2570). In other words, it is suitable for its use. With respect to a person’s heart, honest means that your heart is used to speaking the truth.

The book of Deuteronomy teaches us that the condition of a person’s heart is partly dependent on the bad things that it is exposed to and partly dependent on how much effort one makes to keep their heart in good condition. Moses told the people of Israel:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Moses’ instructions included multiple ways for the people of Israel to keep themselves immersed in God’s word. The key seemed to be for the people to integrate their study of God’s word into their normal daily activities.

Psalm 119:1 states, “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” The Hebrew word that is translated way, derek (dehˊ-rek) means “a road” and is used figuratively as “a course of life or mode of action” (H1870). From the standpoint of a road, a person’s way being blameless could mean that he has already or will eventually reach his desired destination. With regard to the course of your life, blameless might mean that you are saved and going to heaven when you die. Walking in the law is a way of saying that you have put God’s commandments into practice. When Jesus was asked by a rich young man what good deed he must do to have eternal life, Jesus responded:

“Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:17-26)

On the surface, the rich young ruler’s lifestyle seemed to be perfect, but Jesus’ command to sell his possessions and give to the poor revealed that there was selfishness in the young man’s heart. Jesus pointed out to his disciples that God’s word isn’t able to transform a person’s heart by itself. God has to be involved in the process.

Psalm 119:9-16 shows us that God’s involvement is the process of sanctification is typically behind the scenes and will likely go unnoticed unless we understand the way he operates. The psalmist asks:

How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
    all the rulesof your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word. (Psalm 119:9-16)

The psalmist requests of God, “Let me not wander from your commandments” (Psalm 119:10) and “teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:12). The Hebrew word that is translated wander, shagah (shaw-gawˊ) means “to stray” (H7686). Jesus often portrayed sinners as lost sheep that had gone astray and indicated that they needed a shepherd to bring them back home (Matthew 18:12). Jesus taught his disciples that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11) and told them, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4).

The picture that Jesus gave his disciples of sheep following a shepherd was meant to show them that God didn’t intend for them to find their own way through life or to try and figure things out on their own. Jesus said of the shepherd, “The sheep hear his voice” (John 10:3). This was most likely a reference to the rhema, “the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need” (G4487). Paul connected rhema with faith and said, “But what does it say? ‘The word (rhema) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word [rhema] of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For in the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved…So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word (rhema) of Christ” (Romans 10:8-10, 17). Paul emphasized the importance of confessing with your mouth what you believe in your heart. The Greek word that is translated confess, homologeo (hom-ol-og-ehˊ-o) is a compound of the words homou (hom-ooˊ) which means “at the same place or time” (G3674) and logos (logˊ-os) “something said” or “a word” (G3056). The derived meaning of homologeo is “to speak or say the same with another, e.g. to say the same things, i.e. to assent, accord, to agree with” (G3670). Paul indicated that agreeing with God’s word is what saves us. It’s not enough for us to just believe that the Bible is true, we must talk to others about what we believe in order for the process of sanctification to work.

God is love

The LORD’s relationship with the children of Israel is made clear in the book of Deuteronomy where the terms of the covenant that God made with his chosen people is spelled out in great detail. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 states:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

One of the key characteristics of the LORD’s relationship with the Israelites was that God chose them and considered them to be his treasured possession. The Hebrew word bachar (baw-kharˊ) is “a verb whose meaning is to take a keen look at, to prove, to choose. It denotes a choice, which is based on a thorough examination of the situation and not an arbitrary whim” (H977).

The Hebrew word that is translated treasured possession in Deuteronomy 7:6, sᵉgullah (seg-ool-lawˊ) is “a feminine noun meaning a personal possession, a special possession, property. This noun is used only six times, but it gives one of the most memorable depictions of the Lord’s relationship to His people and the place established for them. The primary meaning of the word theologically is its designation ‘unique possession.’ God has made Israel His own unique possession (Exodus 19:5). Israel holds a special position among the nations of the world, although all nations belong to the Lord. Israel’s position, function, character, responsibility, and calling create its uniqueness (Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Psalm 135:4)” (H5459).

Deuteronomy 7:8 indicates that it is because the LORD loves his chosen people that he brought them out of Egypt and redeemed them from the house of slavery. God’s love caused him to do something for the Israelites that he hadn’t done before, redeem people from the consequences of their sins. The concept of redemption is centered on the payment of a debt. Leviticus 25:47-55 explains the concept of redemption in the context of a poor man that sells himself into slavery. It states:

“If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger’s clan, then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself. He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker. If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

The Year of Jubilee occurred once every fifty years and began on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:8-9). Leviticus 25:9-10 states, “On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”

A key prophecy of the prophet Isaiah had to do with the Year of Jubilee. Isaiah 61:1-2 states, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LROD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” Jesus paraphrased this passage of scripture when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth where he grew up. Afterward, Luke’s gospels states, “And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:20-21). Jesus connected the proclamation of the Year of Jubilee with the preaching of the gospel in order to show that the liberty that was intended for God’s chosen people was the freedom from spiritual death. Jesus told a man named Nicodemus:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

The kind of love that motivated God to give his only Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world is known as agapao (ag-ap-ahˊ-o). This word is broader in its meaning than phileo (fil-ehˊ-o), the kind of love that is expressed through sentiment or feeling (G5368). Agapao embraces “the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety.” Phileo implies an instinctive, affectionate attachment; but agapao of a sentiment based on judgment and adulation, which selects its object for a reason (G26).

The Apostle John used the word agapao in his statement, “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7). John indicated that love is a part of God’s essential nature and therefore, it should be present in all those who have been born into his spiritual family. The Greek word that John used in his declaration, “God is love,” is agape (ag-ahˊ-pay). Agape is sometimes referred to as Christian love. “Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered…it expresses the deep and constant love and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential love in them towards the Giver, a practical love towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver” (G26).

John expounded on Jesus’ statement that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16) by explaining the reason for God’s sacrifice. John said, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). The Greek word that is translated propitiation, hilasmos (hil-as-mosˊ) means “atonement” and signifies “an expiation, a means whereby sin is covered and remitted…Provision is made for the whole world, so that no one is, by divine predetermination, excluded from the scope of God’s mercy; the efficacy of the ‘propitiation,’ however is made actual for those who believe” (G2434). The Day of Atonement, which is described in detail in Leviticus chapter 16, was an annual event that involved the sacrifice of animals and sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat above the ark of the testimony in order to expiate the sins of the Israelites. On this day, the priest confessed all the sins of the people and put them on the head of a goat that was sent away into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:21-22), depicting the process whereby a Savior would one day take away the guilt and punishment of all sin completely by bearing it upon himself.

John concluded, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12). The Greek word that John used that is translated perfected, teleioo (tel-i-oˊ-o) means “to complete, make perfect by reaching the intended goal” (G5048). John made it clear that God’s sacrifice of his only Son was intended to produce a chain reaction that would result in love being expressed around the world. When Jesus instructed his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), he was essentially telling them that they needed to replicate the process of propitiation everywhere so that God’s love could reach all the people it was intended for.

God promised the Israelites that he would reward them for their obedience. God told them, “I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect” (Leviticus 26:11-13). God indicated that he had broken the bars of the Israelites’ yoke and made them walk erect. This seems to be a reference to God changing their destiny. The Hebrew word that is translated erect, qowmᵉmiyuwth (ko-mem-ee-yoothˊ) is derived from the word quwm (koom). “Sometimes quwm is used in an intensive mood to signify empowering or strengthening…It is also used to denote the inevitable occurrence of something predicted or prearranged” (H6965). An example of this is found in Genesis 28:11 where it says that Jacob “came to a certain place.” After Jacob placed his head on a stone and fell asleep, it says in Genesis 28:12-13:

And he dreamed and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and your offspring.”

Jacob’s encounter with God was a part of his plan to fulfill his promise to Abraham. Jacob was unaware of God’s presence in the land of Canaan until he came to a certain place. The place where Jacob spent the night was not only a geographic location, but a spiritual condition that made him open to God’s intervention in his life. Even though Jacob wanted God to take care of him, he was reluctant to make a commitment to the LORD at that point in time (Genesis 28:20-22).

During his ministry on earth, most of the people that Jesus encountered were unaware that he was God’s only son that had come to save the world, but the numerous miracles that he performed eventually made it clear to everyone that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah. In spite of this, Jesus was crucified and was even abandoned by his own disciples. John explained that Jesus’ ministry was being opposed by Satan’s demonic forces. John said:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:1-4)

John used the term antichrist to describe the spiritual opponent that was trying to keep people from being saved. The Greek word antichristos (an-teeˊ-khris-tos) refers to “an imposter for the Messiah. Antichristos can mean either ‘against Christ’ or ‘instead of Christ,’ or perhaps, combining the two, ‘one who assuming the guise of Christ, opposes Christ and takes His place” (G500). John encouraged believers by stating, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

John addressed the issue of having assurance of salvation when he made it clear that anyone that has confessed Jesus as his or her Savior has been saved. John said, “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:13-16). The Greek word that John used that is translated confesses, homologeo (hom-ol-og-ehˊ-o) was also used in 1 John 1:9 where it says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (emphasis mine). The base word of homologeo, homou (hom-ooˊ) means “at the same place or time” (G3674). In one sense, when we confess our sins, you might say that we are having a personal encounter with God. It is as if we are talking to Him directly and God acknowledges our communication by regenerating us from within.

John’s repetition of the statement, “God is love” (1 John 4:16) was probably meant to emphasize the fact that knowing God is all about being loved by him. John said, “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:17-18). John described God’s love as perfect love. What that means is that God’s love is able to do exactly what it is intended to. God’s love is able to save us from our sins and to keep us from being condemned on the day when Jesus judges everyone based on his book of life (Revelation 20:12). The result of God’s love is that fear is cast out or you might say ejected from our bodies like an unwelcome guest. We have nothing to worry about because Jesus has once and for all reconciled us to God for all of eternity (Revelation 5:9-10).

One body

God didn’t plan for there to be numerous denominations and factions among believers. When Paul received a revelation from God about his ministry, he was told that the Gentiles and Jews would be “of the same body” (Ephesians 3:6). “These words indicate the unique aspect of the mystery that was not previously known: the equality and mutuality that Gentiles had with Jews in the church, the one body. That Gentiles would turn to the God of Israel and be saved was prophesied in the OT (see Rom 15:9-12); that they would come into an organic unity with believing Jews on an equal footing was unexpected” (note on Ephesians 3:6).

Paul stated, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6, NKJV). Paul’s focus on the oneness of believers in Christ was likely meant to point out that there should be no distinctions between Christians. We are all saved and on our way to heaven. Everything else is a matter of individual belief, not the teaching of Jesus Christ. What Paul wanted the Ephesians to understand was that they were not a new or different religious group from the Jews. They were not supposed to be isolated from the Jewish churches, but integrated into them.

Paul’s description of believers as one body (Ephesians 4:4) emphasized the connectedness, the integration of the individual parts, and collective functioning that should be evident in Jesus’ followers. Paul talked about the edifying of the body of Christ and told the Ephesians, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16, NKJV).

The Greek word translated edifying, oikodome (oy-kod-om-ay’) has to do with architecture and refers to the structure by which something is perceived to be a building. When we think of the church as a building that we go to we are missing the point of what Paul was trying to say about how Jesus’ church should function. Believers are supposed to be joined by their faith and work together as a single unit that functions collectively to spread the gospel around the world. The key ingredient that you could say is the glue or mortar that holds everything together is love. The Greek word Paul used in Ephesians 4:16 is agape. Sometimes referred to as Christian love, agape signifies the kind of love that is derived from Christ.

Changing clothes

Paul likened the process of spiritual rebirth to changing our clothes. He said, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:8-10, NKJV). The Greek word translated put off, apotithemi (ap-ot-eeth’-ay-mee) refers to casting off something such as a garment that is no longer useful or appropriate (G659). Another way of looking at putting off the old man might be to reverse our behavior. Instead of doing what comes naturally to us, we are supposed to do the opposite or what is unnatural for us to do when we become Christians.

Paul said that we are to “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10). The Greek word translated put on is enduo. “This word means literally to sink into (clothing), put on, clothe one’s self” (G1746). An illustration of how to put on the new man is Superman, who changed his behavior after he put on his suit with a giant S on its chest. When we reveal our Christian identity to the world, we are putting on the new man and associating ourselves Christ. The Greek word translated renewed in Colossians 3:10, anakainoo (an-ak-ahee-no’-o) is derived from the words ana (G303) and kainos (G2537). Kainos (kahee-nos’) “denotes ‘new,’ of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not ‘new’ in time, recent, but ‘new’ as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old” (G2537).

Paul highlighted the importance of acts of love when he said, “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14, NKJV). The Greek word Paul used that is translated love, agape (ag-ah’-pay) had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered” (G26). Paul identified Christian love as the bond of perfection. The word that he used that is translated bond, sundesmos (soon’-des-mos) refers back to his comment in Colossians 2:2 about being knit together in love. Sundesmos means “a joint tie, i.e. ligament” and is being used figuratively by Paul to indicate a uniting principle of the Christian faith. Love is the characteristic of a Christian that we exhibit that makes us look like Christ.