There’s a lot of so-called love in our world today that is not really love but is instead based on selfishness and even lust. Many couples marry to satisfy their own selfish needs, realizing later that it doesn’t work.
There IS such a thing as true love, which is a selfless love. This is the kind of love the Bible talks about when it speaks of God’s love for us. It’s also the kind of love that the Bible describes briefly—but profoundly—in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7: “Love … 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 … endures all things.”
This is a very high standard and is made possible by strength that comes in believing in Jesus Christ and asking for His power to fulfill such a lofty goal in any relationship. What would happen if mankind truly lived by this standard?
God wants everyone to understand what true love is, because it first comes from Him. No matter what pressures others might apply, stand strong!
God’s standards are often dismissed or scored as old-fashioned. But God’s standards have not changed, and neither have His promises to those who follow Christ. Many young people today are seeking to honor God in their lives, and trusting God proves to lead the way that is always best.
“All you need is love.” So sang the Beatles. If they’d been singing about God’s love, the statement would have a grain of truth in it. But what usually goes by the name love in popular culture is not authentic love at all; it’s a deadly fraud. Far from being “all you need,” it’s something you desperately need to avoid.
The Apostle Paul makes that very point in Ephesians 5:1–3. He writes:
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
The simple command of verse 2 (“walk in love, as Christ loved us”) sums up the whole moral obligation of the Christian. After all, God’s love is the single, central principle that defines the Christian’s entire duty. This kind of love is really “all you need.” Romans 13:8–10 says: The one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments . . . are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Galatians 5:14 echoes that selfsame truth: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Jesus likewise taught that all the Law and the Prophets hang on two simple principles about love—the first and second great commandments (Matt. 22:38–40). In other words, “love . . . is the bond of perfection” (Col. 3:14, NKJV).
When Paul commands us to walk in love, the context reveals that in positive terms, he is talking about being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving to one another (Eph. 4:32). The model for such selfless love is Christ, who gave His life to save His people from their sins. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11).
In other words, true love is always sacrificial, self-giving, merciful, compassionate, sympathetic, kind, generous, and patient. These and many other positive, benevolent qualities (see 1 Cor. 13:4–8) are what Scripture associates with divine love.
God manifests His love in a way that upheld His holiness, justice, and righteousness without compromise.
But notice the negative side as well, also seen in the context of Ephesians 5. The person who truly loves others as Christ loves us must refuse every kind of counterfeit love. The Apostle Paul names some of these satanic forgeries. They include immorality, impurity, and covetousness. The passage continues:
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. (Eph. 5:4–7)
Immorality is perhaps our generation’s favorite substitute for love. Paul uses the Greek word porneia, which includes every kind of sexual sin. Popular culture desperately tries to blur the line between genuine love and immoral passion. But all such immorality is a total perversion of genuine love because it seeks self-gratification rather than the good of others.
Impurity is another devilish perversion of love. Here Paul employs the Greek term akatharsia, which refers to every kind of filth and impurity. Specifically, Paul has in mind “filthiness,” “foolish talk,” and “crude joking,” which are the peculiar characteristics of evil companionship. That kind of camaraderie has nothing to do with true love, and the Apostle plainly says it has no place in the Christian’s walk.
Covetousness is yet another corruption of love that stems from a narcissistic desire for self-gratification. It’s the exact opposite of the example Christ set when He “gave Himself up for us” (Eph. 5:2). In verse 5, Paul equates covetousness with idolatry. Again, this has no place in the Christian walk, and according to verse 5, the person who is guilty of it “has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5:5).
Such sins, Paul says, “must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3). Of those who practice such things, he tells us, “Do not associate with them” (Eph. 5:7).
In other words, we are not showing authentic love unless we are intolerant of all the popular perversions of love. Most of the talk about love these days ignores this principle. “Love” has been redefined as a broad tolerance that overlooks sin and embraces good and evil alike. That’s not love; it’s apathy.
God’s love is not at all like that. Remember, the supreme manifestation of God’s love is the Cross, where Christ “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). Thus Scripture explains the love of God in terms of sacrifice, atonement for sin, and propitiation: “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 4:10). In other words Christ made Himself a sacrifice to turn away the wrath of an offended deity. Far from dismissing our sins with a benign tolerance, God gave His Son as an offering for sin, to satisfy His own wrath and justice in the salvation of sinners.
That is the very heart of the gospel. God manifests His love in a way that upheld His holiness, justice, and righteousness without compromise. True love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6). That’s the kind of love we are called to walk in. It’s a love that is first pure, then peaceable.
Song of Solomon is a wonderful story of married love and its intimacies. The word love is being misunderstood and misused today. A story of Solomon and his bride, a Shulamite woman, a black woman. She was considered the most beautiful woman of the day. This book is a conversation between Solomon and his wife. We believe that this is a metaphor for the love that Christ has for the church
Hebrews believe it is the story of God’s love for Israel. It is the story of God’s love for the human race and for those who love Him.
Song of Solomon 8:6,7 - Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
Love that money can’t buy.
Love that sorrows, problems, difficulties, and temptations cannot destroy.
Love that the trials of marriage could not destroy.
That’s the kind of love that Solomon and his bride had for each other.
The whole Bible is a love story of God for the human race. We are the only planet that is in rebellion with God and despite that He loves us. God loves every person in the whole world with a love that is beyond our comprehension. God proved His love by sending His Son to die on the cross. The greatest illustration of love is from the cross.
Love is not feeling. It is doing. It’s a verb.
Romans 5:8 - But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 3:1 - Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
The cruelest death in the whole world is the death of the cross. Our Lord was hung there with the whole crowd mocking Him for us. That is the proof of His love for us. His death on the cross was the only way for us to get to heaven.
The Greeks had 4 different words for love:
1) Storge: affection, family love
You are to honor your parents for as long as you live. You have to take care of your parents. We are to love, honor, obey and take care of our parents. Family love is affected by God’s love. Have you prayed for your future husband/wife? Or are you just saying “Lord, send him”? Marriage is a life-long commitment, so you shouldn’t be impulsive about it. Wait on God’s choice. Commit your future to the Lord and ask Him to bring the right person into your life.
2) Eros: sensual or sexual love. God’s love affects eros.
The standards set in the Bible are not the same as the standards set in America. Which standard will you accept? The Bible says that immorality is sin. Sex is not a sin. It’s the wrong use of sex that’s a sin.
For the Christian, the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Why did God institute sex? For the propagation of the human race. The enjoyment of married love. To express the unity of the man and wife. When sin entered the garden, the sacredness of sex has been corrupted into becoming lust and sin. Why does God say not to commit immorality? To protect your future marriage. To protect your body (from illness and illegitimacy). To protect you psychologically (from guilt). To protect society (becoming immoral destroy civilization). The mark of a Christian is to flee fornication. The only way to overcome this temptation is through Jesus Christ. He will help you have the self-control and self-discipline needed to overcome.
3) Philio: very strong friendship.
It’s the word that Peter used when Jesus asked him if he loved Him. Jesus was looking for a deeper word. If you have 5 close friends in your lifetime, you are very fortunate. This kind of love refers to a friendship that endures thick and thin. One that never wavers. Ask God to help you in your friendships.
4) Agape: God’s love.
All the other loves are influenced by agape love. It is a supernatural love that we know nothing about apart from God. It is so deep, wide that no words in any language can describe it. It is the love that God has for us even though we rebel against Him. Words cannot describe it. When you accept Christ, the Spirit of God lives in you and produces this love in you, and through you. You may not like your neighbor, but you can love your neighbor. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ explains who your neighbor is. This is not your physical next-door neighbor, but someone whom you can help.
God will enable you to love beyond your capacity to love. To love your wife, your husband, your children, your parents.
John 13:35 - By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The love for the souls of men is what drives evangelism - this comes from God’s love. God’s love in our hearts is produced by the Holy Spirit, supernaturally produced. God can give you the capacity to love everybody. God can change and transform you and your relationships. His love forgives your sins and makes your hearts pure. His love gives you a new tenderness and a new meaning for love.
