what is love?
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L
I think you read too much into what is there. The vast majority of Christians are not martyred; many are, and many will be.
The title of the thread is, what is love, and the body of the OP is about the behavior of love as in how to recognize and operate in love. The stuff in Corinthians is not about martyrdom, even though it is mentioned. It mention with in a context contrasting love. So that even if one give his life and has not love it doesn't mean anything. The implication is that it's possible to be a loveless martyr. Thus that passage is not about martyrdom. It's about what love is and is not, so that we can recognize love where we fail in ourselves.
The title of the thread is, what is love, and the body of the OP is about the behavior of love as in how to recognize and operate in love. The stuff in Corinthians is not about martyrdom, even though it is mentioned. It mention with in a context contrasting love. So that even if one give his life and has not love it doesn't mean anything. The implication is that it's possible to be a loveless martyr. Thus that passage is not about martyrdom. It's about what love is and is not, so that we can recognize love where we fail in ourselves.
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All who believe Jesus Christ are aware of what martyrdom is, and though they may not look forward to it, all know it is a possiblity. Again it is not for ours but for the glory of God.
Anyone who believes Jesus, Yeshua, knows He will allow martyrdom to any of His when it is in the will of God. All who believe are aware of this possibility, and if called upon all who believe pray to be strengthened by God for it...
You read into this what ever you think, people do this anyway.
Anyone who believes Jesus, Yeshua, knows He will allow martyrdom to any of His when it is in the will of God. All who believe are aware of this possibility, and if called upon all who believe pray to be strengthened by God for it...
You read into this what ever you think, people do this anyway.
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● Rom 14:13b . . Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or
obstacle in your brother's way.
The koiné Greek word translated "stumbling block" means a stub. For
example: one year I cut down a troublesome bush in my front yard and left
a bit of a stump sticking up out of the ground that later damaged my lawn
mower when I accidentally ran over it while cutting the grass; which had
grown tall enough to conceal the stump. In that respect, stumbling blocks
are hazards not easily detected.
Within the context of the 14th of Romans, I would equate stumbling blocks
to the clever sophistry that silver-tongued orators employ to persuade
people to do things contrary to their convictions and their conscience. In
other words; there are people out there with the skills to make a lie sound
like the God's truth (cf. Eph 4:11-14) and if you get pulled into a debate
with those people you'll probably lose.
NOTE: The Star Wars era spawned a pertinent colloquialism that goes like
this: "Let the Wookie win one." When it comes to gray-area disputes, that
colloquialism is pretty good advice.
_
● Rom 14:13b . . Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or
obstacle in your brother's way.
The koiné Greek word translated "stumbling block" means a stub. For
example: one year I cut down a troublesome bush in my front yard and left
a bit of a stump sticking up out of the ground that later damaged my lawn
mower when I accidentally ran over it while cutting the grass; which had
grown tall enough to conceal the stump. In that respect, stumbling blocks
are hazards not easily detected.
Within the context of the 14th of Romans, I would equate stumbling blocks
to the clever sophistry that silver-tongued orators employ to persuade
people to do things contrary to their convictions and their conscience. In
other words; there are people out there with the skills to make a lie sound
like the God's truth (cf. Eph 4:11-14) and if you get pulled into a debate
with those people you'll probably lose.
NOTE: The Star Wars era spawned a pertinent colloquialism that goes like
this: "Let the Wookie win one." When it comes to gray-area disputes, that
colloquialism is pretty good advice.
_
.
● Rom 14:14-16 . . I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of The
Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone
believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another Christian
is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't
let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be
condemned for doing something you know is alright.
For example: We may believe that there is nothing wrong with eating non
Kosher foods; but our Christian dinner companion might feel very strongly
about it. Well; sure, we can get by with eating non-Kosher foods; but Rom
14:14-16 is saying don't. In other words; it is Christ's wishes that we
restrain ourselves from eating non-Kosher foods in front of our Christian
companions out of respect for their feelings about it.
_
● Rom 14:14-16 . . I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of The
Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone
believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another Christian
is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't
let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be
condemned for doing something you know is alright.
For example: We may believe that there is nothing wrong with eating non
Kosher foods; but our Christian dinner companion might feel very strongly
about it. Well; sure, we can get by with eating non-Kosher foods; but Rom
14:14-16 is saying don't. In other words; it is Christ's wishes that we
restrain ourselves from eating non-Kosher foods in front of our Christian
companions out of respect for their feelings about it.
_
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● Rom 14:19 . . Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to
peace and to mutual edification.
The koiné Greek word for "edification" is oikodome (oy-kod-om-ay') which is
a word related to the building trades; and in this instance would be related
to structural improvements like a new wing, or a bedroom, or another floor;
and in many instances adds square footage to an already-existing structure
and/or improves its appearance, its value, and it's utility. Edification then,
builds up instead of tearing down.
Webster's defines "peace" as a state in which there is no war or fighting; viz:
harmony and mutual concord.
● 2Cor 12:19-20 . . For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I
want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that
there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander,
gossip, arrogance and disorder.
_
● Rom 14:19 . . Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to
peace and to mutual edification.
The koiné Greek word for "edification" is oikodome (oy-kod-om-ay') which is
a word related to the building trades; and in this instance would be related
to structural improvements like a new wing, or a bedroom, or another floor;
and in many instances adds square footage to an already-existing structure
and/or improves its appearance, its value, and it's utility. Edification then,
builds up instead of tearing down.
Webster's defines "peace" as a state in which there is no war or fighting; viz:
harmony and mutual concord.
● 2Cor 12:19-20 . . For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I
want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that
there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander,
gossip, arrogance and disorder.
_
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Love is a truth, an action, also a response, sacrificial, selfless, generous, healing, full of mercy, giving, caring and compassionate, again to action, sincere, lovely, praiseworthy, faithful, loyal, excellent, patient, humble, edifying and productive, fruitful, gentle, gracious, kind, enduring, more mercy, then more mercy.
Love, more than a breathtakingly beautiful....God Himself.
Love, more than a breathtakingly beautiful....God Himself.
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● Rom 14:20-21 . . Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All
food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone
else to stumble.
The critters that God lists in the Jews' covenanted law as unsuitable for food
aren't intrinsically unsuitable. They're only unsuitable for the Jews because
that's how God wants it for His people. But outside the covenant; and for
everybody else: whatever you'd like to eat can be eaten; all flora and all
fauna.
● Gen 9:3 . . Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I
gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
● Acts 10:15 . .The voice spoke to him a second time; "Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean."
But still; you wouldn't want to invite someone over for dinner serving foods
that they sincerely believe are wrong for them to eat. Prepare something
else that you both can eat. That's the Christian way to go about it; it's also
the sympathetic way to go about it. There are times when it's appropriate to
accommodate people's feelings about certain things. The world has enough
bigots as is; don't be one.
_
● Rom 14:20-21 . . Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All
food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone
else to stumble.
The critters that God lists in the Jews' covenanted law as unsuitable for food
aren't intrinsically unsuitable. They're only unsuitable for the Jews because
that's how God wants it for His people. But outside the covenant; and for
everybody else: whatever you'd like to eat can be eaten; all flora and all
fauna.
● Gen 9:3 . . Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I
gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
● Acts 10:15 . .The voice spoke to him a second time; "Do not call anything
impure that God has made clean."
But still; you wouldn't want to invite someone over for dinner serving foods
that they sincerely believe are wrong for them to eat. Prepare something
else that you both can eat. That's the Christian way to go about it; it's also
the sympathetic way to go about it. There are times when it's appropriate to
accommodate people's feelings about certain things. The world has enough
bigots as is; don't be one.
_
.
● Rom 14:22b-23 . . Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by
what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from
faith is sin.
In other words, it's possible to be wrong even when you're right because it's
a sin to forge ahead when one's conscience is not sure it's okay to do so.
I once knew a Christian who felt guilty just setting foot inside a BlockBuster
video store. Was he silly for feeling that way? Not in his mind; and it's your
own personal moral compass that counts in gray areas. Some Christians
can't permit themselves to dine in a restaurant that serves alcohol; while
others see nothing wrong with it. If those two kinds of Christians should
perchance dine out together, it's the more sensitive conscience that
determines where to eat.
In other words; it makes good spiritual sense to avoid insisting upon your
freedoms and rights sometimes in order to prevent dragging your fellow
Christians into something that makes them feel guilty and/or uncomfortable.
_
● Rom 14:22b-23 . . Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by
what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats,
because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from
faith is sin.
In other words, it's possible to be wrong even when you're right because it's
a sin to forge ahead when one's conscience is not sure it's okay to do so.
I once knew a Christian who felt guilty just setting foot inside a BlockBuster
video store. Was he silly for feeling that way? Not in his mind; and it's your
own personal moral compass that counts in gray areas. Some Christians
can't permit themselves to dine in a restaurant that serves alcohol; while
others see nothing wrong with it. If those two kinds of Christians should
perchance dine out together, it's the more sensitive conscience that
determines where to eat.
In other words; it makes good spiritual sense to avoid insisting upon your
freedoms and rights sometimes in order to prevent dragging your fellow
Christians into something that makes them feel guilty and/or uncomfortable.
_
I'm just a bit confused about this brother. Can you clarify for me and everyone seeking the truth how God who is the Truth be above Himself who is Love?
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I have the knowledge of the truth and was born again from above but have no love am I anything or any greater than those who have love?
If the gospel is the Word of truth, is it still the truth that has birthed you from above without the life of Love that Jesus walked on and those who are in Christ who were before ordained to walk on? I'm asking these things because i noticed that some Christians or belevers say that the gospel of our salvation is about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which clearly discredits the walking in Love or the life lived in obedience to the will of the Father as He stated in John 14:31 and 2John 1:6 to mention a few.
Please bear with me on these. Thank you and God bless.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I have the knowledge of the truth and was born again from above but have no love am I anything or any greater than those who have love?
If the gospel is the Word of truth, is it still the truth that has birthed you from above without the life of Love that Jesus walked on and those who are in Christ who were before ordained to walk on? I'm asking these things because i noticed that some Christians or belevers say that the gospel of our salvation is about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which clearly discredits the walking in Love or the life lived in obedience to the will of the Father as He stated in John 14:31 and 2John 1:6 to mention a few.
Please bear with me on these. Thank you and God bless.
Love and truth go hand in hand.....and like the verse I quoted that you referenced, LOVE rejoices IN THE TRUTH.......and that is the biblical precedence found in scripture.......think on this....at the end of the age GOD will send strong delusion and this will be directed at those who will not receive the LOVE of the truth.......
What PAUL is saying GOES to MOTIVE......what is the MOTIVE behind what YOU DO....IF LOVE, which is a spiritual gift, process of growth and maturity and a COMMAND is not the MOTIVE we are NOTHING....NOT in the sense of being NOTHING, but there is NO TRUE motive other than LOVE that meets GOD's STANDARD of TRUTH......
LOVE rejoices IN TRUTH.......BECAUSE the TRUTH points to LOVE as the ONLY motive that pleases GOD
God IS LOVE
GOD IS SPIRIT
GOD IS LIGHT
YET the over riding fact is that GOD has magnified THE TRUTH over his very name........there is NO LOVE without first HAVING TRUTH....
In us, the TRUTH comes before LOVE......LOVE is a process of growth and maturity....We are born again from above by the TRUTH, and then having LOVE seeded in us as a spiritual GIFT and thorough a process of growth and maturity learn to LOVE as we should....
? WHAT is LOVE......someone explain it....NOT the attributes applied in SCRIPTURE....but rather WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? It is not a FEELING or and EMOTION.....it is a COMMANDMENT......now think on this a bit.....
God personifies the TRUTH.....in the BEGINNING was the WORD and the WORD came to be flesh and DWELT among us and we BEHELD his GLORY.......FROM this personified TRUTH flows FAITH, HOPE and last on the list, but greatest LOVE........
What PAUL is saying GOES to MOTIVE......what is the MOTIVE behind what YOU DO....IF LOVE, which is a spiritual gift, process of growth and maturity and a COMMAND is not the MOTIVE we are NOTHING....NOT in the sense of being NOTHING, but there is NO TRUE motive other than LOVE that meets GOD's STANDARD of TRUTH......
LOVE rejoices IN TRUTH.......BECAUSE the TRUTH points to LOVE as the ONLY motive that pleases GOD
God IS LOVE
GOD IS SPIRIT
GOD IS LIGHT
YET the over riding fact is that GOD has magnified THE TRUTH over his very name........there is NO LOVE without first HAVING TRUTH....
In us, the TRUTH comes before LOVE......LOVE is a process of growth and maturity....We are born again from above by the TRUTH, and then having LOVE seeded in us as a spiritual GIFT and thorough a process of growth and maturity learn to LOVE as we should....
? WHAT is LOVE......someone explain it....NOT the attributes applied in SCRIPTURE....but rather WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? It is not a FEELING or and EMOTION.....it is a COMMANDMENT......now think on this a bit.....
God personifies the TRUTH.....in the BEGINNING was the WORD and the WORD came to be flesh and DWELT among us and we BEHELD his GLORY.......FROM this personified TRUTH flows FAITH, HOPE and last on the list, but greatest LOVE........
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Glasses:
I was reading this without my glasses, and I thought it said, "It does not envy, it does not BOAT,"
It was very confusing for me.
I really like boats.
Jesus liked boats.
The disciples liked boats.
Everyone likes boats.
How did I MISS that part of the scripture all these years?
ALL THESE YEARS????
What is WRONG WITH ME??????
I FEEL SO DISILLUSIONED!!!!!
... then I put on my glasses.
.
I was reading this without my glasses, and I thought it said, "It does not envy, it does not BOAT,"
It was very confusing for me.
I really like boats.
Jesus liked boats.
The disciples liked boats.
Everyone likes boats.
How did I MISS that part of the scripture all these years?
ALL THESE YEARS????
What is WRONG WITH ME??????
I FEEL SO DISILLUSIONED!!!!!
... then I put on my glasses.
.
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I do agree on some points but I would say that there is no truth without love. Whatever we believe and say is the truth will just be a lie without love. Love is the Truth, whether you rejoice IN or WITH it.
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:16-24
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
The Truth says to Love,
"not my will, but yours be done.”
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 1 John 3:16-24
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42
The Truth says to Love,
"not my will, but yours be done.”
Putting the cart before the Ox will NEVER get the cart anywhere.......One cannot LOVE without the truth....your premise above does not match the word of God when it comes to order.....the bible does not say God magnified love above his very name.....IT DOES SAY he magnified the TRUTH above his very name!!!
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