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| What Is Love series |
What Is Love?
How would you define love? I can only imagine how vastly different each person’s definition would be. Even as I looked at the definition in the dictionary, it was incredibly vague. The Bible, however, has a lot to say about love and gets very specific about what it is and isn’t. I’d like to start this series in a familiar verse from 1 John 4. Verse 8 states, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” That last phrase, made up of only three words, comes off pretty bold compared to the vague definition in the dictionary. God is love. Could this phrase possibly mean that love is God? Let’s tackle this question with a bit of grammar.
God Is Love. Love Is Not God.
By no means is grammar a strength of mine. Actually, I would consider it a weakness. I still appreciate it’s use though in clarifying uncertainties in the Bible. We can use the rules of grammar to help us decipher what’s been written. Let’s look at the parts of speech for this phrase from verse 8 to clarify its meaning:
GOD (noun/subject)
IS (linking verb)
LOVE (noun/predicate nominative)
If we replace the linking verb “is” with “equals” we can see that the sentence still works (“God equals love”), confirming that “love” is a predicate nominative. However, this only serves as a grammatical test and should not be used to reinterpret the phrase as “love is God”. In other words, while this might tempt us to interpret “God” and “love” as equal, that is not what’s implied by the grammar here. You see, the predicate nominative (love) only serves to rename the subject (God) not replace it.
Our culture often elevates love to the point that it is used to define right and wrong, putting the idea of love as a god rather than understanding God as a person. As Christians, we can do the same thing. We often project our own idea of what love is onto our understanding of who God is (e.g. “God wouldn’t do that because that’s not loving”). This is an example of … well … idolatry. We are no longer placing God first but our idea of love. Therefore, we taint who God says He is, making it impossible for us to give our reverence and worship to the one true God. We must let God’s character define love for us rather than understanding who God is through our own idea of love.
To Know God Is to Know Love
So, what does it mean that love renames God if it doesn’t replace Him? Our God so captures love that all His characteristics are an expression of it. Love is not simply an attribute to be added to God. Instead who God is Himself is the definition of love. Knowing God helps us grasp the sacrificial, endless, individual, and deep love He has for us. It doesn’t always look like the strictly adoring love we might desire, but His all-encompassing love powerfully interacts with us to protect us, discipline us, and stretch us.
“God is love” beautifully expresses how intimately God’s nature is tied to love. So much so it “renames” Him – in other words, one of His names is “Love”. In Exodus 34 Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and God reveals His name to Moses. As we know, God has many names He uses to show different aspects of His nature, but in this case He tells Moses His name is Jehovah, which is the proper name of God. When He reveals His name, it says, “The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…'” (Exodus 34:5-7) As we can see, love is mentioned twice when God reveals His name. When we use this verse to help us with the meaning of 1 John 4:8 we further understand the intimate connection between His name and His nature.
God must always come first, so our definition of love must come from knowing God. The more time we spend getting to know God in Scripture, the better we understand what true love is in all relationships: marriage, friendship, family, work, strangers, and even enemies. Love is already defined and we need only to know our Father more to understand love better and, ultimately, be more loving.
In the next post of this series we will look at how every expression of true love comes from God alone. The love that God the Father has for His one and only Son can be in us! Knowing who God is (knowing His name), enables us to receive love, just as Jesus prayed in John 17:26: “I made Your name known to them, and will make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
This puts a proper order on how we should bring definition to how we approach life itself. Start with who God is, and let Him define our beliefs. Especially, what is love? More importantly, since God is love, who He is should inform our heart responses to Him and one another in the process of becoming like Him. Thank you for bringing this to its roots, its foundation. As all that the Lord commands is wrapped in love God, and love one another, putting God Himself as the Definer of what love means helps us know we must lean on (rest in) His power and not our own understanding (or strength).
Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
I read the posts again and again and always it feels like I am reading them for the first time. This post echoes the way I believe I have understood His love but your words weave this truth of His love so clearly here. I do thank you, and both of you, for these deep sharings that help us to know God, Jesus and Holy Spirit better.
So Helpful!!!