All Scripture quotations are from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise indicated.

September 20, 2011

LOVE

JESUS?

Part 1

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2011 by Merle E. Koepke

Introduction

To understand the Scriptures, we must understand the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated into English. There are many Hebrew and Greek words that do not have an equivalent English word. Therefore, many Christians are not understanding the Word of God, because of a lack of understanding of what was truly written in the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

There are many important Greek words in the Scriptures that Christians need to understand their meaning in order to understand what the New Testament is telling us. One Greek word that needs to be understood is the Greek word "agape or agapao," which is translated "love or charity" in English Versions of the Bible.

The Greek word "agape or agapao" is not human love. Those who are not born again do not have "agape or agapao." Only God and Christians have "agape or agapao."

The highest form of love that people who are not born again have is "phileo." in the Greek. The difference between the meaning of "phileo and agape" is, "phileo" is conditional, whereas "agape" is unconditional. In "phileo" love, there must be a favorable response from the other person for it to continue. In (phileo) love, if you love someone who does not love you, your love for then will not continue. If the other person does not love you, you will eventually no longer love them.

With "agape" love, there are no conditions on either side. "Agape" love continues to love even when the other person does not love them. As an example, 1 John 4:8 says, "God is love "agape." Therefore, God loves everyone. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved (agapao) the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus died for everyone. Even when they did not love Him or even know Him. That is unconditional (agape) love. There are no conditions attached to the love "agape or agapao" of God.

Another Greek word that does not have an equivalent English word is "ginosko," translated "know" in English Versions of the Bible. The true meaning of the Greek word "ginosko" is to know by experience, actually, "a knowing that reproduces itself by relationship and fellowship." As an example, in Luke 1:34 it says, "Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know (ginosko) not a man?" Mary knew Joseph intellectually, but Mary never had a relationship with any man that would cause her to have a child. Mary was still a virgin. She thought that to have a child she would need to have sex with a man.

When a person truly knows "ginosko's" Jesus, they become one spirit with the LORD. The LORD reproduces Himself in them (in their spirit). They become one with God in Christ Jesus. A process starts that transforms the life of the person, starting by translating them from the flesh of Adam into the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9: 2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 1:13).

Two other Greek words that do not have English equivalent words are "psuche and zoe." These are both translated "life," in the English language. These are two different words with two different meanings. When Christians do not understand the difference between these two words, what they believe could get them into great error.

Look at what Jesus said in John 10:10,11, "...I am come that they might have life (zoe), and that they might have it more abundantly...I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life (psuche) for the sheep." The Greek word "zoe" pertains to spiritual life, which is the very life of God. The Greek word "psuche" pertains to natural human life.

Until Christians understand the difference between these two different lives, they will easily be deceived by the Devil. There is as much difference between spiritual life "zoe" and natural life "psuche" as there is between a man and an angel. A natural man is limited to this earth and where there is air to breathe. A natural man is limited to doing things naturally by his own ability as a human being. Whereas an angel is not limited to this earth, and is not limited to his own natural ability. Angels operate in supernatural abilities. They can appear and disappear at any time. An angel can appear in heaven before the throne of God at times, and also appear here on earth in the form of a man, and eat food, and drink water. Angels are not limited by physical things or distance, between heavenly objects and earthly objects.

Those of this world have only "psuche" (life). They are generally limited to this earth and where there is air to breathe. Christians have both, "psuche" (life) and "zoe" (life). Christians are not limited to this earth, and are not limited by natural means. Christians have the very life (zoe) of God in them and can operate in the supernatural realm of the spirit.

Psuche (life) does not limit people from operating in the supernatural realm of Satan. Yet, those who operate in the supernatural realm of Satan are limited by God in what they can do. Those who yield themselves over to Satan for his supernatural powers usually do not live very long, and when they die they go straight to Hell for all eternity. Christians who yield themselves over to God to operate in the supernatural realm of God, live long lives and when they die they go straight to heaven to be with God for all eternity.

When Christians do not know which life "psuche," or "zoe" the Scriptures are speaking of they think "the abundant life" that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10 pertains to "money and material things." When they think that way, Satan gets a place in their lives, and controls a lot of what happens to them. Christians that think the abundant life "zoe" that Jesus spoke of pertains to material things end up walking in the flesh and not in the spirit. In Galatians 6:7,8 it says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap...For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." This is one of the deceptions of the enemy, thinking that the things of this world (the flesh), are more important than the things of God (the spirit). Those who walk after the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:4-7). Those who walk after the Spirit are controlled by God. Which one do we want to be controlled by, Satan or God?

Do You Love Me?

In John, 21:15, it says, "Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agapao) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." What did Jesus ask Peter? Jesus asked Peter if he loved (agapao) Him with the love (agape) of God. What was Peter's answer? Peter said, he loved (phileo) Jesus with the love (phileo) of man. Peter did not understand the difference between "agape" and "phileo." The only love Peter understood was natural human love (phileo).

When Jesus appeared to his disciples in the evening of the same day He arose from the dead, it says, "...he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22). When they received the Holy Spirit, they were born again of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. When they received the new birth, the love (agape) of God was poured out in their heart (Rom. 5:5). At that time they also received all of the fruit of the Spirit.

In Galatians 5:22,23 it says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love (agape), joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith...Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." The first one listed is love (agape). All of the fruit of the Spirit operate by love (agape) (Gal. 5:6). Without love (agape) none of the fruit of the Spirit operate. Why? Because God is love (agape). Without God, none of the fruit of the Spirit operate. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

In 1 John 3:8 it says, "He that loveth (agapeo) not knoweth (ginosko) not God; for God is love (agape).". Without God, none of the fruit of the Spirit of God operate. Those who do not know (ginosko) God, do not have (agape) love. The Greek word "ginosko" means "know by experience." If we do not experience God working in our lives then we only know about God in our minds. We must experience God working in us, to truly know "ginosko" God.

When Peter was born again the evening of the same day that Jesus arose again from the dead, he received the love (agape) of God in his spirit. But when Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him, Peter was speaking from his intellect, or mind. Agape (love) does not operate from our mind. It operates from our spirit. For anyone to love someone with the love of God, they must do it from their spirit not their mind, or intellect. We must learn to control every thought that comes to our mind, and bring it into subjection to the Word of God (2 Cor. 10:5).

The lambs that Jesus was speaking to Peter about still live like natural people (1 Cor. 3:1-3). There is still envy, strife, and divisions among them. Yet, we must love them with the love of God in order to help them get out from among those who do not know God. The love of God is unconditional. Therefore, we cannot look at them as though they are not loved by God. If God loves them, then we must also love them. We do not love the things they are doing, but we must love the person the same way God loves them.

God does not love Christians more than He loves those who are not born again. But, under the New Covenant, God cannot bless those who are not born again like He can bless those who are born again. To be blessed by God we must enter the New Covenant first by the New Birth. Those who are not born again are not included in the New Covenant.

Blessed by God

God loves to bless those who obey Him. Everywhere you look in the Bible, it tells us that God loves to bless those who obey Him. In Deuteronomy 28:1-14 it tells of all the blessings that will come upon those who obey the LORD. Obedience to the LORD brings blessings in this life and in the life to come. Disobedience brings curses upon those who disobey the LORD (Deu. 28:15-68). There are many more curses than there are blessings. Yet, the blessings are greater than the curses.

Those things mentioned in Deuteronomy Chapter Twenty-eight are only things that pertain to life here on earth. When we go over into the New Covenant, there are even greater blessings for those who obey the LORD than in the Old Covenant.

In John 15:7, Jesus said, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." There is no limit upon what we can receive of God if we abide in Christ Jesus, and His Word abides in us. This goes way beyond the blessings in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. The key to all blessings is to abide in Christ Jesus and keep His Word abiding in us.

In the Old Covenant no one could abide in Christ Jesus. They were not born again. They were in the flesh, and not in the spirit. All they could do was obey the laws of the Old Covenant. Through their obedience to the laws of the Old Covenant, God could bless them with worldly blessings.

In the New Covenant, God wants to bless us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). All spiritual blessings in heavenly places are much better than earthly blessings. By spiritual blessings in heavenly places, we have power over all the works of the enemy. With power over all the works of the enemy, all curses can be broken, and we can enjoy everything God has promised us.

God has not changed. God never changes. What God promised us in the Old Covenant still stands. But, what God has promised us in the New Covenant is much better. Hebrews 8:6 says, "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." The Old Covenant was good, but the New Covenant is much better.

Before we can enjoy the benefits of the New Covenant, we must enter into the New Covenant by the New Brith. The New Covenant is only for those who are born again in Christ Jesus. Many today are trying to benefit from the New Covenant, but they are not truly born again. Therefore, they are not experiencing the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They know all about Jesus (intellectually), but they do not truly know (ginosko) Jesus as their LORD and Savior. Many of these belong to Churches that teach from the Bible, but do not experience the love of God working in their lives by healing them of all their sicknesses and diseases. God wants His Children walking in health and enjoying all the blessings of the New Covenant.

In Mark 16:16, Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." It is very important that we believe everything Jesus said. What happens in our lives is dependant upon what we believe. Then Jesus said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe..." If the signs Jesus spoke of are not happening in the churches we attend, what is the reason? Is it that they do not believe?

Jesus continued, by mentioning the things that should be happening in the churches we attend, by saying, "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues...They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." If these signs are not happening in the churches Christians belong to, there is something wrong. It is very possible that they do not believe (Mark 16:16). If they do not believe, what will happen to them in the end? What was Jesus speaking of when He said they shall be dammed? If Christians stay in a Church where they do not believe, how can they walk by faith? We need to believe everything Jesus taught, not just some things.

It all starts with a personal commitment to make Jesus Christ our personal LORD and Savior. We will not make it on someone else's prayers or doctrines. God is a God of love (agape), and works with every person on a personal basis. Therefore, we start by asking Jesus Christ to come into our life personally, and be our personal LORD and Savior.

In John 1:11-13 it says, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not...But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name...Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." No one else can do it for us. It is totally between us and God. It is not a work of men, but of God (John 1:13).

Once we have received Jesus Christ as our personal LORD and Savior, then every day, we must study the New Testament and let God teach us things we do not know. We must do what Jesus said to do in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. When we do what Jesus tells us to do, we will automatically desire the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to give us the power to do all things according to the written Word of God. Then, we will receive the Holy Spirit just like the Apostles did in Acts 2:4.

Once we receive the power to be witnesses unto Jesus in everything we do there is nothing that can stop us, provided we do what Jesus said to do.

Jesus asked,

Do You Love Me?

What is our response to the question Jesus asked Peter? Will we answer, LORD You know that I love (phileo) You! Or will our answer be LORD You know that I love (agape) You! There is a big difference between these two kinds of love. The one is conditional. That means, we love the LORD if He does what we want Him to do. The other one is unconditional, meaning "we love Him no matter what He does."

This is very important to understand. When we love the LORD with unconditional love, we will do whatsoever He asks us without placing any conditions upon our love for Him. In unconditional love for the LORD we are willing to do anything for the LORD, even unto death. Isn't that what the LORD did for us? Should it be any different as to what we do for the LORD?

Jesus was speaking to Peter when He said, "...Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs" (John 21:15). Jesus said to Peter, if you love (agape) Me, more than the other disciples, then "...Feed My lambs." The lambs that Jesus was speaking of are born again Christians. Jesus is the living Word of God (John 1:1,2; Heb. 4:12). The Living Word of God became flesh and dwelt among people (John 1:14). Christians are born again of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, 1 Peter 1:23). When they are first born again, they are like little lambs. As they mature in the Word, they become like sheep.

What should we be feeding born again Christians? It is simple, feed them the Word of God. If we feed them the Word of God, they will mature and grow up in Christ Jesus, and become those who can teach the Word of God in all Truth. When the Word of God is taught in Truth, they will receive the Truth and the Truth will set them free (John 8:32, 14:6). Once they are free, they will be able to feed others, and others will become free.

Christians who are free can set others free. Jesus set the example of that Himself. Jesus was free, and He taught His disciples the Truth, and His disciples went out setting others free. They went about preaching the Word, and signs followed them wherever they went (Mark 16:20).

If we follow the life of Peter in Acts, we will see that Peter was doing the same things the LORD did. Peter spoke by the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, and that same day about three thousand were added to the Church. In Acts 3, Peter used the name of Jesus to heal a man at the gate which is called Beautiful. In Acts 5:15,16, when Peter and the other apostles went out, demons were cast out and everyone was healed. In Acts 8:15-17, when Peter and John laid their hands upon the new believers, they received the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10:34-46, Peter taught the Word of God to the Gentiles, and they received the Holy Spirit. In Acts 9:40, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. Many more works were done by Peter.

If Peter could do it, then anyone who commits themselves to doing what Jesus taught can do the same today. When Christians walk in love (agape), they can do the same works that Jesus did. They can do the same works that Peter, and the other Apostles did. God is not a respecter of persons. God will confirm His Word with signs following those who walk in love (agape).

The main thing that Christians need to do is walk in love (agape). When we walk in love, God will work with us and through us to do everything that Jesus said to do. It is the walking in love (agape), that enables God to work through us in every area of our lives.

Trying to walk in natural human love (phielo) does not work. Natural human love (phileo) is of the flesh. We are not under the Old Covenant, where people lived and walked according to the flesh. We are under a New Covenant, where only that which is of the Spirit works (Gal. 6:7,8).

When we walk in (agape) love, all the powers of the enemy are under our control. We control what Satan tries to do, by the love (agape) of God working in and through us. This is a mystery that has been unknown to many Christians today. It is the opposite of walking after the flesh. God does not answer the prayers of those who walk after the flesh. God only answers the prayers of those who walk after the Spirit.

In Galatians 5:6 it says, "...faith which worketh by love." Being that Faith works by love (agape), if we are not walking in love and faith, God will not answer our prayers. If God does not answer our prayers, all our praying will be of no avail. Christians need to understand, it is not what we do of our own ability, but what God does through us by His ability. Love (agape), causes all the fruit of the Spirit to manifest, and all of the gifts of the Spirit to manifest. Without the love (agape) of God working in us and through us, we do not have power over the works of the enemy.

Repentance is the key to walking in love (agape) and walking in faith. If we are not walking in love (agape), the first thing we need to do is "Repent." After we repent, we must confess our sin of not walking in love (agape) and be forgiven (1 John 1:9). Once we are forgiven, then we can pray and receive whatsoever we have need of.

God has given us many great and wonderful promises in His Word. But all of these great and wonderful promises are for those who are walking in love (agape).

Look at John 14:12-14, where Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father...And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son...If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." Whatsoever we ask in Jesus's name, He will do it! What a great promise. But, there is a condition attacked in John 14:15, where Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." What happens if we do not love Jesus? Nothing. The promises include that we first love Jesus and the Father.

What happens if we do not love Jesus and the Father? Look at John 15:5-6. Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing...If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Why are some Christians cast out? Because they did not abide in Jesus.

To abide in Jesus, we must walk in love (agape). If we are not walking in love (agape) we are not abiding in Jesus. Faith does not work if we are not walking in love (agape). The blessings come when we abide in Jesus (walking in love). In John 5:7 it says, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." The greatest blessing anyone can receive comes when we are walking in love.

Jesus walked in love, and whatsoever Jesus asked of the Father, He received it. God the Father always did whatsoever Jesus asked of Him. That is the position every Christian should be in. Whatsoever we ask of Jesus or the Father we will receive.

As we abide in the Word of God, God will supply all our needs. No matter what we have need of, God will give us whatsoever we ask of Him. There is nothing too hard for God (Gen. 18:14). Therefore, when we are doing the will of God, God will supply all our needs.

We must know what the will of God is for us. To know the will of God for us, we must study the New Covenant from Matthew through Revelation. The New Covenant is for those who are born again into the body of Christ. Being in Christ Jesus, we have power over all the works of the Devil (Luke 10:19). This power only works by love (agape). It is the love (agape) of God working in us and through us to destroy the works of the enemy.

There are many things that will hinder the love of God from working in us. In 1 John 2:15-17 it says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him...For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world...And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). When we love the world and the things of this world, we give place for the Devil in our lives. God cannot have fellowship with the works of the Devil (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

When we learn to know the difference between that which is of this world and that which is of God, we can walk in love (agape) and God will supply all our needs. Whatsoever we ask, it will be given to us by God. We must be about our Father's business, destroying the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). Jesus said in John 20:21, "...Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Jesus went about destroying the works of the Devil. We should also be destroying all the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8).

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