Holy Hormones Bible Study: Teaching — If your book isn’t a buzz, it’s not the Bible.
THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOUR LOVE LANGUAGE LANGUAGE
The English word, Love, regains its sight in the Greek.
There have been other posts in this opus about the Greek words translated as “love” in English. This one will show that love is blind in the English translations but not in Greek.
The conversation when Jesus restores Peter is very cumbersome and confusing in the usual rendition of the English Bible
It is written in John 21:15–17 || So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you LOVE Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I LOVE You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you LOVE Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I LOVE You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you LOVE Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you LOVE Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I LOVE You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”
But what about in the Greek?
John 21:15–17 || So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (G25 — agapaō) Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (G5368 — phileō) You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (G25 — agapaō) Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (G5368 — phileō) You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (G5368 — phileō) Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love (G5368 — phileō) Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love (G5368 — phileō) You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
G5368 — phileō has the flavour of a friendship love, a companionship love, or a sharing of common interests such as a sporting team.
G25 — agapaō leans toward total devotion. It is what we put first in our lives. There is one definition which links H157 — ‘āhaḇ to G25 — agapaō to being devoted to with an intensity which could be described as lust. (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:4–5, The Shamar).
Jesus defines, “Loving Jesus.”
John 14:15–18 || If you love (G25 — agapaō) Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
G25 — agapaō = devoted
In movie script form
[Clarification: I’m open to correction by my Betters here, and I definitely am not trying to put words into the mouth of Messiah, but this is my feeble attempt to make sense of this famous conversation with the knowledge of the meanings of the Greek words used. It is put out there to give others the opportunity to find the evidence to reject it — or improve on it.]
Jesus: Are you devoted to me and follow my commandments?
Peter: Yes Lord, you know I agree with your Doctrine.
Jesus: OK, teach my Doctrine. But are you devoted to me and follow my commandments?
Peter: Yes Lord, you know I agree with your Doctrine.
Jesus: So you say you agree with my Doctrine?
(Peter becomes grieved.)
Peter: Yes Lord, you know I agree with your Doctrine.
Jesus: Teach my Doctrine.
Why would Peter become grieved?
Could it be that he had already made great promises about what he would do and found out he couldn’t manage it. He was aware of his human weakness. It would be surprising if he did not hear the words unspoken (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic — take your pick). After the Resurrection many things began to fall into place, including John 14:15–18. The Indwelling Holy Spirit was still a month away. But Jesus instructed him to do the best with what he already had while he was waiting. Metaphorically speaking, there were two Peters. Before Pentecost (Shavu’ot) and after Pentecost (Shavu’ot). Prior the giving of the Holy Spirit he was a blundering yokel. Afterwards, the Holy Spirit lifted him to a higher plane. He could debate, toe-to-toe, with the Sanhedrin Glitterati.
Messiah is blunt about Saints needing a Saviour
John 15:5 || I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Conversely, what we do without Him is nothing. Having the indwelling Holy Spirit means that Saints may walk in the Spirit. Those who don’t have it, the unsaved, can walk only in the Flesh.
What does He do about it?
Returning to John 14:15–18 || If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another (G243 — allos) Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
G243 — allos = another of the same type (Jesus speaking so, with this one word, He is saying that the Father will send One the same as Him, the Holy Spirit→ Trinity.)
The Holy Spirit dwells in the Saints
1 Corinthians 3:16 || Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
But Jesus calls His disciples His Friends. Doesn’t that mean that G5368 — phileō is good enough?
It is written in John 15:15 || No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
It would be OK except the word used is G5384 — philos. That is a different inflection of the same root word of G5368 — phileō. The meaning of the word is more in line with acquaintance rather than fellow team member. As is written in Luke 7:34 || The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend (G5384 — philos ) of tax collectors and sinners.’
Don’t be misled by the English. Think the extra thought
This word study on LOVE is, as is usual on Bible matters, exploding as more is revealed. The Divine Onion Principle is reaffirmed.
The best outcome, for me, would be that everyone would say, “I already knew that. This is more boring than your usual fare.” But, just in case there is one person who is unaware . . . .
The second-best outcome would be that someone noticed the fatal flaw in my logic and lead me on the path of truth — with evidence from the Bible, of course.
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime. If you have seen something you like, I encourage plagiarism. So, always check everything I say first, then please re-cycle, re-brand, re-structure, re-issue, re-label, or re-gurgitate in any manner you please. No need to acknowledge me because the Holy Spirit Who holds the Intellectual Rights.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.)
