Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The illustration of virtue in Greek drama. Part 12. The policy of impersonal love is simple “integrity toward all.”.
Friday, June 11, 2004
1. There must be personal love for God, called agape – a love based upon thought, understanding the thoughts of God.
2. Once personal love for God is cultivated then love for self or spiritual self-esteem is produced.
3. Once a believer has love for self, he can now develop personal love for members of the Royal Family with impersonal love as the foundation and strength of his personal love.
4. This will then lead you to the most difficult and yet most powerful love you can have – impersonal love for all mankind.
This love requires the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit enabling the believer to love – impossible with man, but possible with God.
It must be impersonal because some Christians are admirable while others are among the most arrogant self-righteous, obnoxious, people on the face of the earth.
MAT 25:40 “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.”
The only love you can possess for most individuals is based not on their weaknesses or incompatibility with you, but on the strength of your own character.
It will be manifested by courtesy, thoughtfulness, sensitivity to the feelings of others, including tolerance and flexibility in non-essential areas of disagreement or dispute.
ROM 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
The policy of impersonal love = “integrity toward all.”
The key to this virtue-love is when you as a believer priest have personal love for God for that is where real virtue begins.
It is only “personal love for God” that will ever develop the “inexpressible happiness” of 1PE 1:8.
Reacting in life = the result of preoccupation with self.
Happiness depends upon virtue manufactured from your personal love for God.
This “love” manifests itself by the integrity of the subject exceeding the repulsiveness and obnoxiousness of the object.
1. Virtue (respect, loyalty, devotion).
2. Knowledge – perception of doctrine.
3. Self-control – organized life.
4. Perseverance – endurance or consistency.
5. Godliness – living the spiritual life.
6. Brotherly love – love for members of the Royal Family.
7. Agape love – impersonal love for all members of the human race.
“To be” – “are yours” – pres-act-part – huparchoo = to keep on existing or to keep on being present, to be present or at hand, or to be ready for action.
Pres-act-part – pleanazo = to keep increasing, or to keep on existing in abundance, or superabound.
“They render” – pres-act-ind – kathistemi = to prevent.
The dramatic chorus line will prevent you from being neither useless (ineffective) nor unfruitful (unproductive).
Kathistemi – futuristic present tense = if the dramatic seven chorus line is presently in you it will lead you to a future action – you will neither be useless nor unfruitful.
Comedy has to do with succeeding, prosperity, and having a RMA.
Tragedy has to do with handling the adversities, difficulties, or the disasters of life.
Active voice – kathistemi = the dramatic seven chorus line produces the action of the verb – to prevent you from being useless and unfruitful.
Indicative mood = a dogmatic statement of fact.
Useless – adjective – argous – a*rgouV” = lazy, inefficient, inactive, careless, indifferent, apathetic; to shun the labor which one ought to perform – a procrastinator.