Commands of Love
Matthew 5:21-48
What’s love?
Hebrew word
- The Hebrew word for love is ahava.
- The root words of ahava are a and hav.
- A means “I” and hav means “to give”.
- So ahav, the word loved, literally means “I give”.
Greek words
Greek words for love express contexts of giving.
- Eros is giving in the context of romance and intimacy.
- Storge is giving in the context of family.
- Philia is giving in the context of friend relationships.
- Agape was a generic word that encompasses all other forms of love (giving), and was used by New Testament writers to define the unconditional nature of God’s love (giving).
Reconsider
- I Corinthians 13:4-8
- The Five Love Languages
Jesus’ love commands
- Matthew 5:21-26 – Don’t allow anger to stop you from loving the way God loves.
- Matthew 5:27-30 – Avoid withholding your sexual attention from your spouse by doing whatever it takes to keep out of lustful situations.
- Matthew 5:31-32 – Don’t withhold anything beneficial from your spouse; this is root cause of divorce.
- Matthew 5:33-37 – Do not withhold the truth from your brother or sister.
- Matthew 5:38-41 – Avoid retaliation by giving and expecting nothing in return.
- Matthew 5:43-48 – Don’t withhold what is beneficial from your enemies but give to them the way God has given to you.
Transformation Expectation
- Learn to love by learning to give what is best and right to others (doing what is best and right for others), and don’t expect anything in return for that is true unconditional love.