Bible Interpretation
Loving Those We Dislike
[Originally published in The Fort Bend Herald]
One of the most difficult concepts of Christianity involves a series of commands that relegate us to love pretty much everyone, everywhere and in every situation. While the sentiment of that seems truly noble and altruistic, many find themselves in a very difficult crisis of faith for the simple fact that there are some people we honestly find very hard to like. “Liking” involves commonality in thought or position. It involves someone we consider compatible and worthy. It involves reciprocity. Indeed, all of us have those around us of whom these traits simply do not exist. We simply do not “like” everyone. How, then, are we to love them?
The first order is to confirm the need for such indiscriminating love in the scriptures. Indeed, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor (Mt 22:39). The apostles teach us to love one another in the church (Rom 12:10) and our spouses (Eph 5:25). These emanations of love seem easy enough to fulfill; or at least a realistic goal to shoot at- until we realize that even these two commands come with caveats: Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves, and Paul instructed husbands to love their wives as their own bodies.
But wait: it gets worse, for Jesus further said that we should love even our enemies! (Mat 5:43-44) This instruction, he follows with, “For if you love those who love you… do not even the tax collectors do the same?” (v. 46)
Now the sentiment is getting downright troublesome. Let’s face it, it’s hard at times to love even those people we share Thanksgiving Dinner with – let alone those who have earned the moniker of “enemy.” For all practical purposes, the very definition of “an enemy” is someone that in the very least we do not like at all. How, then, are we to love those we (sometimes for good reason) simply do not like?
The bad news is this is not an easy pursuit, even when properly understood. The good news is most of us have completely misunderstood this set of commands because of language issues.
“Love,” in English is an extremely flexible term. We love our spouses and we love our dog. (Surely those two do not mean the same thing.) We love certain forms of art. We love chicken fried steak and we love our children. Each of these things gets coined as “that which we love” but with significantly distinct meanings and inferences that actually separate this idea of “love” into numerous categorically different things altogether.
In the New Testament there are two different Greek terms translated into English as “love.” One term is the term most similar to that “love” we claim for our families and friends. The other is a sense of the idea of “love” that frankly, we do not use very often in conversational English. (There is no Greek equivalent to our love for chicken fried steak to my knowledge… that must be an English thing.)
The lesser used term for “love” in the NT (about 20 times) is phileo (phil-eh’-oh); often referred to as “brotherly love.” Such is the namesake for the city of Philadelphia and various other English terms with the “phile” suffix. This term is best understood as “relational” love. It is that “I love you because you and I have a personal connection.” This term best fits with our love of family and friends, because it is reciprocal: the love we have for those we “like.” Most of us are thinking of THIS type of love when we hear the command to “love your enemies.” But, relax – that is not the command we have been given.
The second and far more common “love” in the NT (over 250 times) is agape (ah-gah’-pay) (n) or agapao (ah-ga-pah’-o) (v). This is (potentially) unreciprocated love. It is a love that is chosen, deliberate and service oriented; but not necessarily relational. To love in this manner is tantamount to Jesus’ golden rule: to treat others as we wish to be treated. This is the love we are administering when we give money to help feed or clothe total strangers. It is the love we are sharing when we stop to help a stranger on the side of the road. These are not reciprocal actions: I’m not helping because I realized that was a friend of mine I just passed on the highway. These are chosen, deliberate acts of service to others out of reverence for their creator and recognition of their need.
While both types of love are commanded in scripture in various scenarios, we are ten times more often commanded to agapao those around us: love through service and with potentially nothing gained in return. THIS is the love we are commanded to give our enemies. We are to value them as human beings and provide them with dignity and service when able. We should help them when in need. We should speak kindly and act compassionately even if they are our political enemies or are on the “other side” of the culture war. It is this love that God demonstrated toward us in that he loved us while we were his enemies (Rom 5:8). In the same manner, we are to love our enemies; even if we don’t happen to like them.
Why I Dropped my NIV for an ESV
On my 16th birthday I received, by request, a new Thompson Chain Reference NIV Bible. As a 16 year old, I had no insights- nor did I consider the need of them- concerning the integrity of the NIV translation. I simply knew that my new NIV Bible was easier to understand than the KJV I had used up to that point.
As it turns out, by God’s grace, the NIV I was ingesting was actually a pretty good translation overall. It is a good “middling” of two interpretational extremes. As a ministry student, which I became just a few years thereafter, one’s translation is never one’s only translation; it is simply the translation one preaches and teaches from. It is the translation one commits to memory. I spent over twenty five years doing just that with my (1984) NIV. Continue reading
The Seven Churches Pt. 3 – Ephesus, pt. A (video)
(This is a confinuation of “The Seven Churches” Vlog series on the churches of Revelation 1-3. You may also want to watch other videos in this series to keep within context.)
The first church John was asked to address of the seven was the church in Ephesus; a church which received both praise and rebuke from the Lord’s letter.
This week’s study focuses on the commendation to the church. The rebuke will be dealt with in next week’s study.
Overwhelmingly, it is clear from the letter to the church at Ephesus that the faith entrusted to the saints is indeed something to be contended for: as the Lord himself gives his commendation to his church for not tolerating evil men and heresy.
The Seven Churches – Ephesus, pt. 1 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
The Seven Churches Pt. 2 – Introduction (Video)
(This is a confinuation of “The Seven Churches” Vlog series on the churches of Revelation 1-3. You may also want to watch other videos in this series to keep within context.)
While understanding the nature of the church age (as observed in last week’s session) is important to the interpretation of the letters to the seven churches, another very important interpretive principle is that of “context.” This week’s video will examine the context of the book of Revelation, that the proper interpretation of the letters to the churches may be achieved, and the message of the letters may reach its intended mark: the church age at large.
Interpreting the Bible 15 – Hebrew Poetry
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
Unlike Western poetry, Hebrew poetry is not fashioned with rhythm and rhyme, but with a device known as parallelism. Today’s study focuses on the nature of parallelism so that the biblical student may rightly divide poetic passages in scripture.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 15 – Hebrew Poetry from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
The Seven Churches – Introduction (Video)
Today begins a new study series on the Video Blog area of Returningking.com. This series, currently being preached at First Baptist Church in Needville, TX, is an examination of the Seven Churches which the book of Revelation is written to in Asia Minor.
The title of the series, however, is not “The Seven Churches of Asia Minor,” but rather “The Seven Churches,” because once one begins interpretational work on the book of Revelation it becomes clear that the seven churches do not only represent the seven historical churches whose names are written on the letter. Rather, these seven churches are seen throughout history, which is the context of the book of Revelation:
Revelation 1:19 (ESV)
19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
Interpreting the Bible 14 – The Law of Recurrence
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
This week’s installation involves what is known as The Law of Recurrence. This principle exists throughout the scriptures as an event narrated in two or more “passes.” In such cases, frequently a story is told very generally, and then told again from the beginning but providing additional detail.
Not only is such recurrence very frequent in scripture, it is in fact the technique by which scripture begins itself in the account of creation. Many have seen this particular instance of recurrence as an argument for two separate creation accounts. Others have seen this recurrence as the very frequent literary device that it is: a story told in passes of varying detail and focus.
Today’s consideration of the law of recurrence includes a good deal of example from scripture to assist the interpreter in the understanding of the principle.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 14 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Interpreting The Bible 13 – The Law of First Mention
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
This week’s lesson focuses on a law known as “First Mention.” This law is simple in its principle, but profound in its application. This law essentially uses the concept of “precedent” to assist the biblical interpreter in the proper application of a theological term or truth. If, then, I know how a term or concept has been used earlier in scripture, I can properly interpret a later understanding of the same term or principle.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 13 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Interpreting the Bible 12 – Progressive Revelation
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
This week’s topic in the series involves the principle of “progressive revelation.” Progressive revelation essentially enforces consideration of the fact that God did not reveal all theological truth at once, but over a long period of time. The fullness of what Moses knew about Jehovah, Noah did not know. What the apostles knew, Moses did not know.
Through millennia- from Adam to the apostles – God revealed his plan by small revelations which built upon one another. Even the understanding of Messiah began from an Edenic concept as simple as “a seed of woman” and was further developed in scripture to involve the seed of Abraham, Judah and David. By the time of Christ a composite sketch of many centuries had formed to give Israel an accurate accounting of what she should expect when Messiah was revealed. At the time of Isaiah, however, this portrait of Messiah would have been exceptionally limited; virtually only to lineage.
Understaning the principle of progressive revelation prevents the interpreter from injecting theological knowledge of a later date into the minds of earlier writers. While it is true that later writings bring clarity to earlier ones, it is not true that earlier theological truths are trumped; being interpreted in light of later ones. If that were so, then the earlier writings would have no meaning whatsoever to those to whom they were delivered.
Today’s video lesson explores the impact of progressive revelation on our interpretive process.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 12 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Interpreting the Bible (Pt 11) – Double Reference (Pt. 2)
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
Continuing from last week’s introduction to the interpretive law of dual (or double) reference, this week’s lesson will focus in on the “gap” variety of dual reference; in which one prophecy is fulfilled in part from two different historical events which are separated by a gap of time. As such, there is frequently a presumed fulfillment of a prophecy, yet the fulfillment does not completely meet the criteria of the original prophetic word. As such, this presumed fulfillment is not complete, but partial, and will be later completed by further events.
Numerous messianic prophecies have unfolded in this manner. In several cases, one prophetic sentence – or paragraph – depicts both the first and second comings of Christ. These prophesies have been only partially fulfilled, as the “gap” has not yet passed before his second coming, when Christ will complete the prophetic vision.
Today’s video course is largely an illustration of this principle at work.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 11 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
