Oct. 6, 2006
Lecture 1, Sound Bite 1 - Love, The Sum of All Virtue
Posted in Lecture 1: Love, the Sum of all Virtue
Scripture passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Get the full Jon Edwards sermon online here.
In these words we observe -- First,
that something is spoken of as of special importance, and as peculiarly
essential in Christians, which the Apostle calls Charity. And this
charity, we find, is abundantly insisted on in the New Testament by
Chirst, and his apostles,--more insisted on, indeed, than any other
virtue.
But, then, the word "charity," as used in the New
Testament, is of much more extensive signification, than as it is used
generally in common discourse. What persons very often mean by
"charity," in their ordinary conversation, is a disposition to hope and
thing the best of others, and to put a good construction on their words
and behavior; and sometimes the word is used for a disposition to give
to the poor. But these things are only certain particular branches, or
fruits of that great virtue of charity which is so much insisted on
throughout the New Testament. The word properly signifies love, or that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another; and the original ("agape"), which is here translated "charity," might better have been rendered "love,"
for that is the proper English of it: so that by charity in the New
Testament, is meant the very same thing as Christian love; and though
it be more frequently used for love to men, yet sometimes it is used to
signify not only love to men, but love to God.
Cat's Q and A:
1. How many times have you heard or read the King James "charity" and
skimmed over the word, thinking of it only as we use it today?
I have to confess that, even starting to read this part of the sermon, I automatically did this.
2. What do you think about Edwards' phrase -- "that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another"? (A disposition is a stance or attitude, an affection is a feeling.)
It struck me, through the ironically archaic language, that
Edwards is talking about something pretty deep here. He's talking
about holding an attitude which consistently induces a feeling of the
worth or intrinsic value of others.
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Oct. 10, 2006 - Untitled Comment
 Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy
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[What do you think about Edwards' phrase -- "that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another"?]
Well, they are not the words I use when talking about agape. I usually say something along the lines of unconditional ~ a choice you make. My dad told me that love is doing what is right even when it's hard. But my thoughts, my Dad's words and Jonathan Edward's sermon contains the essence of the word: LOVE is something you choose to do and not something you feel.
This is going to be a great sermon series to read through ~ Blessings!
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Oct. 16, 2006 - charity: agape (love)
 Posted by Anonymous
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The word agape means a sacrificial love. Giving your all and your best, like God's love for us in sending His only begotten Son--Jesus. Even the word "love" in our language today has a shallow meaning. "I LOVE this book!" "Don't you just LOVE chocolate ice cream?" We live in a very shallow and perverted generation. Jonathan Edwards understood something in this text that many of us choose not to understand. A true Christian should have a sense of deep, valuable, sacrificial love for others. We are to follow the example of Jesus Christ (that is why we're called "Christians"), and He did nothing less than give his whole life for us. Even throughout Jesus' ministry before His death, he gave all of His time, attention, energy, and His whole self to serving others and making their lives better because they had met Jesus. Isn't that how we should be living today?!!!
--Great Bible Study, thank you!
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Oct. 16, 2006 - Lecture 1 - Love
 Posted by happyhearts
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1. How many times have you heard or read the King James "charity" and skimmed over the word, thinking of it only as we use it today?
I think of it only as used today, I'll admit, though perhaps also within the context of loving another. Charity as something given to the poor, love as something that we all need and desire some of in our lives. I actually never read a KJV until well after I was saved (less than 7 yrs ago).
2. What do you think about Edwards' phrase -- "that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another"? (A disposition is a stance or attitude, an affection is a feeling.)
I guess the thing that stood out to me in this (beyond what's already been said by others) is that it's not necessarily reciprocated. The idea of taking a stand is interesting since most people think of love as a feeling these days. I was amazed at what I found when researching love at dictionary.com because the definitions are so varied and even includes "copulation" which I would not consider to be love by itself. Perhaps it's the connotation of the word but in my mind, it's not even related unless it is coupled with affection or as the American Heritage dictionary says, "the emotion of sex and romance". The first definition I encountered on the site was "profoundly tender, passionate affection" which would seem pretty accurate unless you consider deciding to have affection which it seems is what is meant here.
Scrolling further down there's an entry from the Easton's 1897 Bible dictionary which makes the distinction that involves taking a stand or making a deliberate choice as it described the interchange between Jesus and Peter when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Attitude is a good word for it, I think, even though it's not what we would normally come up with.
I certainly don't look at charity as being an attitude even though it really is. I also looked charity up at dictionary.com and found it interesting that it is the last definition that gives the agape or Christian love option. However, I think that we should more often than not be looking up words even when we might feel we know the meaning. The only issue is then how that would extend the time it takes to study a passage but we'd get a much more accurate rendering of meaning.
Am I long winded and saying little? Yeah, I probably am today. LOL Thinking out loud can sometimes be scary around here. ;)
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Oct. 17, 2006 - Charity-Love.
Posted by Bob in SK
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" 2. What do you think about Edwards' phrase -- "that disposition of affection whereby one is dear to another"? (A disposition is a stance or attitude, an affection is a feeling.)"
Love is especially important as an attitude more than a feeling for humans, as it prevents us from limiting our love to only those that we feel a connection to. When we consider that Christ died for even those that dispised him, we need to realize that the choice of love as an attitude by us is essential to even begin to live a Christ-like life. If it were just a matter of feeling affection it would be about our personal comfort or pleasure instead of from a sacrificial perspective.
In the same way we are to "love our neighbors" or "love our enemies" we must love all mankind, and this is impossible if we limit love to simply affection. Affection as a feeling for all mankind is impossible for those from a fallen world as our sin divides us and makes us selfish, however love as an attitude is acheivable as it is a choice we can make in our lives.
Bob
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