“He who does not love has not known God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8
What is love? When we as humans think about love, we think about some good and pleasant feelings. However, true love does not depend on feelings. She means so much more than how I feel about someone. This applies to both romantic love and love for one of our relatives, a friend or a colleague - We often give our love or accept it based on the benefit it will bring to ourselves. But what will I do if loving someone costs something? What does the Bible say about love?
“Love is long-suffering, it is kind, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1. Cor. 13:4-8
When I do this, despite my feelings, and regardless of what other people do, then I am in love. I don't feel like I'm in love when I'm tempted to be angry, to be impatient, to seek my own, to believe in all the bad things, or to lose faith in someone. When I reject all these feelings and instead rejoice, become long-suffering, humble myself, bear with others and endure everything - this is true love. Love sacrifices itself, all its natural reactions, demands that are part of human nature, then I expect nothing in return.
“Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
There are not many quotes about love from the Gospels, the largest one is in the Gospel of Matthew
Quotes from the Gospel about love are not such a broad topic as it might seem at first glance. The Gospel writers deal with this topic quite succinctly.
But they place important accents for themselves. For example, the author of the Gospel of Matthew cites a statement by Jesus Christ, where He contrasts His Teaching with the Old Testament principles:
“You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?”
(Matt. 43:46)
Christ changed the Jewish laws so that every act was done out of love
Here we see two important points:
- Bogoslovsky . The teaching of Christ distances itself from the Law of Moses and shows that the time for the old rules has passed. Old Testament principles do not bring happiness to our world. Jesus introduces a new rule - to love everyone, without dividing the world into black and white. There is no longer the concept of God's chosenness, there is only an all-consuming feeling.
- Sensual . For you and me, the theological disputes of the 1st century are no longer so important, because Christianity has long become the most popular religion in the world. But the sensual aspect of Christ’s preaching is still relevant.
The Savior reports that there are no enemies for a righteous person. Anyone who feels like a son of God must learn to treat everyone with sincere good feelings.
Jesus Christ is the example of love for a godly Christian. Photo: divinum.ru
According to Christian dogma, He allowed Himself to be crucified in order to suffer for the sins of all people and atone for their debt. This is called the Sacrifice of Christ.
Jesus comments on the 2 Old Testament commandments of love in the Gospel
In addition to the ten “official” commandments, the Old Testament left us with many additional ones. One of them is the 2 commandments of love from the book of Leviticus.
Jesus Christ knew these texts perfectly and commented on them for His listeners:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.
The second is similar to it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
(Matt. 22:37–40)
From this we see that not all biblical sayings are outdated for Christianity. Christ develops certain themes and abandons some. He arranges a rethinking of old principles.
What is important for us is that He always and in everything tells us: “Love one another: love your neighbor, love your enemy, love God.”
Most quotes about love from the New Testament are fragments of the Epistles, not the Gospels
Quotes from the New Testament, if they talk about love, are most likely taken from the Epistles, not the Gospels. There the topic is covered most widely. The largest passage contains the first Epistle of St. Apostle John:
“Dear ones, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love!
God showed His love for us by sending His only Son into the world so that through Him we might have life. Love is not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Dear ones, if God loves us so much, then we should love each other. No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, then God Himself lives in us, and His love in us is perfect.
He has given us of His Spirit, and therefore we know that we are in Him and He in us. We ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God, God abides in him, and that person himself abides in God. We learned and believed that God loves us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
(1 John 4:7–16)
By abiding in God, a person learns perfect love.
This means that the Bible teaches: perfect love is the love of God; he who abides in him is a man who abides in love. In other words, these things are inseparable.
Other messages go deeper into this information. For example, the Apostle Paul explains to us that love is generated by the spirit:
“The fruit of the Spirit is love...”
(Gal. 5:22)
And the Second Epistle of John explains the meaning of love for God:
“Now this is love, that we should walk according to His commandments.”
(2 John 6)
That's it, love is confirmed by actions, not by words or prayers.
Divine love
“Whoever says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.” 1. John 4:20-21
Our love for God is not greater than our love for our neighbors. Divine love does not change depending on circumstances. She's hard.
We often want others to change. We find it difficult to love people as they are, and we want them to change. This is proof that we are more concerned with our own well-being and comfort. We look for our own, instead of loving others.
The truth is that instead of hoping for others to change, we must find the sin within ourselves and cleanse ourselves from it. Self-interest and thoughts that “I know better”, vanity and stubbornness, etc. – I find all these sins in myself when I deal with other people. When we are freed from all this, then we can bear, believe, hope and endure everything for the sake of others. We love those around us as they are, we begin to pray for them with sincere love and care.
There are no proverbs or sayings about love in the New Testament, but there are catchphrases
It happens that people, out of ignorance, want to find proverbs and sayings from the Holy Scriptures. This is mistake.
A proverb is a folklore expression, folk wisdom. It cannot have New Testament origin and a specific author (example: “Fear has big eyes”).
A saying is also a folklore expression, but unfinished, meaningless without context (example - “Both ours and yours”).
May the hand of the giver never fail and 5 similar biblical quotes
The Bible is not folk wisdom, but a book of Divine revelation or, if you like, the work of specific authors.
Quotes from the New Testament can only be called aphorisms and catchphrases. The phrase has gained wide popularity in Christian circles:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, let you also love one another.”
(John 13:34)
The Apostle Paul called love a fruit of the Spirit. Photo: azbyka.ru
We have already said a lot about the expression “God is love.” But the Apostle Paul lists us a trinity of qualities, today known, perhaps, to everyone:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of these.”
(Gal. 5:22)
The 2nd century Saints Faith, Hope and Love owe their names to a passage in the New Testament where the Apostle Paul lists three godly qualities. Their mother Sofia was inspired by this quote
There, the great Apostle Paul wrote down another colorful expression, but it did not gain much popularity:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a sounding gossamer or a clanging cymbal.”
(1 Corinthians 8:1)
There is no feeling of superiority in love:
“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”
(1 Corinthians 8:1)
It is appropriate to conclude the quotes from the Bible about love with the well-known formula:
“Love is long-suffering, it is kind, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(Corinth 13:4-77)
Conversations
Do not praise a person before a conversation, for it is a test of people. Sir.27.7
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The conversation of a pious man is always wisdom, but a foolish man changes like the moon. Sir.27,11
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The conversation of fools is disgusting, and their laughter is sinful fun. Sir.27,13
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Prepare your word and you will be heard; collect instructions - and answer. Sir.33.4
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Conduct your conversation, eldest, for it is fitting for you, with thorough knowledge, and do not forbid music. Sir.32.4-5
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When they listen, do not multiply the conversation and do not philosophize untimely. Sir.32.6
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The Bible has many catchphrases not only about love, but also about war.
Catchphrases from the Bible about war are widely known. Here is one of them:
“There is a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace."
(Ecc. 3:8)
How can we understand this phrase in the context of the teachings of Jesus Christ? And we don’t need this. As we remember, Jesus Christ rejected much of what the Old Testament authors taught. He called us to love, and therefore the military realities of those years and the calls of the biblical prophets do not matter for the followers of the Savior.
The Christian’s war is not a human battlefield, but a confrontation of a spiritual nature - against vices and evil:
“...because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places.”
(Eph. 6:12)
Icons like this ancient one, where the Archangel Michael fights the demon, remind us of this spiritual confrontation. Photo: e-news.su
The only war a Christian must fight is the battle with sin for his soul.
We all remember the catchphrase of Alexander Nevsky: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword.” Jesus Christ said the opposite, but similar phrase:
“Then Jesus said to him: Return your sword to its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
(Matt. 26:52)
There are many aphorisms about wisdom in the Bible, but they are not widely known
Expressions from the Bible about wisdom are very aphoristic, but for some reason they did not reach the broad masses. Everyone has heard that God loved us. But not everyone knows how useful it is to be wise and how to become one.
Wisdom promises people a wonderful future:
“The wise will inherit glory, but the foolish will inherit dishonor.”
(Prov. 3:35)
Wisdom is the greatest value:
“The acquisition of wisdom is much better than gold, and the acquisition of understanding is preferable to choice silver.”
(Prov. 16:16)
King Solomon became famous for his wealth and intelligence. In the Proverbs, he writes that wisdom should be preferred to gold and silver, for this is the highest value (engraving “King Solomon in his declining years” by Gustave Doré). Photo: runes.ge
A wise person shuns bad qualities:
“A wise man fears and shuns evil, but a fool is irritable and arrogant.”
(Prov. 14:16)
A sage has pious qualities:
“But the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, humble, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and without hypocrisy.”
(James 3:17)
But the Gospel tells us practically nothing about wisdom. Jesus Christ mentions it in passing, and this expression can hardly be called an aphorism:
“At that time, Jesus continued speaking and said: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”
(Matt. 11:25)
Conciseness
Speak, young man, if you need, barely two words, when you are asked, say the main thing, a lot in a few words. Be like someone who knows and, at the same time, like someone who knows how to remain silent. Sir.32.9-10
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From all work there is profit, but from idle talk there is only damage. Proverbs 14:23
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Avoid stupid and ignorant competitions, knowing that they give rise to quarrels. 2 Tim. 2.23
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If a wise person hears a wise word, he will praise it and apply it to himself. The frivolous one heard it, and he did not like it, and he threw it away for himself. Sir.21,18
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A wise man is temperate in his words, and a prudent man is cold-blooded. Proverbs 17,27
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So, beware of useless murmuring and beware of the slander of the tongue, for even a secret word will not go in vain, and slandering lips kill the soul. Prem.1.11
Some proverbs and sayings have analogues in the Bible
Although the Bible itself does not contain proverbs and sayings, it contains many expressions that are similar to them in meaning and content.
For example, “An old friend is better than two new ones”:
“Do not leave an old friend, for a new one cannot compare with him; A new friend is like new wine: when it becomes old, you will drink it with pleasure.”
(Sirach 9:12–13)
“Better a bird in the hand than a pie in the sky”:
“Better is a dish of greens, and with it love, than a fattened ox, and with it hatred.”
(Prov. 15:17)
Talkativeness
He who bridles the tongue will live peacefully, and he who hates talkativeness will reduce evil. Sir.19.6
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Never repeat words, and you will lose nothing. Don’t tell it to friend or foe, and if it’s not a sin for you, don’t reveal it; for he will listen to you, and will beware of you, and in time will hate you. Sir.19.7-9
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You have listened to the word, let it die with you: do not be afraid, it will not break you apart. Sir.19,10
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When you talk too much, you cannot avoid sin, but he who restrains his lips is wise. Proverbs 10:19
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Someone is silent and turns out to be wise; and others are hated for being too talkative. Sir.20.5
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He who is long-winded will be disgusted, and he who extols the right to speak will be hated. Sir.18.8
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Words from the mouth of a wise man are grace, but the mouth of a fool destroys him. Ecc.10,12
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admonition
Do not withhold the word when it can help: for in the word is wisdom known, and in the speech of the tongue knowledge. Sir.4,27-28
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The heretic, after the first and second admonition, turn away, knowing that such a one has become corrupted and sins, being self-condemned. Titus 3:10-11
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If you punish a blasphemer, then the simple will become prudent; and if you rebuke a wise man, he will understand the instruction. Proverbs 19:25
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Many aphorisms from the Bible have entered our language
A number of expressions have entered our lexicon unchanged:
“In everything, do to people as you would have them do to you.”
(Matt. 7:7-8)
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
Galatians 6: “Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap”
“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial; “Everything is permissible for me, but nothing should possess me.”
(Corinth. 6:12)
“Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”
(Gal. 6:7)
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Edification
When you come together, and each of you has a psalm, there is a teaching, there is a tongue, there is a revelation, there is an interpretation - let all this be for edification. 1 Corinthians 14:26
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Do not give holy things to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. Matthew 7:6
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..and did not engage in endless fables and genealogies, which produce more controversy than God’s edification in faith. 1 Timothy 1:4
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