Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biblestudy Feb. 2007

[Craig]

                                                                                                      Love / page 1

                                             DIFFERENT LOVES

Now we are going to go through different loves.

One reason there is confusion about this, is that the Greek and English Languages are just different. It's interesting that the Greek has several words for love, where we only have one. But in other areas we have several words, where they only have one word. You would think they have to have more than one word, but they don't.

Begotten and born are the same word in the Greek, they only have one word. To conceive a child and for a child to actually be born or birthed is the same word.

But when it comes to love we only have one word and they have a bunch of them or several anyway. I mean some of them are words we have, too. They have words for friendship and to be fond of and so on. It's just that the translators translate most of those love too, but they don't need to, because there are English words that will fit.

Now Jesus Christ said;

Mark 12:30  And you shall love [Gk: agape] the LORD your God with all your HEART, and with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND, and with all your STRENGTH: this is the first commandment.

The word there agapáō, is from the word agapē. You hear some people say agapē, I rather think it's agapā or agapáō.

Some people think this is the ultimate love and that love starts down here somewhere (hand held low) and it builds up to this one agape (hand held high), because it says in 1 John;

1 John 4:8  God is love.  

The word is agape, "God is agape."  Now that's the noun, but if you use it as a verb, it's agapao.

So here the commandment says, "you should agapao the Lord your God, with all your heart and all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, this is the first commandment." That should tell us right there, that this word agapao is not all inclusive by itself. If agapao meant this ultimate pentacle of love, why then did Christ say you have to love with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength? Why do you have to do that, if the word contains all that? Well, it's because it doesn't.  

When we apply words to ourselves... it's the same words with the same meaning, but the intensity changes. If I talk about the same word, like my strength, that's one word, right. But if I talk about God's strength, that's the same word... are we talking about the same thing? Hardly, same word though.

Agapao from the noun agape - love, can be intensified by doing it with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. See, intensify it, make it greater than what the word itself means, important point.  

Now, He doesn't talk about the second commandment, the same as this, as you shall love your neighbor with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength. No, it doesn't say that. No, that is not what He said.

Listen to me, I say this at every meeting we have virtually and I say it in my papers,
you have to pay attention to the words! You can't believe how much is missed in the Bible, when people don't look at the words. They think they know what it says... they missed it, they missed it in verse after verse, in hundreds of scriptures. They missed it, why? They don't pay attention to the words. They just read a bunch of words and think, 'I know what that means.' No they don't, not if you don't pay attention to the words.

He didn't say, love God this way and love your neighbor in the same way. He said you love God (same Greek word agape/agapao), agape your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and might.  

Agapao your neighbor as yourself... whoops what happened there? What happened there, that's different?

Let's assume you have nice neighbors, I have nice neighbors. When we moved here our neighbors brought us a big bowl of cookies and we share cups of sugar with our next door neighbor over here, Tammy.  

But you could have a neighbor who is a wife beating, drug dealing, God hating, you know, monster for a neighbor. Now, does God want you or tell you, that you have to love that wife beating, drug dealing monster, with all your heart, with all your mind and soul, does He tell us that? NO! But I can see some self-righteous preacher giving a sermon saying, 'well yes you have to do this.' No you don't. 'Well, how are you suppose to love your neighbor as yourself?' You put yourself in the equation. 'Oh well, I wish my neighbor would give me a million dollars.' Well then you have to give your neighbor a million dollars.

You got to love them as yourself. But I don't expect my neighbor to give me million dollars or even ten dollars. For that reason I'm not going over this afternoon and give him ten dollars. Can't you see that?

But I might want to go over there and borrow his ladder, because I don't have a long ladder. Just like he comes over here and borrows some of my electrical drill stuff. That's good, it's good we do that. But if you don't know what your talking about, you can get stupid with this.

Now then, do you run into contradictions in 2 Corinthians?

2Cor 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
v. 15  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
v. 16  What agreement has the temple of God with idols?"

People always use this as referring to a wedding. "Don't be unequally yoked" together with somebody who doesn't believe in God. Well, that would fit. But that's not what it's talking about. That's just one application of it, don't be unequally yoked together with people like this.

Well, my next door neighbor, is not a wife beating, drug dealing, you know, monster. So I can be yoked together with him, right. No! He doesn't believe these truths.

My neighbor told me one day, if he caught, a particular race of people, stealing something... how he would dismantle their body with a baseball bat. Now I thought whoa, this man could get to be a little rough, you know, if he just caught someone in his backyard. That's not me. I don't think like that abd I'm not going to be yoked to that. So we don't go out together. No, we don't go out to bars together or out to dinner together. You know, I don't get into his crowd. I have no intention of going out with him, why? Don't be unequally yoked together!  

Then how can you love him as yourself? Contradictions isn't it? No, it's not. How can I have nothing to do with him and love him as yourself? I'm going to show you.

Believe me, I'm not trying to say, I can exhaust this subject. This topic could go on for days. There's a lot, you don't even know how much is in this topic. I'm going to try and make it simple, but it is a little involved.

In the Old Testament, the words for love is, 'āhēbh, 'ahăbhāh. Basically it is a very simple word, it just means to give or I give. I love you... I give. That's nice, that's simple, good and profound. That's spiritual love... I give.

In the New Testament, we have the word agápē (we have a little different explanation for that) -  a complex emotion arousing appreciation or delight in and desire for the presence of it's object; as well as to please and promote it's welfare.

Now, I got this out of the Concordant Keyword Dictionary, because it's so much better than all the other dictionaries and Dr. Strong combined. I mean I've gone over definitions of this word, agapao and agape, for many hours and it's really difficult to nail it down. Dr. Strong in his Exhausted Concordance, translates agape one way and then translates agarao the verb, differently, like it's two different words.

I contended for so long with this thing of, aion and aionios and that no adjective can take on a different or greater meaning than the noun from which it is derived. Yet they take the word aion, which means an age, and turn it into eternity. It's stupid, it's grammatically wrong.  

You don't take the word hour and then when you say you work hourly, you mean yearly.  No, it still means hourly.  It doesn't change just because you change it from a noun to a adjective or a verb, an adverb, or something else.

So now I can see some better distinctions. It, agape - is a complex emotion, arousing appreciation or delight in and desire for the presence of it's object; as well as to please and promote it's welfare.

Now here is the word phileo. We understand the word Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia - it means to be fond of, responsive, affection based on approval and regard.  

That's a little complicated, basically it's this. God of love -agape, is a one-way street, God loves, He gives. It's not based on whether the ones He gives it to, loves Him back. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, right. Why? Because He loves us, "for God so loved the world." That includes all these drug dealing, wife beating, God defying people. He so loved the world, did they love Him back? No, very few people love God back. It's a one-way street... He loves. He's the One that loves, not getting anything back for it, He loves.

But phileo love, is where two people are fond of each other and they're responsive to each other. It has to do with affections, based on the approval of the one you're giving out to, you see. Why are people friends? Because they reciprocate, right.

Bob and I go to lunch once a week. If we didn't reciprocate in how we think and talk to each other and build up each other when we are down, then I think that would come to an end rather quickly.

Seriously, when you have a close friend, is that somebody that never shows you close affection? I don't think so.

A close friend, a phileo, a friend that reciprocated, it's a two-way street. Although God is agape, you would say that's the ultimate. But it is not as intimate as phileo. All my life I heard this pyramid of love. At the top there was this agape, the ultimate. Is it really?

A couple of things, I have a very important note here: There are two kinds of love, for two kinds of people. LOVE is what God is!

It is a love that has the welfare of all others at heart, regardless of how evil they are or how badly they may treat us. It is the kind of love that the good Samaritan showed for the man who was wounded by the side of the road, when he was befalled by robbers. They beat the living daylights out of him. You know the Levite came by, the Priest came by and they said, 'that's to bad, look at that, he's bleeding to death' and went on their way.  

Then a Samaritan came by. He used a Samaritan because they despised the Samaritans. The Samaritans were of the northern tribe of Israelites. So the good Samaritan came by and he tended to him. He bound up his wounds; carried him to the village; put him under the hospices of somebody there. He had someone take care of him, nurse him back to health and here is money and 'I'll be back in a week or two and I'll stop by to see if you need more money and I'll give you more money.'

Now that is agapao love. That's not phileo love, that's not brotherly love, that's agapao love.

Did he expect to get anything back from that person?  No.
Did he know him?  No.
Did he like him?  No.
Did the man even thank him?  It doesn't say.

Does anybody think, they became good friends later in life? I don't think so, I really don't think so. This man was just passing through. Maybe he was on business, just passing through, I don't think they became friends. He helped just for the shear reason, that this is a fellow human being and needed help. He provided not only help, but a lot of help, good quality help, and that's agapao, that's not phileo.

Now here's one thing that interested me with all this said. God is agape, He loves agapao with the agape love, you got the noun and the verb. But does God phileo love or is God in this ivory tower, where He just has this great spiritual love and He doesn't get down on our level?  

Now, this is very interesting, in John 3 it says that God agapao His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 3:35  The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

That means His welfare and everything that's good for Him, as a Son. That's always in His heart and mind and so on.  

Ah, but He also phileo His Son, in John 5.  

John 5:20  For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

God does both, He loves His Son like a friend, like a brother, like some one you put your arm around, give a hug or whatever.  

Now, does God love us that way? Yes He does. He loves us with this agape love and He also loves us with the phileo love, this affectionate love, like a friend, you see.
 
Jesus Christ and His Father are One, they're one Spirit. You have the Father and you have the Son, but they're one.

Now what did Christ say regarding His disciples? He said I call you friends. But what did the Father say? The same thing, because they are One. Whatever Christ says, the Father says the same things, because they have the same Spirit, because they are One. One Spirit, they say the same. Whatever Christ says, thinks, or does, that's what the Father is... same thing. They do the same thing, because they are One, Father and Son are One.

Now Jesus, it says loves John.  

John 19:26  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved...

I looked up the first scripture on that and it says agapao. Oh no, don't tell me, as close as they were that it was agapao love. This was formal - legalistic you know. Needful like a king loves his subjects. Like President Bush loves Americans, he doesn't know them all, he just loves them as a nation. As a nation he loves, not individually, he doesn't even know them all, but as a nation, see.

So I'm saying... oh no Jesus loves John agapao. But never stop looking, because then we come to John 20 and we have phileo.  

John 20:2  Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved...

He loved them, both. He loved him in that He was going to see him into the kingdom of God, and his destiny was going to be fulfilled. But He loved him like a friend and brother too.

Now we come to the question, it is also on the forum and everybody is going crazy about it. But does God love everybody the same way He loves His Son, and the same way He loves us?

Most of us, would say absolutely (by us, I mean the elect, that's us, not the world. I'd say the whole world, but we are not suppose to be of the world anymore), and give as a proof scripture, "God is not a respecter of persons," (Acts 10:34).

No He doesn't, in fact God hates things and people.  

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, defines hate as - intense hostility and aversion, although in the Greek the word hate can mean - to love less, not to have a passionate, vindictive type emotion towards somebody.  

God doesn't have that. When He has a hostility or an aversion for something, it just means He is going to judge it and punish it and clean it up, that's all. You can't think that God has human emotions, like we do, even though He expresses human emotions, like we know He does. But no He doesn't, even with this thing of love agapeo and phileo - brotherly love. When God talks about His wrath and His anger, it's not that He can't control His emotions. He talks to us so we can understand from a man's prospective what these emotions are, see.

But you can't tell ministers of the world that this is not literally the way it is. They think that God almighty has finger nails and therefore He must trim them (I wonder what He does with the trimmings, maybe He saves them). It's just nonsense.

God does not have two eyes. This Kenneth Copeland said God the Father is a 6 foot man. I'm laughing saying this guy is insane. Listen, if God is a man then He has two eyes and that means He can't see behind His head. Who's so stupid to say, God can't see behind His head, come on. God doesn't have hands and arms or fingers and toes or hair. This is all anthropoid. If He were a man, He would do this (flex His muscle) by the strength of His arm. But He's not a man! He's God, and He's spirit! Spirit is everywhere.

He talks about those, sitting on His right hand and His left hand... it's spiritual. He has no right hand and left hand. He means if He were like a king on the physical earth, those that sit on His right hand, would be of a greater elevated position, than those on His left. He's talking spirit, it's a spiritual analogy. God doesn't sit on a throne.

GOD IS EVERYWHERE! God is Spirit and God is invisible. Now that's what He is.  

There is one other major thing that God is, this invisible Spirit is agape - love, concerned for the welfare of His whole creation. That's us and the whole world.

Alright now God says, "And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard," (Micah 5:14).  

Well, it sounds like a man, that's so angry He is out of control, you know. No, but if you were to picture, as to God being a man, this is the way it is. But He is not a man and He's in total control of His emotions.

Now you say, 'God loves everybody the same.'

Rom 9:13  As it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

Now, there the Greek can mean to love less by comparison. But it's a quotation from Malachi 1:2, and in the Hebrew it means hated... get it?

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
v. 17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
v. 18  A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
v. 19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

"These six things does the Lord hate," and then it list a proud look and a lying tongue and so on. But then He says, "a false witness" and that's a person. A false witness is a person that speaks lies and he that sows discord among the brethren. Those are people that do that. But He doesn't hate, like we hate, because He doesn't have a carnal mind and we do. When we hate, we hate with our carnal mind. God has no carnal mind, so you can't draw the same analogy.

When I say I want to do something with the strength of my right hand, you know how limited that is. I can pick up one of these 5 gal. water bottles and that's about what I can pick up.

But when God says, I'm going to do something by the strength of His right hand, are we even in the same universe? No. Well, if you can see that, why can't you see it then, when He talks about things that appear to be human emotion like anger, My fury, wrath, and all of that.

So we have contrast here now. There are 2 verses that could be at variances with one another.

Esau I hated... I hate a false witness, I hate those who sow discord among the brethren. But "for God so loved the world," wait a minute does that include Esau? Does that include the false witness or the one that sowed discord among the brethren? I thought He just said He hated them, now He says He loves them. Is this a contradiction?

We're getting into some deep stuff here. So is that a contradiction, I hate Esau? I love him so much that I gave My own Son for him. What is that? Is that a contradiction? No, it's really not. But you do have to understand it.

[Craig]

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Love / page 2

We've stepped out of Sunday School now, and we're going to a little higher level. You can have this agapao love, for something you hate. What? Yes you can. Proof? God does. He hated Esau, He hates a false witness... He hates people. He doesn't just hate false witnesses, He hates a false witness, that's a person, you see.

The Christian world would have you believe, He loves the world sooo much. But the Concordance version has it right.

John 3:16  For thus God loves the world...

Not how much He loved the world, although it was a lot, but that is not what the word said. It does not say, for God loved the world so much, no. It says this is how He loved the world, that's what it means. He didn't so love the world, He thus loved the world, in this way and this manner. Now in what manner did He agape the world?

John 3:16 ...He gave His only begotten Son...

Okay. But if you say, God so loved the world, then you are insinuating He has phileo love for the world, right. That He has this affectionate, endearment of friendship with the world, because He so loved the world.  NO!

This is the manner He loved them, He loved them with this agapao love, which has the benefit and future of humanity at heart. Nowhere does it say, God phileo loves the world, or any sinner in the world, mark that. This is too deep for the world, they can't accept this, the same way they can't accept that God created evil and uses it often. But we have to deal with what scripture says or you might as well fall under the condemnation of the verses that says, "Because you despise this Word," (Isa 30:12; Jere 23:17), if you won't believe what it says.

Granted there is a couple of places that is not translated right, but not that many. That's why I use the KJV. Even though it has eternal punishment, and there is no such thing as eternal punishment, there is eonian chastisement, two totally different things. Eonian, age lasting chastisement or correction to make you better, is a whole lot different than torture the hell out of you, for all eternality, in fire. I mean these are not two same thoughts, they're totally antithesis towards one another.

So this is the manner in which God loves the world, with agapao love. A love that is undeserved, they're not reciprocating. Let me give you another example of agapao love, not phileo love. Agapao love is when they crucified Christ, and He was dying, He prayed to His Father and said;

Luke 23:34  Father forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.

Now that's agape love. Father these people are blind and deceived, oh they're fools, and they're hypocrites, blind fools as they called the Pharisees in Matt 23, none the less. Then as it was such a strong condemnation, on the one hand, on the other hand, He says Father forgive them. Is this a contradiction? No, it's not. It's the way God is and we need to be like God.

We can love our neighbor, with an agape love, we don't need to fellowship, hobnob with them or become part of what they are, in any way, shape or form. When God says, love your enemies... If it said you would have to phileo your enemies, then I would just have to take my 9 pages of notes here, tear them up, throw them away. Close the Bible and say, I have not a clue as to what this thing about love is, not a clue.

But I have checked it out for many, many hours now, and I understand that the Bible does not contradict in this area. God - Jesus Christ, never said you have heard, them of old say, you should hate your enemies. First of all, God never taught to hate your enemies. Well, where did they hear that of old? About five times in the book of Psalms, by David, who went to his death bed hating his enemies, telling his son to kill them and make it bloody. That was King David, not God. But people read the Psalms and so you heard it said. Yes, you did hear it said, but not of God.

But Christ said, but I say unto you, love your enemies - agapao your enemies. Can you love your enemies and hate them at the same time? You say, 'no you can't, that's a contradiction.' Well, let's think about that for a second. Could God hate Esau and love him a the same time? Not only could He, the Bible tells us that, and it shows that He did. He shows more favor to Jacob then He did for Esau. Yet you can find some pretty strong promises and blessings (even though He said I hate Esau), you can find blessings on Esau in the Bible I can show you them.

God said, I hate liars and people that cause discord and everything, yet I gave My own Son for the world. Why? Because I agapao them. God thinks beyond their couple of three score and ten years of hate and criminality. I look beyond that, and I see their future - agapao. Maybe we need to learn to do that too, if we're going to be like God... right?

We look at these guys cutting somebody's head off, with a rusty butcher knife and your going to say, oh I love them? That's almost perverted. I'm going to take some flack for this, don't get me wrong, people will say, 'oh Ray what is he teaching now.'

When you see these people screaming out of fear and terror, for their life. Now I haven't seen that, but they do show it on the internet. Michael Savage has it on his. You can watch them cut their heads off, and screaming and screaming while they cut their heads off. Now you tell me you want to run up and give those people a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and tell them how much you love them. Anyone - don't be intimidated, if you think so tell me. I know people who are so self-righteous, that they would say yes I would. If you would, you are perverted.

Can you look beyond what they are doing, and at how filthy, corrupt and evil they are, and see a time when that evil can be burnt out of them. They can be brothers in the kingdom of God. Can you do that through the spirit of God? I can, that's agape love.

When I see them, putting a young girl, who has her whole life ahead of her, and she knows week after week, they are going to cut her head off, with a rusty butcher knife. Just living in stark terror, and you say, I have such a warm feeling in my heart for those terrorists. I don't think so. Further more, God never tells us we have to phileo love them as a brother. As someone you would want to hug, go out to lunch with or do favors for or kiss them on the cheek.

By the way, this was a revelation to me. Do you know several places in the New Testament, where it says "kiss," it means kiss (a smacking sound with the lips). Well guess what that word is? It's the same word phileo.

Phileo not only means affectionate love and adoration, and fondness for fellow brothers or sisters, it means kiss. Because you kiss someone you're fond of, that's how close they are connected.

So God does not tell us, we have to phileo our enemies or that we have to phileo our next door neighbor.

Agapao is a more formal, it's not a give and take, two-way street. It's a one-way street, forgiving humanity for the evil that they have.

If Christ knew that no one would ever be righteous or good, guess what? He would not have died for them. When it says, "while we were yet sinners" (Rom 5:08), in our sins, committing sins... when we were in that condition, Jesus died for us, okay. Why? Because He knew we would not be in that condition forever. He's going to change us.

Hopefully these Bible studies help, change us. I have been changed over the years, I've got a long way to go yet. But I'm trying and I want to, that's where my heart is, but not there yet. But maybe making a little bit of progress, you know. But God does not tell us, we have to phileo the terrorist, okay. Does this paper help at all? Does it help your understanding?

Now I have this great scripture for you. I have shown you scriptures where God loves His Son, with a affectionate, huggy, kiss on the cheek, kind of love. Also with this formal, total one-way love, for your eternal destiny and well being, if you will. He loves us the same way, and Jesus loves John the same way, both, not just agapao, but phileo too, both ways, okay. Now I'm going to ask the  question... why?

Remember I gave you two definitions, and I said agapao is like a one-way street. The good Samaritan did not expect anything in return, for helping that man, who was dying on the side of the road, it's a one-way love.

But then I said, this phileo, this brotherly love, this affectionate love, this give you a kiss on the cheek love, this is like a two-way street. That the reason we have this love for a close friend or wife and children, is because they reciprocate. You hug them, they hug you back. You do a favor for them, they do a favor for you back. You help them, they help you, you feel sad, when they feel sad, they feel sad when you feel sad. That's why you get so close, you support each other, you love each other, you're physically in contact, you see. My daughter is 18, she still sits on my lap, there's nothing wrong with that.

But, so I told you that there is a scripture, that actually tells you that? That that's what phileo is, and that's why phileo love exist. Yes there is a scripture, this is a remarkable scripture.

John 16:27 For the Father Himself loves(phileo) you, because you loved Me and have believed that I came from God.

There it is!

Why does God love us, His elect? Because we loved Jesus Christ and to the Father that is the same as loving Him. Because no man has ever seen the Father or heard His voice at any time. But Jesus has made Himself known, in Spirit, in the Comforter and through His Word, you see.

So there's your phileo love and it's God's definition. God agape loves us, even if we spit in His face. But that's the reason He phileo loves us and He loves us and not the world. He does not, so phileo the world, it is not in there. He agape's the world and not phileo them.

The only places you will see God phileo anyone, is His Son and us, the Elect, no one else. Those who reciprocate, He loves us because He said (He is talking to His disciples now), My Father loves you and they didn't know that before. But He said, I am telling you, My Father loves you, and the reason is, "because you loved Me." I've given them Your Word, I've been teaching you, it's the same as the Father. The words that I speak, Christ said, they are the Father's (John 14:10). The things that I do, the works that I do, it's all the Father. You accepted and reciprocated and love Me for it, and that is why My Father loves you. There it is!

So we need to have this agape love for our neighbors. Maybe we don't like them, maybe they're not even good people, for our enemies, surely aren't good people, or there would not be a reason for them to be your enemy.

For the whole world, we have to have this agapao love. But no where does God say we have to phileo them, or love them with affection, like a brotherly love, where we would hug them or give them a kiss.

Jesus said you should not call a brother fool, did Jesus Christ ever call anyone a fool, another contradiction, right?

Mat 5:22  ...but whoever shall say to his brother, Fool! shall be liable to hell fire (judgment).

But wait I thought the Lord called the Pharisees fools, twice in chapter 22. Well, they weren't His brothers. How do we know they weren't His brothers? Because He was condemning them, because of their sins. But are they still His brothers? No.

Remember the occasion, where they said, your mother is looking for you, Lord?

Mat 12:46  While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
v. 47  Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
v. 48  But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
v. 49  And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
v. 50  For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

He said, who is My mother, and who's My brother, who so ever does the will of My Father, that's My mother and that's My brother.

Did the Pharisees do the will of His Father?  No.
Were they His brother?  No.
When He called them a fool, did He sin?  No.
Should we call a brother fool?  No, don't you call a brother fool.

Jesus said you are My friends - phileo, that means dear friends, actively fond of you. But He put a little disclaimer on there, if you do whatsoever I command you.

John 15:14  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

There's a song 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus.' Somebody read that scripture and wrote a song about it. Some of you might be thinking, 'if He's such a friend, why don't He help me out, like some of my friends would if they could? How come my friend Jesus, doesn't do that? How come He doesn't bail me out and how come He doesn't do more things for me? How come He doesn't make me feel better and get rid of this problem, if He's really my Friend, why doesn't He do that?

I have an answer for that, it came to me this morning. You know why He doesn't do that? Because He says we're His friends and He's our friends, and we say 'wait, somebody I consider a friend will do more for me than I think that Jesus does for me sometimes.' Don't think that way. Why? You know why.

"BECAUSE FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRIVE DRUNK."

That a spiritual statement. Because friends don't let friends drive drunk, most of the time. When we want what we want and when we want it and wonder why God doesn't give it to us. It's because we want to get spiritually drunk, and we want to drive in this world spiritually drunk and friends don't let friends drive drunk. Christ won't let you do what could kill you, spiritually. So there is a reason why you don't get everything you want, when you want it. There's even more.

We don't get it, because maybe it would be okay to have it, but He is building strength in His Saints, spiritual strength. Those that can do without and still love God for not having what they think they need, now what do we call that? We call that living by faith, see. If you get everything you need... everything you want... everything you desire... you don't have faith for anything.

It's when you don't see a way out of the spiritual prison that Christ has put you in. It's got a door with bars and windows with bars and there is no way out, you have got to pay the price (This is in my next installment, by the way, part D). There is no way out, you got to pay the utter most for it. You say, 'I don't even know what it is.' God knows! Christ puts you in prison sometimes. You have to live by faith, you have no choice but to live by faith. Either that or give up on God, and throw it all away and say 'I'm through with this living Godly stuff.'

You got to live by faith and hopefully that's what we're doing.