“does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;”
Paul now turns to the positive characteristics of love after listing eight negative characteristics.
but rejoices in the truth;
The word “rejoices in” literally means rejoices with. Love sympathizes with the truth of the Bible and stirs a greater appetite for it and for fellowship with it. This rejoicing in the truth is more than assent to the truth but is fellowship with the truth; it is glad when truth prevails. Love rejoices in the successes of others. It delights in those who experience spiritual victory after spiritual failure.
PRINCIPLE:
We cannot separate love and truth in a biblical worldview.
APPLICATION:
Love rejoices in the spiritual triumph of others. It reports this to the Christian community. Mature love rejoices when the truth of God’s Word spreads around the world. It rejoices when people appropriate the principles of God’s Word to experience. Love goes beyond maudlin, saccharine love; it takes joy when love connects to the truth. Some say, “I don’t care whether we agree in doctrine; the great issue is whether I love them.” However, if we genuinely love people, we will also care about what they believe. It makes a tremendous difference in terms of heaven and hell whether they believe in the finished work of Christ. Love is not consistent with conciliation and accommodation to false doctrine. We do not truly love others when we compromise truth. We cannot divide love and truth into separate entities, as if there were no correlation between them. Love provides a greater appetite and capacity for the welfare of others.
Love listens to the truth about oneself. It is willing to take the pain of how God or others view us.
Hello Dr. Richison,
I was wondering about the context of this verse in relation to a particular personal issue I am dealing with right now. I don’t want to use any verse out of context and want to speak truthfully to a person I care deeply about. With this case, I have offered to share truth about a series of events that lead to the break in a pre-marital relationship. The friend I wish to share this with is a Christian, is still in semi-regular contact with me, and has on most of the occasions where we meet face-to-face continued to tell me that they love me. I want to believe these words, however, when I asked to share with them the history of our relationship, the good and the bad, as well as wanting to show them that progress is being made to amend the bad parts, they simply refuse to let me talk through it with them. Ultimately, it boils down to two questions: 1) Am I wrong for trying to explain what I honestly believe to be the truth of our now broken relationship; am I being unloving in trying to pursue reconciliation through this truth? 2) Are their claims of love not true due to the fact that they resist listening to the truth I wish to convey to them? I am not seeking a way to hit them over the head to say they are wrong. I desperately love and care for this person and wish only to reconcile the relationship. I just want to know if this verse speaks into this situation or not as I look for ways to reconnect with them.
Dustin, the context of this verse certainty is appropriate for your situation. However, from a practical perspective, there are people who refuse to deal with their situation. If a person is like this is in pre-marital counseling, they will be worse in marriage. I do not know if the person you are dealing with is like this, but if they are, I would be wary of marrying them. The sign of a healthy or mature person is that they can be honest with others and themselves. When someone asserts love but does not evidence it, then we might question whether it is true love but simply an emotional assertion, or, they are trying to make us feel better. Avoidance in communication is a sign of immaturity.
Having made the assertions of the previous paragraph, I do not know the actual situation but only the information you provide.
Your comments go right with what I have been studying concerning this verse. I was praying and asking God to help me love him more and this verse came to mind. I realized that it does NOT say that “love rejoices not over a lie” but “over iniquity”. It is true that a lie is sin, but, the writer refers to ALL sin here.
According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon provides this definition for the word truth in this verse: “sincerity of mind and integrity of character, or a mode of life in harmony with divine truth”.
A mode of life in harmony with divine truth. We rejoice when someone’s way of life is in harmony with God’s truth.
Great little blog post. Thank you for letting me add my two cents worth.
God Bless.