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Question 3

David claims the phrase “love of Christ / love of God” is grammatically ambiguous in both English and Greek, and must be decided by context; where have you seen that ambiguity affect your own Bible reading, and what would change in your interpretive habits if you treated “love of God” as potentially meaning “our love for God” each time you encounter it?

Another way to ask: “Love of Christ/love of God” can mean either God’s love for us or our love for God—how has that confused or changed your Bible reading before? If you assumed it might mean “our love for God” each time, how would that change how you read and interpret those verses?

Direct Answer David’s point is that “love of God/Christ” can mean either God’s love for us or our love for God, and we must let the surrounding verses decide. If you adopted this habit, you would slow down and test your default assumptions, asking whether a passage is actually calling for obedience and faithful love rather than merely describing God’s affection.

Support from Transcript:

He says the phrases are “ambiguous expressions” and “can mean one of two things.”
He illustrates with “the love of my wife,” which could mean his love for her or her love for him.
He stresses this ambiguity exists “both the English and in the Greek,” so “the Greek says is ambiguous.”
His method: “look at the context…right before…right after that phrase.”
He reports a search: in NKJV the phrases appear “14 times,” split nearly evenly (7 our love, 6 God’s love, 1 unclear).
Examples: 1 John 5:2–3 (“this is the love of God that we keep His commandments”) = our love; 1 John 4:9 (“manifested toward us…sent His Son”) = God’s love.

Discussion Follow-ups When you read “love of God” in a familiar verse, what clues in the immediate context would force you to reconsider your first instinct?

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