One of the ambiguities found in modern translations is the term love of God or Christ or Truth or Father. Sometimes from the context the phrase appears to indicate our love for God, and at other times it appears to indicate Divine love for us. The grammar appears to be vague such that the scholars are divided as to what was intended.
Simply put the agape love in view is the kind of love that God has and we are to strive to emulate.
When the text clearly indicates God's all powerful love is in view, i.e. Romans 8:35, 8:39 and 15:30 the phrase appears with each word in the genitive case. Thus many translations render the phrase Christ's love or God's love but Spirit's love for us is not found. This is due possibly because acceptance of the dictates of that construction are not widely accepted.
However, when the head noun, i.e. love, is in the nominative or accusative case and the next two words (of the and God or Christ or Truth or Father) are in the genitive case, scholars render the same phrase as either God's love or our love for God. Other translations stick with love of God because the phrase is ambiguous and can be interpreted either way.
Rather than translate these phrases ambiguously (love of God) or either as God's love or our love for God, I think the phase should be translated "God's kind of love." Thus if the context points toward God's love for us, the phase can be interpreted that way, and if the context points toward how we should love God or others, God's kind of love works well.
Luke 11:42
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Here the idea seems to be "God's kind of love" because they neglected to treat others with justice and unconditional love.
John 5:42
but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
Here again those that rejected Christ did not have God's kind of sacrificial love within them, rather they chose to stand pat with their unenlightened understanding of both the writings of Moses and Christ's very words.
Simply put the agape love in view is the kind of love that God has and we are to strive to emulate.
When the text clearly indicates God's all powerful love is in view, i.e. Romans 8:35, 8:39 and 15:30 the phrase appears with each word in the genitive case. Thus many translations render the phrase Christ's love or God's love but Spirit's love for us is not found. This is due possibly because acceptance of the dictates of that construction are not widely accepted.
However, when the head noun, i.e. love, is in the nominative or accusative case and the next two words (of the and God or Christ or Truth or Father) are in the genitive case, scholars render the same phrase as either God's love or our love for God. Other translations stick with love of God because the phrase is ambiguous and can be interpreted either way.
Rather than translate these phrases ambiguously (love of God) or either as God's love or our love for God, I think the phase should be translated "God's kind of love." Thus if the context points toward God's love for us, the phase can be interpreted that way, and if the context points toward how we should love God or others, God's kind of love works well.
Luke 11:42
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every kind of garden herb, and yet you neglect justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Here the idea seems to be "God's kind of love" because they neglected to treat others with justice and unconditional love.
John 5:42
but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
Here again those that rejected Christ did not have God's kind of sacrificial love within them, rather they chose to stand pat with their unenlightened understanding of both the writings of Moses and Christ's very words.