“Every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit” (Mt. 7:17).
If I am in Christ and Christ is in me, then my life should be characterized by the fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. The first on the list is love. In Webster’s Dictionary, the primary definition of love is “a powerful emotion felt for another person manifesting itself in deep affection, devotion or sexual desire.” If this is what is meant by love then I could say right now that I, a newly-wed, am filled with the Spirit! However, having been raised in a Christian home I know “love” in the Bible means more than is given in Webster’s.
Turning to the Scriptures, the first thing I did was verify that the Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 for “love” was agapeo (the verb form of the noun agape). Then compiling a list of every verse that contains those two forms of agape, I began looking at each verse to see if I could come to an understanding of the word based on how it was used.
The first on the list is Matthew 5:43-44, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, agape your enemies…” Here I learn agape is not always involuntary: one can choose to agape. Subsequent verses tell me that our Lord intends for agape to include blessing those that curse me, doing good to those who hate me, and praying for those who spitefully use and persecute me. He wants the agape of my life to be more than just loving those who love me (v. 46).
The next passage is Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and agape the other; or else he will [be loyal] to the one, and despise the other.” Here agape is used in conjunction with being loyal. Hence, the meaning of agape is tied to the idea of hold fast, cling to, be unwavering; this is outside the realm of fleeting emotions.
Agape is sometimes the result of a preceding action. Regarding the woman who was a sinner, Jesus declared to Simon it was evident that “her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much” (Lk. 7:47). Her great agape came as a direct result of her appreciation of the forgiveness of her sins.
As a side note, agape is sometimes used to describe love towards an object (instead of towards a person). Two examples are: when Jesus denounced the Pharisees for their agape of the uppermost seats in synagogues (Lk. 11:43), and in the command to love not the world (1 Jn. 2:15).
According to 1 Corinthians 13, agape is the love which suffers long, is kind, does not envy, does not parade itself, is not arrogant; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. In other words, agape is a love which regards the welfare of another more highly than one’s own welfare, enduring through all circumstances.
In summary, agape is the type of love that seeks out the benefit of the object, disregarding the cost to the one showing love. There is a sense of enduring and commitment, of being unaffected by adverse circumstances and negative evidence. Additionally, an exercise of the will is involved, a choosing to love. It tends to be love shown by actions rather than by displays of affection (the latter would be phileo love).
From the Old Testament there is an example of such love in the lives of David and Jonathan. On one occasion it is manifested when Jonathan risked his own life by standing up to his father on David’s behalf (1 Sam. 20). On another occasion King David determined to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake (2 Sam. 9) and brought Mephibosheth into his house. Each instance shows a devotion to another that disregards self-interest.
Let me leave you with three more uses of agape which display a love that is more than I can comprehend.
First, there is the great love of God towards us, for “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world…” (1 Jn. 4:9). Though it would mean the pouring out of all the judgment for all sin upon His only begotten Son—the Son in whom He delighted—yet God sent Him into the world. Behold what manner of agape the Father has bestowed on us!
Next, the love of the Son for the Father was shown as He went to the garden of Gethsemane. He said, “That the world may know that I love the Father, as He commanded Me, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence” (Jn. 14:3). The judgment for our sin was so terrible that the mere anticipation of the anguish He would suffer caused Him to sweat “as it were great drops of blood.” Disregarding Himself, He accomplished the will of the Father whom He loved.
Leaving the joy and glory of heaven, He came to a world opposite and opposed to the glories of His Father, to a planet of people filled with the ugliness and stench of sin. His love for us is great, for He came to take all our guilt and judgment upon Himself. Likewise, the fruit of the Spirit in my life should result in me “walking in love, as Christ also hath loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God…” (Eph. 5:2).
How is it possible for such a fruit to come out in my life? I find that if I abide in Him, this agape will be manifest in my life, for He is love; and “he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:16).
Written by Caleb Bulow