Many of you have heard of agape love. Agape is love, benevolence, good will, or esteem. (Strong’s Concordance) Agape is self-sacrificing love, unconditional love. It’s a kind of love that we can show to others because of God working in our lives. It’s God’s love. How else could we love our enemies? How can we show love to people who annoy us or are rude to us or want nothing to do with us?
Some translations use charity often instead of love. Charity is Christian love. It’s a benevolent feeling, especially towards those in need. It can be generous actions or donations to the poor. It can mean leniency in judging others or forbearance. (Dictionary.com) People can give to charity without having the kind of charity or love that Paul is talking about here.
1 Corinthians 13 tells us about this agape love. It is known as the love chapter. People read it at weddings. You’ll find it on pretty pictures and cards. Maybe you’ve heard it so many times you don’t even pay attention to the words. Read slow and think about it.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Do I have this kind of love?
Am I patient?
Am I kind?
Do I envy?
Do I boast?
Am I proud?
Do I dishonor others?
Am I self-seeking?
Am I easily angered?
Do I keep a record of wrongs?
I pray to God that I do not delight in evil. May I always rejoice with the truth.
God help me to always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere. Only through God could we never fail.
Thankfully, God sent His Spirit to help us. The first fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 is love, agape love. Not a friendship love or a sensual love, but the love of God that we might love God and others the way that God loves us.
Romans 8:38-39 NASB For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 6:4-7 ESV but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God…
Ephesians 3:19 KJV And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
1 John 3:16 NIV This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 4:18 NIV There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Other verses:
Matthew 24:12
John 13:35,15:9, 15:12-13
1 Corinthians 16:14
Ephesians 4:15-16, 5:2
Philippians 1:9, 2:1-2
Colossians 2:2, 3:14
1 Thessalonians 1:3, 3:12, 5:8
2 Thessalonians 3:5
1 Timothy 6:11
2 Timothy 2:22, 3:10
Titus 2:2
1 John 2:15, 4:7-12, 4:16-18
The G/K number for agape is 27.
The Strong’s number for agape is 26.
