Agape Love

"...make every effort to supplement...brotherly affection with love ('agape')...." 2 Peter 1: 5, 7

In the last devotional we looked at Brotherly Love. This week we will finish up Peter's list of Christian virtues in 2 Peter 1: 5-7 with an analysis of "agape" love.

While we might expect a definition of "agape" to encompass a deeply emotional, personal kind of love, the classical meaning of "agape" is based not on emotion, but on reason. It means a reasonable attachment, choice, and commitment to a worthy object. To the Greeks, it often meant the respect we show to a man's office or reputation. If that is the correct definition, then it is possible to love someone we don't like. Matthew describes this possibility in chapter 5 when he says, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."

Christian writers have attempted definitions of "agape," such as self-sacrificial love, selfless commitment to the well-being of another, the "love that consumes," or the "highest form of love." But these fall short. If we take the classical meaning, we have to say that "agape" love is based on seeing something greater or higher than a person himself: something that defines him and gives him worth outside himself. That means that love is a mandatory principle or reality (1 John 4: 20: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar." Love for the higher includes the lower.)

The "higher" is of course the love of God in the gospel. If God loves me and my brother, and we both love God, then I have no choice but to love my brother. Or to use gospel language, if you are chosen by the same God, washed in the same blood, and indwelt by the same Spirit, I must manifest the same love for you that God does for me. At an even deeper level, I must look past your faults and mine to what God intends us both to be. CS Lewis somewhere stated that if I could see a fellow Christian as he will be ten thousand years from now, I would be tempted to worship him. In light of the future, and the glory of God, our unwillingness to love one another is trite and meaningless.

In what directions does "agape" love manifest itself? The most obvious direction is our love for God (see Deuteronomy 6:5). That is because God is His own higher principle. God by His nature as Creator and Sovereign is worthy of love, not to mention His role as Redeemer. The unredeemed are incapable of this love; only those with changed hearts both make peace with God, and find that they love Him.

Another direction of "agape" is God's love for us. One hard question with which theologians have occupied themselves is whether or not God is in some sense obligated to love us. On one hand, we have to reject the idea that we are innately lovable. The Bible portrays us as depraved rebels under God's just condemnation. Any love that God shows us is unmerited and gracious.

On the other hand, Genesis 1:26 teaches that we are made in God's image. That passage, taken with Colossians 1:15, defines that image as the Son of God Himself. The Son is the model that God used when He created humanity. While God does not necessarily have a stake in us as beings, He does have a stake in the Son whom He loves, and no doubt desires to renew the broken and marred image of that which He loves most.

The fact that we are in the image of God (the Son) affects our love for one another, and beyond that, compels us to love the unbeliever. Even though sin has distorted the image of God, it is the source of value in every human being and calls for our respect and love. God's image in that case is the "higher principle."

This is the last in a series I've done for devotionals at work. Hope they've been helpful. At present I'm working on a book on spiritual discernment with David Keyser that's taking up a lot of time, so I may be scarce for a while, at least in blogdom. More later. -Rick

Brotherly Affection

"Make every effort to supplement...godliness with brotherly affection...." -2 Peter 1:7

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." -Romans 12: 9-10

The term "brotherly affection" is a combination of two Greek words. One is "phileo," which comes from the word for "friend," and means love at a friendship level. The other is "adelphos," meaning simply, "brother." Together they form the Greek word "philadelphia." When William Penn named the city he founded in Pennsylvania, he hoped it would always manifest that attribute.

"Philadelphia" therefore means brotherly, friendly, familial affection. This is the kind of love that the sisters of Lazarus had in mind when they sent word to Jesus, "Lord he whom you love is ill." The term is often used as the love the Father has for the Son (John 5:20), but is rarely used of the Father's love for us (see Revelation 3:19). We are never commanded to love God with "phileo," with one exception (1 Corinthians 16:22). "Agape" is the preferred New Testament word for love between God and man (we will look at that later).

"Philadelphia," as CS Lewis pointed out, is usually based on a common interest. In the Christian church, the togetherness of brotherly love centers around worship, prayer, study, and caring for one another's hurts and joys. It presupposes transparency and openness to one another with a degree of honesty--with Christ Himself as the focus that holds us together.

Brotherly love is most often warm, cozy, and familiar. It seeks out those who hold things in common with us, and is intensely comfortable. As an aside, we need to remember that there is a higher love, one that dies for the unlovely and cares for the uncomfortable--but I am spilling over into a discussion of "agape."

As I have been doing, let's ask how this virtue affects the one before. What would godliness be without brotherly love? This is a very important question, because at this point in Peter's list of virtues, a shift occurs. Up till now the virtues are inner, personal, and subjective. Godliness can exist in an isolated Christian heart. But with brotherly love, the emphasis becomes corporate. Brotherly love cannot exist outside a broader community. So simply put, godliness without brotherly love would remain a subjective matter that could not express the life of God outside self.

What about the reverse? What happens when a Christian attempts brotherly love without first learning godliness (humility)? Obviously, such a Christian enjoys the affection of others without the capacity to return it, and remains self-centered. He can enjoy the warm fuzzies of fellowship, but isn't equipped to deal with the situation if love is challenged or disturbed.

Next: Agape love.