"Agape"

Some pictures: Experimental Shoots

Greek word agape

a. Seldom used in secular Greek literature
b. When used referred to selective desire for something or someone.
c. Greek OT (LXX) used over 300 times to refer to God's selective and exclusive love for
Israelite people.
d. Predominant word for love in new covenant (over 250 occurrences in NT). Invested
with new meaning.
e. Representative Biblical references employing agape
Matt. 5:43,44 - "love your enemies"
Matt. 22:36-40 - "great commandment...love God..."
Jn. 3:16 - "God so loved the world He gave His only Son"
Jn. 13:34; 15:12 - "new commandment...love one another.."
Jn. 17:26 - "love wherewith Thou loved Me may be in them"
Rom. 5:5 - "love of God poured out within our hearts"
Rom. 13:10 - "love is the fulfillment of the law"
I Cor 13:1-13 - "...the greatest of these is love"
II Cor. 5:14 - "the love of Christ controls us"
Gal. 5:6 - "faith working through love"
Gal. 5:22 - "fruit of the Spirit is love..."
I Jn. 4:7 - "everyone who loves is born of God"

Divine basis of love

A. Character of God - "God is love" - I Jn. 4:8,16
1. Essentially
a. Absolute and independent, unnecessitated
b. immutable and uncompromising
c. personal, relational, fundamental to triune Godhead
d. Self-giving; other-oriented; desires the best for all others, and the best is Himself.
2. Comprehensively
a. All-encompassing expression of God's character
Rom. 13:9 - "summed up in 'you shall love your neighbor'"
Gal. 5:14 - "whole law summed up in 'love your neighbor'"
James 2:8 - "royal law...'you shall love your neighbor'"
b. Other attributes of God's character expressed in love
Exod. 20 - honor, respect, truth, loyalty, fidelity,...
I Cor 13 - patience, kindness, truth, eternality
Gal. 5:22 - joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness...