Daniel Denham
The final Christian grace that the apostle Peter enjoins to be added by the saint is the grace of love (Gr. agape). It is added to that of brotherly kindness (Gr., philadelphia). This entails a natural progression that Peter had already stressed in his first epistle when he wrote:
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever (1 Pet. 1:22-25, NKJV).
The word rendered “love of the brethren” is also Philadelphia (from phileo, “to love, be kind,” and adelphos, “brother”) in Greek. It is modified by the adjective anupokriton, “unfeigned, sincere.” In obeying the truth, the word of God (John 17:17), one is brought “into” (eis) this relationship with others of like obedience. This kind of “love” naturally arises from the relationship of being brethren itself. Just as brothers after the flesh naturally ought to have an affinity of kindness and comradery with one another, which tempers their behavior toward each other, even so Christians are to have the similar characteristic in their relationship to one another. They are the children of the same Lord and God (Rom. 8:14-17). This entails within itself an emotional tie as well as a spiritual one. Another form for this idea is philadelphos.
Agape takes the matter of their relationship to an even higher and nobler level. Christians are to progress and grow into this form of ‘love” and ultimately to “abound” in it (Phil. 1:9). Its verb form is agapao in 1 Peter 1:22 and elsewhere. We are to “walk in love” in our behavior toward one another (Eph. 5:1-2), in fact, in the same kind of love Christ demonstrated in His self-sacrifice for us. Paul shows this is consistent as well with being the children of God who desire earnestly to imitate our loving Father. For us truly to love God, there must be this love for our brother (1 John 4:7-5:3). It is also self-evident that this love for our brother is somewhat of a higher degree within the scope of the field of thought and activity contemplated by agape, as there has always been an obligation for every human being to have agape toward every other human being—to love our neighbors as ourselves, in short (Matt. 22:39; Rom. 13:8-9).
There are at least five key aspects involved in this higher—in fact, the highest— level of love. First, this love takes into consideration the intrinsic worth of the thing or persons who are to be loved. Human beings have an intrinsic value or worth that God has attached to their very existence. That value is found in the fact that humans are made “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:26-28; 9:5-7; Jam. 3:9; 1 John 4:20-21).
Second, while “brotherly love” or “brotherly kindness” arises from the natural relationship we sustain as brethren in Christ, and is therefore more emotionally based, agape is, in view of this consideration of the intrinsic value, predominately intellectually based. It does manifest itself ultimately in emotional connections and emotive terms, but it begins with an active operation of the mind—a choosing to love in and of itself based upon reason. It is a rational process. It is the kind of love that God has for the whole world in sending His only-begotten Son to die for our sins (John 3:16; 1 John 3:16). It is a free will act, and love evidences in itself that humans are more than just “matter in motion.”
Third, agape love implicitly takes into consideration what is also in the best interest of the object of that love. Again, this relates especially to the kind of love God has for us. He chose to act in our best interest, even when we were yet sinners and in complete rebellion (Rom. 5:6-11). Rather than simply destroying humanity, God chose to save those who would accept His gracious offer of forgiveness through and in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:14-21) by means of the Gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17), the Divine remedy to the problem of sin. Justice, holiness, and righteousness demanded the punishment of sin (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; et al.), but God’s mercy, pity, and consummate love made possible the remedy in the scheme of redemption He planned before the foundation of the world. It was rationally conceived in eternity and then executed in time and space (1 Peter 1:1-4; Eph. 3:1-21). This also entails even disciplinary action among brethren, due to the value of the souls involved—both the souls of brethren in sin requiring discipline and other brethren who may be unduly influenced by the sins of the former. Church discipline is perfectly consistent with the Christian grace of love. In the same epistle in which Paul commands the Thessalonian brethren to practice discipline is an epistle in which he also praises them for their abounding love toward one another (cf. 2 Thess. 1:3; 3:6). A similar parallel exists in Paul’s epistle to the Romans (cf. Rom. 13:8-10; 16:17).
Fourth, love does not retaliate in kind as to how one responds to the love that has been shown. By this, I mean that love does not resort to the same level of disrespect, disregard, and malice that the one rejecting the expression or outreach of love may show. Instead, it is offered despite that kind of behavior. This is the kind of love God has shown in the gift of His only-begotten Son, Jesus (John 3:16). Even while we were yet sinners, God sent Him to die for our sins (Rom. 5:8). Even when we were rebellious, stiff-necked, and hard-hearted, Jesus came to die for us. Also, God’s longsuffering nature is due to this quality of love (2 Peter 3:9). He restrains Himself from responding in kind for the greater purpose of redemption. However, we must be aware that His love is perfectly balanced with His justice and for the greater good of others will give way to His wrath at the appropriate season (2 Thess. 1:4-10).
Fifth, love also is by its nature reciprocal. It encourages love on the part of those to whom it is shown. Relative to God’s love for us, it encourages us to respond with love toward Him. In fact, “we love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). As a result, John declares that we in turn ought then to love one another. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). Meanwhile, as we respond in love by loving God in doing His will (Matt. 7:21-27; John 14:15, 21-23; 15:14; 1 John 5:3), God in turn also loves us because of the same. That is to say, He graciously returns that love yet again with greater blessings (Eph. 1:3; 2 Thess. 2:16) and also even in His acts of chastening (Heb. 12:6).
In closing our study, we should carefully read Paul’s inspired description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, while asking ourselves, do we manifest these characteristics? Our God, who is said twice to be “love” (1 John 4:8, 16), most certainly possesses each of them in absolute perfection. Love is an essential quality of His very nature. His love is involved in all that He thinks, plans, and does. It is His principal motivation. It is also to be ours (Eph. 4:15; Gal. 5:6). The concept of grace (Gr. charis), which is so misunderstood in the denominational world, is entailed in it. This latter term refers to His “loving kindness, unmerited favor.” It is His love in action augmented by His mercy balanced with His justice and holiness. How great indeed is our God! To Him be glory by the church forever and ever!
