Exegetical Meaning

Agapē is love in its deepest and most meaningful sense—not the warm, fuzzy feeling of affection, but a deliberate commitment to care for someone's wellbeing, even when it costs you something. It's the kind of love that chooses to act in someone's best interest regardless of whether they deserve it or whether you feel like it in the moment. This word appears throughout the New Testament as the supreme virtue that God calls His people to practice, especially toward one another and toward enemies who oppose them. In Scripture, agapē describes God's fundamental nature and His costly sacrifice for humanity. It's the love that Jesus demonstrated by laying down His life for people who rejected Him. When Paul writes that "love covers a multitude of sins" or when Jesus commands His followers to "love your enemies," he's using this word to point toward something far greater than emotions—a sacrificial, forgiving, other-centered commitment. The word carries the idea of valuing someone as precious and worthwhile, and then acting on that valuation through kindness, patience, and genuine concern. English translations render agapē as "love," "charity," or sometimes "affection," though none of these fully captures its rich meaning. First John 4:8, which simply states "God is love," reveals the heart of this word: agapē isn't something God sometimes does—it's who He fundamentally is.

Origin

Root form

English Glosses

Canon Usage

Context Themes

• God's Essential Nature
• Redemptive Love in Action
• Love as the Supreme Ethic

Exegetical Meaning

kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty | Etymology: from H2616 (חָסַד); | KJV: favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

Origin

Root form

English Glosses

Canon Usage

Context Themes

• Covenant Love Celebrated
• Covenant Love as Anchor in Suffering
• Covenant Love as Ethical Demand