AGAPE: FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
W. Carl Ketcherside

“The Greeks had a word for it.” This statement which has become proverbial indicates the wealth invested in the original vocabulary of the Greeks. Language is a medium of exchange and words are its currency. Since words are the symbols of ideas it is obvious that those who possess the richest deposit of words will be best adapted to the transmission of thought. The Greeks affect our culture today not alone because they had great ideas and ideals. They also had the vehicles by which to transport them to the realm of reality and to afford them to succeeding generations. Of all the languages adopted and adapted by mankind since God confused human tongues none other can compare with the Hellenistic in its fluency and fluidity.

An outstanding feature of the Greek language was its ability to indicate subtle shades of difference in meaning. Whereas other languages might be staid and conventional, the Greek was living and vibrant. In descriptive power it was unexcelled. Even today, in spite of our own acquisition of words from many sources we find it difficult sometimes to capture the essence of a Greek word and translate it into our own tongue.

It is admitted that ideas are stimulated by words even as words are the outward expression of ideas, but where an idea never enters the human mind by rational processes, no word can be coined or adopted to express it. Such an idea may exist in the mind of God and never be attained to by man because the infinite intelligence is unlimited whereas the human intelligence is restricted. The ways of God and the thoughts of God are not the ways and thoughts of men. They are higher than these are as the heavens are higher than the earth. An infinite thought requires revelation in order to be placed upon a plane accessible to human understanding. By sheer exercise of reason the Greek philosophers pierced the veil of understanding and grasped the significance of the universe in which men dwell. Things tangible and intangible yielded up their secrets before the prying questions of men like Socrates and the investigative research of those like Aristotle. But there was one area in which their brilliant intellects failed to grasp the infinite and their eloquence proved to be wholly inadequate of expression.

“Love is of God.” This statement in 1 John 4:7 accepted so nonchalantly by those of us who live this side of the cross was clearly beyond the grasp of the ancients. Certainly they knew much about love and a great deal about God, but the relationship between the two was never understood until it was revealed. That revelation came not in mere words as a system of doctrine for this love cannot be wholly confined to speech. “Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.” “God is love.” God is a person. If God is love then love is personal. This is different than saying that a person is love, for many persons are not loving or lovable. God is love but love is not God.

Because love is personal the highest manifestation of love is in the form of a person. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world” (1 John 4:9). We must not overlook the significance of the term “love was made manifest.” It is not merely that love, in the abstract, was manifested to us, or toward us. It was made manifest among us. It became embodied, personal and visible. It could be heard, seen with the eyes and handled with the hands.

The Greeks personified many of their qualities, temperaments and virtues. They had their “Three Fates”—Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. They had their “Three Graces”—Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia. But they perceived of their gods and goddesses as merely presiding over certain aspects of existence. Hera was the goddess of marriage; Aphrodite was the goddess of love. Their sculptors, drawing upon imagination, sought to reproduce in stone an image of the words they had developed. It remained for the living God to make manifest in the flesh that quality which is said to be greater than faith or hope. “The Word was made flesh and lived among us.” It is no wonder the classical writers had no word for this love because they had no idea of it. It was a new dimension in human understanding. It was a love that passed, or surpassed, human knowledge.

It is not at all a waste of time to discuss the terms for love in use among the Greeks and to differentiate between the attributes to which they gave vocal expression. The first we may mention is philia, or its verb form phileo. This had to do with a tender affection, a deep reverence or respect. It represents a longing based upon emotion and growing out of a need to recognize and be recognized. It is the term for the relationship among friends, for those who are close and intimate. Phileo is three times rendered “kiss” and every time in connection with the kiss of betrayal bestowed by Judas upon Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:48; Mark 14:44; Luke 22:47).

This is the word used by the disciples with reference to the relation of Jesus to Lazarus. “Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick” (John 11:3). It is also the word used by the Jews at the tomb of Lazarus when Jesus wept. “Behold, how he loved him.” It is the word employed for those who “love to pray standing in the synagogues” (Matt. 6:5); for those who “love greetings in the markets” (Luke 20:46); and who “love the prominent seats at the feasts” (Matt. 23:6). It is obvious that men have deep yearnings for other things than friendship, or is this a longing for the friendship of the world?

Those who are interested in word derivation and construction find this one a fruitful source of interest because of its combinations. The most familiar, of course, is in the word philadelphia, brotherly love, where it is combined with adelphos, the word for brother. There is the word philarguros, in which it is combined with arguros, silver. This word is rendered “love of money” in 1 Timothy 6:10. Another interesting combination is with agathos, good, so that philagathos is translated “a lover of good” in Titus 1:8. We must not forget another interesting combination in philautos, translated “lovers of their own selves” in 2 Timothy 3:2.

THE GREEK “EROS”

Another word familiar to the Greeks was eros. In the classics this was the term employed to designate the amorous relations between the sexes. It became the term to express the passionate feeling demonstrated in sensuality and has come down to us in the word erotic, which is defined, “Of, relating to, or treating of sexual love, amatory.” This word is never used in the new covenant scriptures in any of its forms, a fact about which Archbishop Trench, in his “Synonyms of the New Testament” comments as follows: “Their absence is significant. It is in part no doubt to be explained from the fact that, by the corrupt use of the word, they had become so steeped in sensual passion, carried such an atmosphere of unholiness about them, that the truth of God abstained from the defiling contact with them, yea, devised a new word rather than betake itself of one of these.”

The new word to which Trench alludes is agape but it is possible that his conclusion with regard to the motive involved in avoidance of the use of eros is not wholly justifiable in light of the real facts. Testimony commonly quoted in support of the viewpoint is generally traceable back to Trench’s thesis, and is derivative and dependent, rather than original. This only serves to show how popular and widespread was the influence of the book on synonyms which was first published at Cambridge in 1854. The religious scholarship of the world is always in debt to one who does such monumental research. Frequently, however, it is accepted as the final word on a subject and tends to stifle and discourage further investigation.

In our own day a great deal of study has been done on the relationship of eros and agape and the contrast between the two concepts which they represent. This renewed concern has been intensified by publication of a book which is considered to be one of the most important theological works of the twentieth century, Agape and Eros, by Anders Nygren. The author was ordained to the ministry of the Church of Sweden at the age of twenty-one and is now Bishop of Lund. As a result of his thesis there has been a stimulation of thought with reference to love within the Christian framework. This is especially true with the Scandinavian school of thought represented by such scholars as Anton Fridrichsen, Nils Johanson, Erik Sjoberg, et. al.

It is not essential to our presentation that we critically examine the difference between eros and agape. Enough works devoted to this theme are now available to the English reader that we could contribute nothing new or original. Our interest is not primarily in a word never used by the Holy Spirit but in one employed repeatedly by the divine agent of revelation. Suffice it to say, then, that eros is a love evoked or motivated by the beauty and worth of its object. Agape is spontaneous and unmotivated. Eros recognizes the value in its object and loves it; agape loves its object and creates the value within it. It has been pointed out by Nygren that eros represents an upward movement. It is man’s way to God. Agape bends down and stoops to share our human lot. It is God’s way to man.

DEFINITION OF AGAPE

It seems to me that in our struggle for efficiency in communication we frequently become victims of our own definitive process. We are so concerned to have an agreed upon standard for the meaning of our word symbols that we allow the dictionary to become our jailer as well as our judge. It serves not only to refine but also to confine our thinking. It is a false assumption that every great ideal is fully definable in human terms. Just as there are some things which cannot be purchased for money, our medium of exchange in the economic realm, so there are some things that cannot be secured by words, the medium of exchange in the rational domain. One such concept is agape. My own definition is admittedly feeble and weak. My only comfort lies in the fact that a definition provided by any other would also be inadequate.

Agape is “the energetic and beneficent good will which stops at nothing to serve the good of the beloved object.” I have frequently broken this down into its components in an endeavor to distill from it everything that is extraneous and redundant. As it now stands it represents my own frail and feeble mental approach to a concept so vast that it is beyond complete description or definition. I ask your own analytical scrutiny of it that you may see how I view the word agape and why I say that it is the very foundation of all koinonia, fellowship, in God and with man. To the extent that we understand the implications of agape our fellowship is strengthened and abounds. To the degree that we do not grasp it our fellowship must languish.

First, observe the word “will”. Other words for love represent an act of affection, but agape is an act of achievement in the individual through the Spirit. It is not the expression of an emotion but the adoption of a principle by which to live. As respects agape one does not fall in love, he deliberately stoops to share. There is a difference between falling when you cannot help it and bending down purposely to help another. This accounts for the fact that love can be commanded. “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:17). The emotions cannot be commanded and an overt demonstration of them under compulsion would be mere pretense or hypocrisy. But that which is an act of will is subject to command.

By the same token the degree or intensity of that which results from exercise of will can be regulated by that will. Thus a command can be issued to increase the demonstration of love. “But as touching brotherly love (philadelphia) ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love (agapao) one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more” (1 Thess. 4:9-10). Thus, the apostle can write, “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you the less I be loved” (2 Cor. 12:15).

Next, observe that agape is always and unvaryingly good will. In that wonderful description of its attributes and characteristics given by the apostle in 1 Corinthians 13, he specifically says, “It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails” (J. B. Phillips translation). It is not selfish or egocentric. It does not seek for revenge or justification because its mere possession is its own justification. Like wisdom, it is justified by its own fruit or offspring.

It is beneficent good will. For this reason it can be extended even to one’s enemies. It differs from philia which is affection for the pleasing, and eros which is passion for the beautiful and attractive. Agape is the ability to love those whom you cannot like. We like those of the same temperament, disposition and nature as ourselves, that is, we like those who are like ourselves. But the spirit of agape enables us to exert a beneficent goodwill, born of real concern, toward those who are unlike us and even antagonistic toward us. “God is agape,” Therefore, God could love the world, and so love it as to give his Son. “But Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, and that is God’s own proof of his love (agape) toward us” (Romans 5:8). It was “when we were God’s enemies we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (verse 10).

Just as God proved his agape by what he did for us while we were his enemies so we prove that we are his children in the same fashion. “But you must love (agapao) your enemies and do good; and lend without expecting any return; and you will have a rich reward: you will be sons of the Most High, because he himself is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate” (Luke 6:35-36). To the extent that we stop and question what we will get out of it our actions are motivated by eros. Agape is spontaneous and unmotivated. The love which is bestowed in order to receive response is prompted more by the need of the giver than that of the receiver. It is not a benefaction but an investment.

We have defined agape as being energetic as well as beneficent. This is important to a grasp of the nature of this love. “Energy” is a combined form of the Greek en, in, and ergon, work. It relates to that force which operates in and through a thing because it is inherent in it. Agape is not a force acted upon but a power which acts upon. It is creative while self-effacing. In a happy translation of 1 Corinthians 13:4, J. B. Phillips has caught this thought. “The love of which I speak is slow to lose patience — it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive; it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.” Agape is creative. It is a fruit of the Spirit and the Spirit is what brought order out of chaos in the primeval world. The Spirit performs the same function relative to the problems of the new creation.

AGAPE IN EPHESIANS

The relationship of agape to the fellowship can best be understood by an examination of its use in the letter to the Ephesians, that great epistle of togetherness. In Ephesians 1:5-6 it is affirmed that “He destined us in love (agape) to be his sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will.” Fellowship is based upon sonship, fraternity is based upon paternity. This is not a mere afterthought of God. It is our destiny because it was his purpose and his will. God’s purpose is a unity plan and it is universal in scope. “For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (1:9-10).

This plan began by a magnificent work of grace in which man was reconciled unto God. Grace is extended not to the worthy but to the unworthy. It is always undeserved kindness. In this instance it was bestowed upon those who were sons of disobedience and children of wrath. It was those destined to punishment whom God destined to be his sons. In order to achieve this through Jesus Christ it was necessary that these be made alive together with Christ. This transformation which resulted in a new creation was an outgrowth of agape. “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love (agape) with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-6).

Ponder well the threefold use of the word “with” in this one sentence. The great agape of God made us alive together with Christ, raised us up together with him, made us sit together with him. Here is divine agape functioning in three ways — resurrection, elevation and participation — with Christ Jesus. The plan to unite all things in him actually began by uniting things in heaven and things on earth. Alienation gave way to adoption, antagonism to acceptance.

The next step in the plan was to bring together those forces on earth which God recognized as existing in a state of segregation by reason of the barriers which had been erected between them. The entire world of mankind was divided into two classes by a fleshly rite. They constituted the circumcision and the uncircumcision. So great was the gulf between them that the former were regarded as those who were near while others were spoken of as those who were far off. Unless agape could resolve the problems of separation in this case it must ultimately suffer defeat. If it could bring these two divergent segments together it would demonstrate a power sufficient to batter down all obstacles to unity in all ages.

The motivating factor for oneness in Ephesus was the agape of Christ which was expressed by giving, offering and sacrifice. “And walk in love (agape) as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (5:2). The Cross of Calvary represents the ultimate in agape. It is the apex of love, the peak which towers above all others on the horizon of the heart. Even those who were far off could see it and come to it. In our western mountains there is a range which bears the name of Sangre de Christo — blood of Christ. The setting sun turns the snow-capped peaks to crimson and makes it appear that they are splotched with blood. The Spanish padres accompanying the explorers designated these jagged heights with a significant title. We are reminded of the statement in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.”

Our peace is not a precept or a program, but a person. In him all dividing walls are dissolved, all hostility is halted. Unity is his creation and not an achievement of men. Men may keep or guard it but they cannot make it. The divine purpose is opposed to division and disunity. God is not the author of confusion but of peace. Wherever there are two divergent elements or factions it is the will of God that they merge into one. This was demonstrated from the very outset of Christianity. It was shown to be the ideal and the aim of God to make “one new man in place of two.” This purpose has never been altered. “For he is our peace who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace.”

Note the expression “so making peace.” It shows us the method of working under the “plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him.” That method did not ignore the presence of the dividing wall of hostility. It did not pretend that the wall was imaginary or inconsequential. Instead it recognized that the wall was very real. But it did not demand that one group go around or climb over the wall and thus unite with the other on their grounds. It did not so much move the people as it removed the wall. The wall of hostility was broken down and when it was removed the people were together and the hostility was at an end.

Instead of fusing the two together he infused them both into himself. He instigated a fusion by eliminating confusion. He recovered for both of them a sense of their destiny, he restored to them a recognition of their real purpose. Love was not limited to the group on one side or the other of the dividing wall. Instead it made the wall which was once opaque become transparent and agape created a value in its object. Its object was shown to be mankind and not a particular kind of man. The cross which was a magnet for the good and honest hearts became a battering ram for the wall. The wall was broken down as hearts were broken up. Jews and Gentiles were not forced to submit to the power of God but to surrender to the love of God. The power was exerted against the dividing wall, the love permeated the hearts of the separated ones. He reconciled both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing hostility to an end (2:16).

We can learn much from God’s method which will enable us to deal with our own tragic division in this generation. Jesus came to batter down walls, we have existed to build walls and claim to do so in his name and by his authority. He came to unite men, we have used his message to divide them. Jesus came to a divided world composed of hostile and warring forces. How did he proceed in order to weld them into one body? The answer is very simple. “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Eph. 2:17). He came and preached! This is the method prescribed by agape! Conditions are to be alleviated by proclamation. It is the divine provision for overcoming division!

But you may argue that it is preaching which has caused our divided state. That is true but we must not overlook the difference in content between our messages and that of Jesus. He preached peace to create one body, we have preached the one body he created to pieces. We have been more concerned with building up walls than with building up saints. We have lost “the cross purpose” in life and have come to be at cross purposes with each other. Instead of bringing hostility to an end we have fed the flames. We have consumed one another instead of confirming one another in the faith. We will never remove our modern walls until we see and love as brethren those who are on both sides of them.

Jesus preached the same thing to those on both sides of the wall — peace! So long as there is schism in the fabric of brotherhood we are all in schism. In our currently divided state there is no such thing as one party being the loyal church or the faithful church. Those who sit down in complacency and comfort, regarding themselves as the chosen people in the exclusion of the rest of the scattered flock only exhibit their sectarianism and party spirit. Their isolation is a testimony to their factional outlook, their insulation is a witness to their ignorance and perversity.

But we will never better our state until someone arises who regards all of God’s children as his brethren, not because they all see alike but because they all have the same Father. When someone under compulsion of a vision which makes no provision for division in the family of God begins to preach peace to those on all sides of our sectarian barriers there is hope of a brighter day. The message of Jesus was peace, and so long as we are separated and segregated from each other that is the needed word. Jesus grew up in a Jewish home and worshiped in a Jewish synagogue, but he knew nothing of Jewish provincial prejudice. He loved those who were far off as he did those who were near. Proximity was not the test of his love. No one could be so far that he overlooked him, no one so close that he looked over him.

There is a thrilling climax to that portion of the sacred scripture we are reviewing. It demonstrates that there is no ground for morbid pessimism regarding the walls of hostility in our day. We do not need to look upon division as incurable nor accept it as inevitable. With the preaching of peace walls will crumble and barriers break down. Things will no longer be as they were. Those who were strangers will become fellow-laborers. They will be yokefellows because they are yoked to Christ. This was the glorious hope held out by the apostle who declares of the once-separated forces, “So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” What power there is in agape to transform a stranger into a citizen or a sojourner into a member of the family.

No one would have dared to dream that the day would come when the Gentiles would be “fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:6). This was the mystery of the ages but now that it has been revealed we should no longer regard it as mysterious. The apostle says that “we should have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him (Christ).” Our power of comprehension, enabling us to probe the four dimensions of the spiritual life and to be filled with the fulness of God is dependent upon our foundation of agape. Thus, we not only enter into fellowship with God and Christ and with each other by agape, but we mature into that character which is saintly by the same means. Our increasing maturity brings a deepening experience of the nature and value of the koinonia.

The apostle prayed for the congregation at Ephesus, “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love (agape), may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love (agape) of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.”

It should be remarked that this great passage begins with the indwelling Spirit and the power conveyed by his presence in the believer. There is no indication that the Spirit is intended to alleviate our physical ills or delay dissolution of the man that is of the earth. Indeed it is specifically said that “though the outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” There is a daily benefit for the believer derived from the Spirit according to the riches of the glory of God. Making room for the Spirit enables the Spirit to create in us that atmosphere in which Christ Jesus dwells by faith.

It is also through the Spirit that we are rooted and grounded in agape. The term “rooted” considers the Christian life from the standpoint of a tree; the term “grounded” from that of a building or structure. The roots are not seen but they act as braces to hold the tree steady that it be not destroyed by storm and wind. Thus it is with agape. Unseen though it may be we can see its effect in character that is unshaken by temptation and steadfastness that endures despite persecution. There is nothing shallow or superficial about agape. It grasps the soil of faith and anchors us in Christ Jesus. It puts down its tendrils and entwines itself about hope that never disappoints.

The New English Bible renders the passage, “With deep roots and firm foundations, may you be strong to grasp, with all God’s people, what is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ.” Any other foundation is one of sand. It is useless to attempt to build permanently without first digging down to lay the foundation in agape. It can be known though it is beyond knowledge. This simply means that as we grasp it greater vistas are opened unto us. Regardless of how much we learn about love there is infinitely more to learn. It is because of this inexhaustible supply that we can continue to grow in love without ever outgrowing it. Those who have experienced agape share in the riches of Christ and in the rich fellowship with each other.

It is not at all surprising that the apostle urges us in chapter 4:1-3 to put agape to work in the complex field of human relationships. The saints are urged to walk worthy of the calling to which they were called. Phillips translates it, “Accept life with humility and patience, making allowance for each other because you love (agapao) each other. Make it your aim to be at one with the Spirit and you will inevitably be at peace with one another.” This implies that peace with one another is conditioned upon oneness with the Spirit. Harmony is not the same as conformity. There will always be diversity but there need not be disunity. If we have agape for one another we will make allowances. Love takes into consideration every circumstance. It gives the other person the benefit of the doubt and never doubts the benefit of doing so. The apostle says in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy.”

Anton Fridrichsen writes, “What is agape in the New Testament? Love is unity in the community and with the community. According to the New Testament thought that is unity with Christ. When in Colossians 3:14 love is called ‘the bond of perfectness’ that means it is that which constitutes unity in the church (that is, perfectness). As the church is the Spirit’s creation and work, love is the Spirit’s first and most important fruit. There can be no real fellowship without love. Agape is the light in which we must walk as God is that light, if we are to have fellowship one with another (1 John 1:7). We are not required to have the knowledge that God possesses to be in fellowship with Him or others, but we are required to have His agape if we are to be regarded as “children of the Most High.”

If we attempt to produce unity by human creeds, confessions and concordats, we shall fail. It cannot be secured by dogma, decree or document. The unity of the Spirit is a gift of the Spirit to those who have the fruits of the Spirit and the first one of those fruits mentioned is agape (Gal. 5:23). While we try to bring about unity by conformity and base it upon affiliation with those whom we like we are sowing the seed of division. It is only when we love brethren whom we cannot like, those whose speech and actions grate upon our ears and nerves that we are walking in the footsteps of Jesus. It is not so much that we must like those with whom we sit together physically as that we love those with whom we are knit together spiritually. Paul prays for some “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love” (agape). There is a difference between being tied together and being knit together. In the first, personal identity is preserved; in the second, it is interwoven and lost. The first is the result of eros, the second of agape.

We cannot afford to overlook the implication of the word love in two more passages in Ephesians, chapter four. After mentioning the bestowal of grace upon each according to the measure of the gift of Christ, the apostle affirms three things about Jesus. He ascended on high, he led a multitude of captives with him, and he bestowed gifts upon men. In clarification of this last statement he shows that these gifts to the people of God were special functionaries adapted to the developing of the saints. It was never the purpose of God that the body should grow through being ministered unto, but by ministering. It is as each part performs its work that the body moves toward maturity. Yet it is obvious that to be able to do this the members must be trained. For this reason Jesus has provided special functionaries or gifts.

“And his gifts were that some should be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, teaching pastors.” The purpose of these special servants is specified as follows: “With a view to training or adapting the saints to carry on the work of service unto the building up of the body of Christ.” The evangelists and elders are to train the saints to minister. The community of God is an army. As enlistees, its members require training to carry on the warfare. They must be brought to and kept in combat readiness.

Verse 15 affirms that these must speak the truth in love (agape), and grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. As I see it, the apostle does not here refer to our manner of expression when we speak. He is not saying we should be gentle and considerate in our choice and usage of words. All that is true, of course, and we should avoid rudeness and harshness. But to “speak the truth in agape” means to be constructive, helpful and upbuilding. Agape seeks the good of its object and we need to be certain that we have the proper goal and motive in our hearts. This will assist us toward maturity in all of the facets of Christian conduct.

Verse 16 points out that edification of the body is rooted in agape. Such edification results when the entire body is fitly joined together and the divine adhesive is love. When the members of the body effectively work together instead of against each other, when every joint supplies that which it is designed to supply and all are related through Christ Jesus, the result can be nothing but spiritual edification. All hope of spiritual strength lies in the implementation of love. With love our consecration grows, without it disintegration comes. Love brings increase and satisfaction, its absence produces decrease and petrifaction.

HEALING WOUNDS WITH AGAPE

Not only is agape the foundation upon which unity is predicated initially, but it is the healing balm which closes wounds and removes scars when schism comes. Just as a study of agape in Ephesians reveals that it is the basis of God’s plan for unity, so a study of First Corinthians demonstrates that it is the divine program for restoring peace to a disrupted church. We are sorry that a community of saints became so involved in the party spirit as did the one at Corinth but we are fortunate to have the prescription for such an aggravated condition.

The congregation was divided over two things: the men who had special gifts, and the special gifts which men had. In the first instance they exalted certain men; in the second they exalted certain gifts. Paul learned of the dissension from members of the family of Chloe who had come to Ephesus. They told him that the fabric of peace had been rent by the party cries of the brethren. As Paul phrased it, “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.”

The state of affairs was so bad that Paul actually wrote, “I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name.” So obnoxious was the party spirit to the apostle that he deplored any attempt to build a following around himself. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 he attributes the factional attitude to two things — childishness and carnality. In view of their status he could not address them as spiritual men but as babes. They were not able to digest meat and had to be fed with milk. Just as the physical body is sick when the muscles will not coordinate, so the spiritual body is ill when the members do not act in harmony. The apostle declares that those are carnal and walk as ordinary men who indulge in envy, strife and division.

To call them back to a proper perspective, the apostle insists upon a correct evaluation of men. Paul and Apollos were merely servants and agents of reconciliation. They were enabled to serve only as God allotted his grace to them. One planted, the other watered, but both were helpless to produce and sustain an increase. This was wholly within the domain of God. He who plants and he who waters are one and that which is planted and watered by them should be one. The only foundation that can be laid is Jesus Christ. No preacher, teacher, apostle, or prophet, can build men upon himself. Only one who was crucified for us deserves our spiritual homage and loyalty. Since all of us must be built upon that one foundation there can be no room for division. “Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

In a burst of inclusiveness Paul exhorts, “Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours.” It is ridiculous for one to say “I belong to Paul”; another to say, “I belong to Apollos”; and a third to say, “I belong to Cephas”; when all these belong to all the brethren. No one can exclusively possess that which belongs to all others by equal right. It is foolish indeed to be alone possessed by one who is himself possessed by all. “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” If we are Christ’s then everything that belongs to Christ is ours, and we belong to everyone who belongs to Him.

It is noteworthy that in dealing with the party spirit occasioned by exaltation of the leaders, the apostle does not in any sense minimize the importance of men. He only exalts the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul and Apollos were ministers by whom they believed; they were laborers together with God. Each was to receive his own reward according to his own labor. But each could build only on one foundation for no man could lay another foundation than Jesus Christ. No man could exalt himself because of his special talents or abilities for all of these had been given by another. It is the bestower of gifts not the recipient who deserves the honor. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it why dost thou glory?”

Just as Paul corrected the situation related to men who had special gifts, not by derogation of the men but by exaltations of the perfect man; so he corrects the situation created by the special gifts men have, not by minimizing the gifts but by exaltation of the only perfect gift. The treatise on spiritual gifts contained in chapter 12, 13, and 14, is one of the most interesting and thrilling in the new covenant scriptures. There were nine spiritual gifts and of their purpose and function the apostle would not have the brethren to be ignorant. The Corinthians were not lacking in any spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:7) and he did not write to them as he did to the Romans, “I long to see you that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift.”

But pride and selfishness entered into the exercise of the gifts at Corinth. When the congregation came together in one place those who had the gift of tongues and who were blessed with the power of utterance sought to usurp the time even to the exclusion of those who possessed the gift of prophetic utterance. The apostle begins his treatise on the theme of unity in diversity. In this he incidentally affirms the unity of the Godhood. “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.”

It is obvious that if all the gifts, service and working, originated with the same source and if that source is not antagonistic to itself, then the gifts should not be employed to create dissension. So it is affirmed, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit to the common good.” It is further asserted, “All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” The human body is introduced as an illustration. The various members have different functions but these are not to oppose each other. Their efforts are coordinated and as each functions with due respect for all of the others in the body is made more powerful. No member can detach himself from the body by derogating his own function, no member can dispossess another who possesses a different ability. The grand climax of this argument is reached in the statement, “But God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body.”

Note well the implication of these words, “God has so adjusted . . . that there be no discord.” When discord exists something is out of adjustment. When everything is properly adjusted there will be no discord. But what means has been divinely provided to readjust relationships when they go askew? Is the body doomed to disintegration when it gets out of adjustment? Not at all! There is a quality provided which is calculated to maintain harmony and to restore it. It is a divine solvent which eliminates all sources of friction and a tool which is perfectly calibrated to restore smoothness when rough places occur in the spiritual mechanism. “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a more excellent way.”

In 1 Corinthians 13, the more excellent way is revealed to be that of agape. In verses 1-3, it is shown to be indispensable; in verses 4-7 it is shown to be invincible; in verses 8-10, indestructible; in verse 13, immortal.

Even though one had the glossolalia until he could communicate with all men in their own languages, and could speak the tongue which celestial beings use in divine conversation, without love he would be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. Even the most cherished gift at Corinth when exercised in absence of love was but an empty noise. The one who had prophetic power to such an extent that he could fathom all mysteries, and solve the riddles of the universe, was nothing without love. The one who had the gift of knowledge so that he could reach out and grasp the understanding of the infinite was nothing without love. He who had the gift of supernatural faith before which hills melted and mountains fled in abject confusion, was nothing without love.

Please observe there is no Christian alternative to love. It is not a question of what we can be or have without love. It is not love or something else; it is love or nothing. There is no gain outside of love. Even if one gives away all of his possessions he had inherited or accumulated, in one burst of generosity or humanitarianism, he would gain nothing. Though he went to the stake and allowed his body to be burned because of the tenacity of his convictions, if he did so without agape, the act would be utterly profitless. We call death for one’s conscience the supreme sacrifice, but this is not true. It is often easier to die for one’s faith than to live with one’s fellows. The supreme sacrifice occurs when a man gives himself unreservedly to the way of agape — the life of love. After that, death on the cross or at the stake is an anti-climax. It is but the capsheaf on a life of devotion.

The characteristics of agape demonstrate its majesty and power. “Love is patient and kind.” The intolerance so often found in those who profess to be the children of God is not so much proof of love for truth as it is a manifestation of lack of love for those who seek truth. Kindness is related to grace which is merely kindness undeserved. The difference that kindness makes in the world can best be illustrated by Titus 3:3-7. The apostle paints a picture of the dire state of the world of mankind. Then he mentions, “But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God appeared,” and goes on to show that the desert of the world blossomed like a rose.

“Love is not jealous or boastful.” To put the cause of Christ ahead of every other consideration, to see others receive the praise for what you have accomplished, and to be able to rejoice in their attainments, all of this requires agape. Love does not boast of its own accomplishments but constantly seeks for that in others which it may commend. It is not given to flattery but employs compliments freely. One compliments another for the good of the other; he flatters another for his own gain. Love always seeks the good of the other. It gains by giving, it saves by losing, it finds itself in sharing what it has. To be able to place a correct valuation on the worth of one’s own efforts is indeed a noble trait.

“Love is not arrogant or rude.” Arrogance signifies the disposition to arrogate to self and to demand homage because of station, rank or position, either real or imagined. There is a difference between arrogance and presumption. In the first, a person esteems himself better than others; in the second he strives to lift himself to the level of those above him. Thus, the first relates to those who deem themselves superior, the other to those who count themselves inferior. Because the cross of Jesus makes us all equal and proves there is no difference, agape cannot permit arrogance. Love is genteel and polite. It does not ignore the refinements of social grace but applies them to those who are in all stations in life. It bestows the more abundant care upon those who need it most. The apostle says, “On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty.” To be able to bestow honor in modesty is indeed a noble trait.

“Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” One cannot help but wonder how many of the divisions which have beset the Christians of all ages could have been avoided and averted if the temperaments of those involved would have been under the mitigating influence of agape. It is a personal belief of mine that few of our actual separations were caused by the things which were credited with creating them. They have originated in the unhallowed dispositions of those who would exercise tyranny over the minds of others. The forces of stubbornness and self-will have taken their toll.

Closely allied with self-will is ill-will. The man who is least understanding and sympathetic toward others is frequently the one who demands the most deference for his whims and ideas. We speak of the irritation caused by objects which come in contact with delicate and sensitive tissues and surfaces. A tiny cinder irritates the eye. Love is not so thin-skinned. The man who possesses it is impervious to little slights and insults. He sees through the external attitude to envision a heart often starved for affection; he can even love a person who makes life difficult for him. He feels a sense of solicitude for the one who is upset by trifles and whose life is “bound in shallows and in miseries.”

It is my opinion that agape may be indignant, although not resentful. Indignation can be a righteous feeling aroused when one sees a wrong perpetrated against himself or others. Resentment implies a personal dislike for the one who offends, while indignation is directed primarily against the act of wrong-doing. Love is not weak, compromising, or vacillating. It is strong and powerful in redress of wrong, hating sin even as it loves the sinner.

It is said that agape “does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.” J. B. Phillips translates this particular section thus: “Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.” This rendering is justified by the fact that the word “thinketh” as used in the expression “thinketh no evil” is a mathematical expression. In its original, it is a word belonging to the bank or accounting house. It means to “keep account” as related to business, or to “keep score” as related to tallying the results of a game. W. E. Vine points out that it involves more than “refraining from impugning motives.” It is true that love does not imagine evil where it does not exist, but in this instance the apostle means that love does not catalog and make a list of injuries or wrongs to be dragged forth at some future date. All of us have known persons who worked together for years until one felt that his rights were infringed upon, whereupon he sought to bring forth a list of grievances which he had been compiling through the years. Love never behaves in such a fashion.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” It would be easy to get the idea from a casual reading of this that love is soft, gullible, impractical and inconsistent. Far from this being the case, nothing is more firm, practical or consistent, than agape. Love continues to put up with things when all else has long ceased to do so. Its trust is unfading, its hope abiding. No circumstance, however dire, dims its faith that the future is in the hands of God and that in the ultimate His righteous purpose will prevail. Phillips translates with the words, “It can outlast anything.” There is no power which can withstand agape for “God is agape.” Were all to embrace love as the principle of life the powers of evil would fall before our advance like stalks of wheat before the mowing blade or scythe.

The difference between the gifts of the Spirit and this fruit of the Spirit, can be clearly seen in the fact that love is unlimited. The spiritual gifts were not unlimited in possession. They were not possessed by all and those gifts which were bestowed were parceled out. “To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,” etc. Not all who possessed the Spirit as a gift were endowed with a gift by the Spirit, but everyone could have agape. In its possession there could be no rivalry, no jealousy, no clamor for special prominence or place. The humblest member of the body, the novice in the faith, the one who was least in his own sight could equal all others in this wonderful gift.

In the second place, love was unlimited in its application. It is written that “God so loved the world,” and in doing so he made it possible for us to love all men, near and remote, those who are far off and those who are near. Even the gift of prophecy could only do good when men were in the physical presence of the speaker. “He who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” The exercise of this gift was limited by those who came into contact with the ones possessed by the gift, or with it. “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all.” Love could extend even to those who had never been seen. “For if we love not our brother whom we have seen, how can we love God whom we have not seen?”

In the third place, love is unlimited in its influence. In Titus 3:2, the saints are exhorted “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men.” The reason is assigned that when they were previously “foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing their days in envy and malice, hated by men and hating one another” the kindness of God exemplified in agape, came and transformed them. By an exercise of this divine endowment we can change the world in which we live and become “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

In the fourth place, love is unlimited in endurance. The spiritual gifts were temporary in nature, but love is permanent. “Love never ends; as for prophecy, it will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” Such words as “cease” and “pass away” have no place in the vocabulary of agape. Love is not circumscribed by time or space. When calendars are no longer needed “and they count not time by years”, love will remain steadfast and enduring. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the love of God like the word of God, endures forever.

Again, love is unlimited in its greatness. It is one of the triad of abiding things. These are the majestic qualities which are not transitory. Faith is great, hope is great, but love is the greatest of all. Greater than tongues which, in their multiplicity, are the sign of man’s attempt to thwart God’s purpose, greater than prophecy which represents the conveyance of divine thought in human language, greater than that knowledge which is the grasp of God’s revelation — greater than all of these is agape — for God who is the source of language, revelation, and knowledge, is agape.

The festering wounds of partisanship at Corinth could be closed and healed, and the tissue of brotherhood become well and strong again through agape. It was the golden cord which could pierce the fabric on both sides of any rent and draw it together again. Paul recognizes the function of the gifts and he does not deprecate their use. He only says, “Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” Any gift is safe in the hands of him whose heart is ruled by love. The same injunction comes to the divided, suspicious and splintered church of God in our own day. “Make love your aim.” If we do this in sincerity, in the fulness of its scriptural meaning, we have nothing to fear.

When men formulate their programs, when they seek to implement the longing of their human hearts through organizations we cannot sanction and which violate our consciences, let us cultivate that spirit of agape which will make association possible even where endorsement is not. Thus, let us bring to bear upon every segment of our separated brethren a love that transcends all else. In spite of differences we will see a growing sense of togetherness. We shall have a realization of a common longing, a common striving, and the hope of a common destiny. When we loose agape in our lives we also free the Spirit to work in us and through us. As instruments, weak, frail and fallible, though we may be, he can still employ us and make us fit for the Master’s service.

We can never overthrow sectarianism by creating another sect filled with hate and intolerance; we cannot overcome denominationalism through exercise of the party spirit. Too long have we eaten the “apples of Sodom” which turn to acrid ashes in our mouths. Let us begin to taste that fruit of the Spirit which leaves no bitterness in our hearts. As Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Above everything else, be truly loving, for love is the golden chain of all the virtues.” As the poet, John Oxenham, wrote in his “Chaos, and the Way Out”

Then was earth made anew where’er He went,

For all men’s hearts were opened to the Light,

And Christ was King, and Lord Omnipotent.

And everywhere men’s hearts turned unto Him

As to the very source and fount of right,

As flowers turn to the sun, and everywhere

New Life sprang up to greet Him as He went

Dispensing grace to all men everywhere.

And His dispensed grace changed all men’s hearts,

Made His will theirs, and their wills wholly His;

So that they strove no more each for himself,

But each for good of all, and all for Him;

Man’s common aim was for the common good;

The age-old feuds were of the past,

And all mankind joined hands at last

And every man in all the whole wide world

Had room, and time, and wherewithal to live

His life at fullest full within the Law —

The Law that has no bounds or bonds for those

Who live it, for it is His Love —

The great unchanged, unchanging, and unchangeable

Law whose beginning and whose end is — Love.

Secrecy is indispensable to the existence of personhood and to the growth of persons. Man knows and responds to God and his fellow man in the deepest, most private, most hidden area of his life. When this hiddenness is dissipated, either by his own choice or through pressures from outside, a man is no longer able to enter into meaningful relationships with others. Discipline belongs to the area of personal life that needs to be kept hidden. The cost of in discriminate revealing of one’s discipline is to lose it altogether or to make it into a law. — F. O. Ayres