Agape Is A Doctrine
by Fred Rapp | November 26, 2014
By way of explantion about this blog. Paul wrote in Eph 3:17 that we are to be rooted and grounded in God's love. I made a decision a number of years ago, that if the Bible is telling me that my life is to be rooted and grounded in agape, then so should my theology. Since that decision, I have been able to understand the New Testament scriptures with a new light.
The first century church was in a move of God's love. Paul wrote in Romans 5:5, that God was pouring His love into their hearts. John wrote in 1 John 4:16, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." The Geek word translated love is agape.
The Greek word agape is used in the New Testament over 300 times in noun, verb and adjective form. This is more times than New Testament scriptures on Salvation, Water Baptism, the scriptures about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and faith and grace.
Agape is a doctrine and can be taught as any other doctrine in the New Testament. What places agape as the most important doctrine is it's usage in Mt 22:36-40. Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment, and the answer is, to love [agape] God and love [agape] your neighbor. Jesus concludes with, "on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." In Mark's account he records Jesus as saying "there is none other commandment greater than these."
In loving God, it is not our love that is the primary object of fulfilling the two greatest commandments. What Jesus is saying is that it takes the spirit of God interfacing with you to fulfill these commandments. Paul wrote in Gal 6:22 that agape is the fruit of the spirit. We can not fulfill these commandments in the natural, just like we can not be saved by works. Just as salvation is by grace, so is this love relationship. This love relationship will be a fruit of the spirit, not of ourselves. That's why God is going to get all the glory.
The first century church was in a move of God's love. Paul wrote in Romans 5:5, that God was pouring His love into their hearts. John wrote in 1 John 4:16, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." The Geek word translated love is agape.
The Greek word agape is used in the New Testament over 300 times in noun, verb and adjective form. This is more times than New Testament scriptures on Salvation, Water Baptism, the scriptures about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and faith and grace.
Agape is a doctrine and can be taught as any other doctrine in the New Testament. What places agape as the most important doctrine is it's usage in Mt 22:36-40. Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment, and the answer is, to love [agape] God and love [agape] your neighbor. Jesus concludes with, "on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." In Mark's account he records Jesus as saying "there is none other commandment greater than these."
In loving God, it is not our love that is the primary object of fulfilling the two greatest commandments. What Jesus is saying is that it takes the spirit of God interfacing with you to fulfill these commandments. Paul wrote in Gal 6:22 that agape is the fruit of the spirit. We can not fulfill these commandments in the natural, just like we can not be saved by works. Just as salvation is by grace, so is this love relationship. This love relationship will be a fruit of the spirit, not of ourselves. That's why God is going to get all the glory.
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