Biblical Answer

The Biblical Definition of Love

Agape is the highest form of love, the love God has for His people. It is perfect love that puts others first, before self, in thought and action. Agape love is self-sacrifice, the seeking of another's positive good at one's own cost. It is a greater self-giving than God's gift of His Son, and there has never been, nor could be, a greater self-giving.

The Bible defines agape love as an attitude of compassion, warmth, and delight, but also as an action. It is willing the good of another ahead of one's own, no matter the cost or sacrifice that may require. This love is others-centred, concerned with building up and strengthening others. It is not a contingent love of qualities that can be lost at the drop of a hat, but a love that enables other forms of love. Agape love is not a love that inflates self and is narcissistic and self-absorbed, but rather a love that is concerned with the positive good of another.

Agape love is a personal activity, God operating in love towards man. It is repeatedly pointed out in the Bible that the Greek New Testament word for agape is a word of self-sacrifice, of seeking another's positive good at one's own cost. The Bible also says that agape love is not a love that wishes anything from another, but rather a love that gives freely and unconditionally. This love is a gift, a manifestation of God's love for humanity. It is a love that enables us to love others, not just in thought, but in action, and it is a love that is essential for building up and strengthening others. Divine love is an action, a gift that flows from God's heart to humanity. It is an unselfish love that gives and forgives, and it is a love that seeks the positive good of another, even if it requires sacrifice.