The Fruit of the Spirit I
AGAPE KNOCKS ON THE DOORS OF YOUR HEART
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John. 13:34–35).
The place of spiritual maturity is not power, influence, depth in the knowledge of scripture, or spiritual gifts…No, maturity in Christ is to reach the place of love. Love is a force through which all things Kingdom operate through. Our spiritual gifts, powers, and callings — even the other fruits of the Spirit — operate stronger in a place of love.
What is love?
Love is the highest expression of God’s nature revealed to humanity, and by extension on earth. In fact, to know God is to know love because the ultimate definition of love is God — God is love.
God’s love was expressed to humanity by His Son Jesus Christ: “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8 NLT). Another says, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1).
There are at least four kinds of love that were talked about in the Scriptures, but we will look at three important types that Jesus insisted we must walk in:
Agape
Agape is a Greek word meaning selfless love; sacrificial love; or deep and constant love. This divine love is referred to in John 3:16 and 1 John 4:19
Philia
Philia is a Greek word meaning brotherly love or kindness and it originated from Aristotle’s ethics. Philia is best illustrated in 2 Peter 1:7, “and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone”. This type of friendship or human love is limited in that we love if we are loved.
Eros
Eros is a Greek word referring to intense and passionate love — this love is love not mentioned in the Bible, but strongly implied, as physical love. Eros flows from the natural senses, instincts, and passions. This type of love is an important aspect of the love between a husband (Christ) and a wife(Church). As a matter of fact, when we continue to mature as believers, there are deeper levels of intimacy with Christ that are likened to marital intimacy.
When I was getting closer to God — He revealed to me the mystery behind the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 and its connection to eros. We, the bride of Christ are called to journey through life anticipating Jesus’ return. This journey requires us to be in a constant state of desire for a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Much like a husband and wife, who invest in their relationship to maintain eros — we too are called to invest in our relationship with Jesus.
This profound mystery about eros is simply our intimacy with God. Intimacy with God is available to all believers. God’s inviting us to enjoy fellowship with him. He has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live our lives continually experiencing physical feelings of closeness, peace, and joy — the more we commit ourselves to regular communion with Him as an act of worship (Romans 12:1–2).
Here’s the thing, intimacy with God and brotherly love can’t function without agape. The greatest love Jesus based his teaching on was agape — the unconditional love of God that was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ. Everything that makes us Believers is based on this perfect and unequaled love that encompasses our mind, emotions, feelings, thoughts — pretty much all of our beings. No matter how pleasant or painful a situation is for us, Holy Spirit will always search our hearts to find expression in agape. Jesus said, “love those who work against you. Do good to those who hate you…Pray for those who make it very hard for you…” (Luke 6:27–31).
Agape is not just a feeling, but a commandment for all who believe. This love operates in our lives in three dimensions:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” — Luke 10:27
The vertical dimension — is love toward God.
(Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37)
The horizontal dimension — is love toward our neighbors or other fellow human beings.
(Matthew 5:43–44, Colossians 4:2–6)
The inward dimension — is love toward ourselves.
(Mark 12:31, Ephesians 5:33)
I had a dream the Lord told me, “Agape is the Father; Agape is the Son (John 1:1); Agape is the Fruit of the Spirit. Agape stands at the door of our hearts, continually knocking. If anyone hears His voice and opens the door, He will come in and fellowship with him.”
This mystery is profound, but He was speaking about Christ and the church.
Further Study
Study the Scriptures
Apostle Paul Teaches: Love As the Greatest
1 Corinthians 13
Christ Jesus Teaches: What the Law Says about Love
Luke 6:27–35
