AGAPE LOVE – MORE THAN A FEELING
I. AGAPE — A Different Kind of Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
● Agape Suffers Long — It stays when every natural impulse is screaming to leave.
● Agape Is Kind — It gives good when the flesh is demanding revenge.
● Agape Does Not Envy — It can celebrate someone else without needing to diminish them.
● Agape Does Not Parade Itself — It does not need an audience in order to feel valuable.
● Agape Is Not Puffed Up — It is secure enough to stay low.
● Agape Does Not Behave Rudely — It refuses to dishonor people, even people who wounded it.
● Agape Does Not Seek Its Own — It refuses to make itself the center of every relationship.
● Agape Is Not Provoked — It refuses to hand its self-control over to its emotions.
● Agape Thinks No Evil — It refuses to keep reopening a wound God is trying to close.
● Agape Does Not Rejoice in Iniquity — It grieves over sin instead of celebrating a fall.
● Agape Rejoices in the Truth — It would rather heal honestly than protect a comfortable lie.
● Agape Bears All Things — It carries weight that ordinary love keeps trying to put down.
● Agape Believes All Things — It keeps reaching for redemption after the disappointment lands.
● Agape Hopes All Things — It sees a future where emotion only sees the present pain.
● Agape Endures All Things — It remains faithful through seasons that feelings cannot survive.
II. Why Did God Give Us Agape?
Romans 5:5 – Now hope does not disappoint, because the love (agape) of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
1 Peter 4:8 – And above all things have FERVENT LOVE (agape) for one another, for LOVE (agape) will cover a multitude of sins.
• Fervent – Not FEEL it more; but stretched out. Love extended to its full reach and held taut. Emotional love retracts the moment it's hurt and covers nothing.
• The Power of agape – The contrast of restitution and forgiveness
Why did God command Forgiveness?
Restitution in Contrast – actual loss, plus pain and suffering
Luke 19:8 – Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
• Restitution is for a debt that CAN be repaid.
• Forgiveness is the release of a debt that CANNOT be repaid.
Proverbs 6:32-35 – 32Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. 33Wounds and dishonor he will get, And his reproach will not be wiped away. 34For jealousy is a husband’s fury; Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.