THE Scriptures have been compared to a mine in which are to be found hidden treasures. 1 But as with a mine, these treasures do not lie on the surface. While it is true that an occasional precious object may be picked from the surface, it is also true that the most valuable stones are to be found only as the miner digs deep into the earth. So in Bible study, many precious gems of truth are to be found only where the student exerts himself and digs deep into the Word of God.
Some of these gems are hidden by the very words of which the Bible is composed. Many ministers today are limited to the English language in their study of the Bible, and therefore are almost wholly dependent on our English translations. It must always be remembered that our English translations (good as they may be) are translations, and thus have certain limitations. Translations, no matter how devout and scholarly their authors, will always possess certain inadequacies. This is true even in the transference of ideas from one living language to another. The Frenchman is balked by an English idiom and is only satisfied after much explanation. This difficulty is greatly increased when one of the languages is not a contemporary language (e.g., Old Testament Hebrew or New Testament Greek). In translating from the languages of the Old and New Testaments, translators meet certain difficulties that sometimes cause the resultant translation to be inaccurate. For instance, some Greek and Hebrew words have more than one meaning, and when these meanings are very close, it is easy for the translator to choose one that may give the wrong impression to the English reader and thus cause an incorrect interpretation of the passage. Some Greek and Hebrew words have no adequate single English equivalent, and thus a phrase, clause, or sentence must be used to translate such words. This too may lead to a wrong impression on the reader of the English Bible. Furthermore, some English words have several meanings, and when one such word is used it sometimes causes doubts to arise in the mind of the reader as to the correct meaning of the passage. Another difficulty (and the present article is concerned with this) lies in the fact that some concepts are expressed in English by only one word, while Greek and Hebrew might have a number of words to express different nuances of the same concept.
These inadequacies of Bible translations suggest that the minister, if he is truly to be a "man of the Word," should engage in "below the surface" study of the Word. E. G. White says that in our Bible study we have seen only the glimmering of divine glory and of the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom; we have, as it were, been working on the surface of the mine, when rich golden ore is beneath the surface, to reward the one who will dig for it. The shaft must be sunk deeper and yet deeper in the mine, and the result will be glorious treasure.2
The Divine Virtue—Love
The great virtue of the Christian life is love. It is the theme that runs through the entire New Testament. Out of the richness of the Greek language there came no fewer than four words to express this divine virtue, while in English we have only the one word to express all kinds of love. We do well to ask ourselves which word is being used when we read "love" in the New Testament. The word form that came to be the characteristic word for Christian love is agape, and our study of the great Christian virtue will center in this word. First, let us see how it developed.
There is actually no certain appearance of the noun agape in classical Greek, although the verb agapan does occasionally occur where it means "to greet affectionately." It also describes a love of money or of precious stones and is used for "being content" with something or some situation. In the Septuagint agape occurs, and although it has not yet become a great word, there are hints of what is to come. Here it is used two or three times of the love of God for man and of man for God. It is also used fourteen times in the Septuagint to describe sexual love and twice as the antithesis of misos ("hatred").
But it is in the New Testament that agape rises to the heights and becomes one of the great words of the Bible. Indeed, some have said that it was a purely Christian word with only Christian content. This, however, is not quite true. "Though it would be going too far to say this important Biblical word was 'born within the bosom of revealed religion,' it is remarkable that there are only three supposed instances of its use in 'profane' Greek, two of which are now read otherwise and the third is doubtful." 3 In the New Testament agape is always used of the higher type of love—Christian love. It is used to describe the love of God for mankind, and the love God expects man to have for Him and for one another. Altogether it is used nearly 120 times throughout the New Testament while the verb form occurs more than 130 times. The real significance of this word can best be discovered by comparing it with the other words for love that were available to the New Testament writers but were rejected by them as unsuitable for the purpose of describing the great Christian virtue.
Eros, Eran
These words were mainly used to describe sexual love. They can also be used to describe the passion of ambition and patriotic fervor, but characteristically they were used for physical love. Eros and its verb eran had degenerated in meaning so that by New Testament times they had become so steeped in sensual passion that they carried an atmosphere of unholiness. Thus they were unfitted for use by Christianity and do not appear at all in the New Testament.
Storge, Storgein
These words have especially to do with family affection. They describe the love of parents for children and of children for parents. Their only uses in the New Testament are in the form of compound adjectives, philostorgos translated "brotherly affecdon" in the RSV 4 and astorgos translated "without natural affection." 5 Storge was too narrow in extent to be used for Christian love.
Philia, Philein
These are the most common words for love in Greek, although they are not the common ones in the New Testament. The noun, verb, and adjective of this root appear in the New Testament some fifty times, including combination words. There is a lovely warmth about these words. Basically they mean "to look on someone with affectionate regard." They can be used for the love of husband and wife. The verb philein is perhaps best translated "to cherish." It includes physical love, but it includes much else beside. There is in it the warmth of real affection and real love. In the New Testament philein is used of the love of father and mother and son and daughter, 6 also of the love of Jesus for Lazarus 7 and of Jesus for the beloved disciple. 8
Agape, Agapan
As has been pointed out, agape is the characteristic New Testament word for love. Its distinction from philein can be seen in a remark from Antony's famous speech about Caesar as reported by Dio Cassius, "You loved (philein) him as a father and cherished him (agapan) as a benefactor." 9 Philein describes the warm love for a father while agapan is used as the regard for a benefactor. Philein is used to describe a love that springs spontaneously from the heart, while agapan describes rather a love of respect, of principle. As Archbishop Trench pointed out, men are continually commanded [to] agapan God (e.g., Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27), but they are never commanded [to] philein Him.10
Another illustration of the difference between agapan and philein is seen in John's use of these words when describing Jesus' relations with Lazarus and his sisters. When speaking of Jesus' love for Lazarus— a deep, warm affection for a close friend—John used philein; 11 but when John spoke of Jesus' love for Mary and Martha he used agapan 12 lest Jesus' motives be misunderstood. It is not true to say that the New Testament never uses anything but agape or agapan to express Christian love; philein is used a few times (e.g., John 5:20; 16:27; 1 Cor. 16:22), but such cases are rare.
It is easy to see why the New Testament writers chose agape and agapan and abandoned (to a greater or lesser degree) the other words for love. All the other words had acquired certain flavors that made them unsuitable. Eros had definite associaations with the lower side of love. Storge was tied up with family affection; it never had in it the breadth demanded by the concept of Christian love. Philia was a lovely word, but it was definitely a word that could only be properly used of the near and dear. Christianity needed a much more inclusive word. So agape was chosen. It was the only word capable of being filled with the breadth and depth of meaning of Christian love.
The Meaning of Agape in the New Testament
"The great reason why Christian thought fastened on agape is that agape demands the exercise of the whole man." 13 Christian love is not merely an emotion that rises unbidden in our hearts. It is a principle by which we live. It has to do with the will. The key passage for understanding the meaning of love in the New Testament is Matthew 5:43-48. Here we are commanded to love our enemies in order that we might be like God. And what is God like? He sends His "rain on the just and on the unjust" (verse 45). No matter what a man is like, God seeks nothing but his highest good. This is what agape is. "Christian love, agape, is unconquerable benevolence, invincible good will." 14 No one ever naturally loves his enemies. To do this we have to conquer our natural inclinations and emotions. Christian love is that power which enables us to love even the unlovable, to love people we do not like.
A significant passage for the understand ing of New Testament love is John 21:15-17. Here Jesus put His thrice-stated question to Peter, "Lovest thou me?" On the first two occasions John in reporting the conversation has Jesus use the verb agapan, but in answer to the question Peter uses the verb philein, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus was asking Peter whether he loved Him with the highest type of love, the love of approbation, the love that guides one's life. Peter did not answer the question, but replied, "Yes, Lord, I love you with the warm affection of a friend." It appears from John's report of the conversation (realizing that the original conversation would have taken place in Aramaic) that Peter was dodging the issue. He was not willing to confess to the type of love that Jesus required. The third time Jesus asked the question He descended to Peter's word for love (philein). "Do you really love me with the warm affection of a friend?" To this Peter could truthfully reply that he most certainly did. The warm, spontaneous love of the moment for Jesus is not to be denied, but He also asks that we have the higher type of love, the consistent love that acts as a guiding principle in all our relations in this life.
As we study the New Testament we find that love is the basis of every perfect relationship in heaven and in earth. In His great intercessory prayer Jesus declared that love was the basis of the Father's relationship with the Son (John 17:26. See also John 3:35; 10:17; 15:9; 17:23, 24). In the opposite direction we find that the same love is the basis of the relationship between the Son and the Father (John 14:31). God's attitude to men is one of love (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 8:37; Eph. 2:4; 1 John 3:1, 16; 4:9, 10). And it is man's duty to love God (Matt. 22:37; Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 2:9; 1 John 4:19). The principle by which Jesus lived, which caused Him to give His life for men, was His love for them (John 15:9; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 5:2; Rev. 1:5). The great virtue of the Christian life is the love of Christians for their fellow men (John 13:34; 5:12, 17; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7).
The concept of love as presented in the New Testament is that which marks Christianity as a divinely inspired religion and not merely another set of religious ethics. The twin pillars of the Christian life are love for God and love for man. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." 15 This marks the scope of our love in the vertical plane. We are not asked to love God with a feeling that moves us erratically, but with a principle that moves us consistently. This principle of love will guide our whole spiritual experience. Likewise, our love on the horizontal plane is to be of the same type. "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren (philadelphian), see that ye love (agape-sate) one another with a pure heart fervently." 16 Why does Peter exhort the saints to love one another when they are already loving one another? The first type of love that Peter speaks of (using a compound word based on philia) is the love of affection and friendship. The brethren were in a right relationship to one another in their fellowship with one another. But Christian love requires more than this. It is a love that springs from an awakened sense of value in an object that causes one to prize the object loved. It includes sacrificial love. Peter urges the brethren to love one another with a sacrificial love because of the preciousness of the one loved. This love, of course, should be directed to both our fellow brethren in the church and those without. It is a love that seeks the highest good of our fellow men, be they saints or sinners.
And so beneath the word "love," which we read so often in the New Testament, there lies a wealth of "rich golden ore," material that may bring rewards in meditation, in sermon, or in the classroom. From it we may learn more of the "breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of the love of Christ. We mav learn, too, more of our responsibility to our fellow men. And above all, we may discover the supreme importance of Paul's benediction "and the love of God ... be with you all."
1 Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 111-114.
2 Ibid., p. 113.
3 James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1930), p. 2.
4 Rom. 12:10, R.S.V.
5 Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3. R.S.V.
6 Matt. 10:37.
7 John 11:3, 36.
8 John 20:2.
9 Dio Cassius, 44.48.
10 R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans. 1948), p. 42.
11 John 11:3, 36.
12 John 11:5.
13 William Barclay, More New Testament Words (New-York: Harper and Brothers), p. 14.
14 Ibid., p. 16.
15 Matt. 22:37.
16 1 Peter 1:22.
