LOVE – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23a NIV)

Jesus promises that if you abide (remain) in Him you will produce this kind of spiritual fruit as a direct result. (John 15:4)

Love is the first of the nine fruits of the spirit listed in this passage. Each one is a promise! Over the next nine days, we will examine each one. Today we will look at the fist one, which is love.

Love defined (Agape)

Greek: Agape love refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one’s fellow man. The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love. Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Agape love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of the will. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its high moral nature and strong character. Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Cor. 13.

Synonyms: deep affection, tenderness, intimacy, warmth, attachment, endearment, devotion, adoration.

The Bible says that God, Himself, is love. And the following Bible passage explains it well!

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4:7-12 NIV)