Agape - wikipedia Agape For other uses, see Agape ( disambiguation ). `` Divine Love '' redirects here. For the album by Leo Smith, see Divine Love ( album ). The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Gianlorenzo Bernini, 1652 Part of a series on Love Types of love Affection Bonding Broken heart Compassionate love Conjugal love Courtly love courtship troubadours Falling in love Free love Friendship romantic Interpersonal relationship Intimacy Limerence Love addiction Love at first sight Love triangle Lovesickness Lovestruck Obsessive love Passion Platonic love Puppy love Relationship Romance Self - love Amour de soi Unconditional love Unrequited love Cultural views Chinese Ren Greek words for love Agape Eros Philia Storge Xenia Indian Kama Bhakti Mettā Islamic Ishq Jewish Chesed Latin Amore Charity Related subjects Biological basis Love letter Valentine 's Day Philosophy Religious views Agape ( Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agapē ) is a Greco - Christian term referring to love, `` the highest form of love, charity '' and `` the love of God for man and of man for God ''. The word is not to be confused with philia, brotherly love, as it embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in `` greet with affection '' and `` show affection for the dead ''. Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to eros ( an affection of a sexual nature ). Within Christianity, agape is considered to be the love originating from God or Christ for mankind. In the New Testament, it 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. Some contemporary writers have sought to extend the use of agape into non-religious contexts. The concept of agape has been widely examined within its Christian context. It has also been considered in the contexts of other religions, religious ethics, and science. Contents 1 Early uses 2 Christianity 2.1 Meal 3 See also 3.1 Judaism 3.2 Other religions 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links Early uses There are few instances of the word agape in polytheistic Greek literature. Bauer 's Lexicon mentions a sepulchral inscription, most likely to honor a polytheistic army officer held in `` high esteem '' by his country. Christianity Fresco of a female figure holding a chalice at an early Christian Agape feast. Catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Via Labicana, Rome See also : 1 Corinthians 13 A journalist in Time magazine describes John 3 : 16 as `` one of the most famous and well - known Bible verses. It has been called the ' Gospel in a nutshell ' because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity. '' For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -- John 3 : 16, KJV The word agape received a broader usage under later Christian writers as the word that specifically denoted Christian love or charity ( 1 Corinthians 13 : 1 -- 8 ), or even God himself. The expression `` God is love '' ( ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν ) occurs twice in the New Testament : 1 John 4 : 8, 16. Agape was also used by the early Christians to refer to the self - sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another ( see kenosis ). Agape has been expounded on by many Christian writers in a specifically Christian context. C.S. Lewis uses agape in The Four Loves to describe what he believes is the highest level of love known to humanity : a selfless love that is passionately committed to the well - being of others. The Christian use of the term comes directly from the canonical Gospels ' accounts of the teachings of Jesus. When asked what was the great commandment, `` 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. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. '' ( Matthew 22 : 37 - 40 ) In Judaism, the first `` love the LORD thy God '' is part of the Shema. The Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch, 1877 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said : You have heard that it was said, ' You shall love ( agapēseis ) your neighbor and hate your enemy. ' But I say to you, Love ( agapāte ) your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven ; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you ? -- Matthew 5 : 43 - 46, RSV Tertullian remarks in his 2nd century defense of Christians that Christian love attracted pagan notice : `` What marks us in the eyes of our enemies is our loving kindness. ' Only look, ' they say, ' look how they love one another ' '' ( Apology 39 ). Anglican theologian O.C. Quick writes that this agape within human experience is `` a very partial and rudimentary realization, '' and that `` in its pure form it is essentially divine. '' If we could imagine the love of one who loves men purely for their own sake, and not because of any need or desire of his own, purely desires their good, and yet loves them wholly, not for what at this moment they are, but for what he knows he can make of them because he made them, then we should have in our minds some true image of the love of the Father and Creator of mankind. In the New Testament, the word agape is often used to describe God 's love. However, other forms of the word are used in a negative context, such as the various forms of the verb agapaō. Examples include : 2 Timothy 4 : 10 -- `` for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved ( agapēsas ) this present world... ''. John 12 : 43 -- `` For they loved ( ēgapēsan ) the praise of men more than the praise of God. '' John 3 : 19 -- `` And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved ( ēgapēsan ) darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. '' Karl Barth distinguishes agape from eros on the basis of its origin and unconditional character. In agape, humanity does not merely express its nature, but transcends it. Agape identifies with the interests of the neighbor `` in utter independence of the question of his attractiveness '' and with no expectation of reciprocity. Meal Main article : Agape feast The word agape is used in its plural form ( agapai ) in the New Testament to describe a meal or feast eaten by early Christians, as in Jude 1 : 12 and 2nd Peter 2 : 13. See also Agape feast Agapism Brotherly love ( philosophy ) Charity ( virtue ) ( Latin : caritas ) Compassionate love Greek words for love Love styles The Four Loves Theological virtues Virtue Judaism Jewish views on love Chesed, Hebrew word, given the association of kindness and love Sephirot of Kabbalah Dveikut Other religions Mettā, Pali word ( Sanskrit : Maitrī ), `` loving - kindness '' or `` friendliness '' Ishq, Arabic word, `` divine love '' or `` lustless love '' References Jump up ^ H.G. Liddell ; Robert Scott ( October 2010 ). An Intermediate Greek - English Lexicon : Founded Upon the Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott 's Greek - English Lexicon. Benediction Classics. p. 4. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84902 - 626 - 0. Jump up ^ Henry George Liddell ; Robert Scott ( 1901 ). A Lexicon Abridged from Liddell and Scott 's Greek - English Lexicon. Oxford : Clarendon Press. p. 6. Jump up ^ Cf. Matt 3 : 17, Mark 10 : 21 Jump up ^ `` agape. '' Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 17 Sep. 2011. Jump up ^ Oord, Thomas Jay ( December 2005 ). `` The love racket : Defining love and agape for the love - and - science research program '' ( PDF ). Zygon. 40 ( 4 ) : 919 -- 938. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1467 - 9744.2005. 00717. x. Jump up ^ Oord, Thomas Jay ( 2010 ). Defining Love : A Philosophical, Scientific, and Theological Engagement. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Brazos Press. ISBN 1 - 58743 - 257 - 9. Jump up ^ Nygren, Anders ( ( 1938 -- 39 ) 1953 ). Eros and Agape, Part I : A Study of the Christian Idea of Love ; Part II The History of the Christian Idea of Love, trans. P.S. Watson. Harper & Row. Jump up ^ Templeton, John ( 1999 ). Agape Love : Tradition In Eight World Religions, Templeton Foundation Press. Description. Jump up ^ Grant, Colin ( 1996 ). `` For the Love of God : Agape ''. Journal of Religious Ethics. 4 ( 10 ) : 3 -- 21. JSTOR 40016679. Jump up ^ From Post, Stephen G. et al. ( 2002 ). Altruism and Altruistic Love : Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue, Oxford : Contents. : Post, Stephen G. `` The Tradition of Agape, '' ch. 4, pp. 51 -- 68. Browning, Don S. `` Science and Religion on the Nature of Love, '' pp. 335 -- 45. Jump up ^ Danker, Frederick William ( 2001 ). A Greek - English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. University of Chicago Press. Jump up ^ Kreeft, Peter. `` Love ''. Retrieved May 22, 2009. Lewis, C.S. ( June 5, 2002 ) ( 1960 ). The Four Loves. London : Fount. ISBN 0 - 00 - 628089 - 7. Jump up ^ Quick, O.C. Doctrines of the Creed, Scribners, 1938 p. 55. Jump up ^ Church Dogmatics IV. 2, as translated by G. W Bromiley ( 1958 ), p. 745. Further reading Drummond, Henry ( 1884 ). `` The Greatest Thing in the World ''. Address first delivered in Northfield, England. Hein, David. `` Christianity and Honor. '' The Living Church, August 18, 2013, pp. 8 -- 10. Heinlein, Robert A. ( 1973 ). Time Enough for Love. New York : Ace Books. ISBN 0 - 7394 - 1944 - 7. Kierkegaard, Søren ( 1998 ) ( 1847 ). Works of Love. Princeton : Princeton University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 691 - 05916 - 7. Oord, Thomas Jay ( 2010 ). The Nature of Love : A Theology. St. Louis, Mo. : Chalice Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8272 - 0828 - 5. Outka, Gene H. ( 1972 ). Agape : An Ethical Analysis. Description & Contents. Yale University Press. ISBN 0 - 300 - 02122 - 4 External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Agape Look up agape in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agape feast. `` Agape '' at Balashon -- Hebrew Language Detective Deus Caritas Est -- Former Pope Benedict XVI 's 2005 encyclical letter contrasts agape and eros. Study Love - An exhaustive, non-denominational breakdown of the itemized Christian definition of agape in 1 Cor. 13 : 4 -- 7. Family History Household Nuclear family Extended family Conjugal family Immediate family Matrifocal family Blended family Dysfunctional family Polyfidelitous families Skipped generation families First - degree relatives Parent father mother Child son daughter Sibling brother sister Second - degree relatives Grandparent Grandchild Aunt Uncle Niece and nephew Third - degree relatives Great - grandparent Great - grandchild Grandnephew and grandniece Cousin Family - in - law Spouse wife husband Parents - in - law Siblings - in - law Son - in - law Daughter - in - law Stepfamily Stepfather Stepmother Stepchild Stepsibling Kinship Australian Aboriginal kinship Adoption Affinity Consanguinity Disownment Divorce Estrangement Fictive kinship Marriage Nurture kinship Lineage Bilateral descent Common ancestor Family name Family tree Genealogy Heirloom Heredity Inheritance Lineal descendant Matrilineality Patrilineality Pedigree chart Progenitor Relationships Agape ( parental love ) Eros ( marital love ) Filial piety Storge ( familial love ) Holidays Mother 's Day U.S. Father 's Day Father - Daughter Day Siblings Day National Grandparents Day Parents ' Day Children 's Day Family Day Canada American Family Day National Family Week UK Related Wedding anniversary Sociology of the family Museum of Motherhood The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis Greek words for love : Agape Storgē Philia Eros Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agape&oldid=856247472 '' Categories : Christian terminology Philosophy of love Hidden categories : Articles containing French - language text Articles containing Chinese - language text Articles containing Ancient Greek - language text Articles containing Sanskrit - language text Articles containing Arabic - language text Articles containing Hebrew - language text Articles containing Latin - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano ქართული Kiswahili Lëtzebuergesch Magyar മലയാളം مصرى Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська 28 more Edit links This page was last edited on 23 August 2018, at 21 : 56 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the full meaning of agape love
Answer: love, "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God"