What is the difference between agape and other kinds of love?

Agape is self-giving love chosen for another's good, unlike eros (desire) or philia (friendly affection). It is committed and active rather than driven by feeling, which is why it can be commanded and can even reach enemies.

Where is agape love in the Bible?

The classic description is 1 Corinthians 13, where the King James Bible renders it 'charity.' It is also the love named in 1 John 4:8 ('God is love') and shown in John 15:13, laying down one's life for others.

Can a person love with agape love?

Christians believe this love is ultimately a gift of God worked in us by his Spirit, not something we generate alone. We learn to love this way as we receive God's love first (1 John 4:19).

Love

What Is Agape Love?

Agape is the Greek word the New Testament uses for the highest love: love that gives rather than grabs, that commits itself to the good of another regardless of what it gets back. Unlike affection or romance, agape is a choice and an action more than a feeling. It is the love God has for us, the love Jesus showed at the cross, and the love his followers are told to have for one another and even for their enemies.

The word behind the love

Ancient Greek had several words for love. There was philia for friendship and eros for desire. The New Testament reaches past both for agape, a word it fills with new meaning: the deliberate, self-giving love that seeks another's good even at cost to yourself. When the Bible says God is love, this is the love it means.

What it looks like

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:13

The King James Bible translates agape as charity in 1 Corinthians 13, but not in the modern sense of giving to the poor. It means this costly, patient, unshakeable love. Read the passage slowly and you will see it is a portrait of Jesus himself, and an invitation to a way of loving no one can manufacture on their own.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between agape and other kinds of love?: Agape is self-giving love chosen for another's good, unlike eros (desire) or philia (friendly affection). It is committed and active rather than driven by feeling, which is why it can be commanded and can even reach enemies.
Where is agape love in the Bible?: The classic description is 1 Corinthians 13, where the King James Bible renders it 'charity.' It is also the love named in 1 John 4:8 ('God is love') and shown in John 15:13, laying down one's life for others.
Can a person love with agape love?: Christians believe this love is ultimately a gift of God worked in us by his Spirit, not something we generate alone. We learn to love this way as we receive God's love first (1 John 4:19).

One step further: What is unconditional love? →

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Come and see for yourself

You do not have to take our word for any of this. The love of God is not finally an idea to be agreed with but a Person to be met, and Jesus still draws near to everyone who comes to him with an open heart. Read his own words, tell him honestly where you are, and see. It costs you nothing but a little quiet and an honest look.

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God is love.

Explore furtherWhat is God's love?What is unconditional love?What the Bible says about love Read 1 Corinthians 13 What Jesus taught about love