Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Grace in Focus Articles
→
The Greatest of These

The Greatest of These

January 1, 2020 by Bill Fiess in Grace in Focus Articles

By Bill Fiess and Pam Esteven

In a recent study, I noted that some form of the Greek word family agapaō (verb, noun, participle, adjective) occurs in every single book of the NT. As many Grace in Focus readers know, agapaō and its various forms denote love in the highest sense of the word, both morally and socially. The word is used to express the unconditional love God has for people (John 3:16); it is also used by the NT writers to express the sacrificial love believers should have for one another (John 13:34) as well as the love believers should have for Jesus (see John 8:42) and for God (1 John 4:19).

Agapaō also expresses the love which the Father has for the Son (John 15:9), the love the Son has for the Father (John 14:31), the love the Son has for believers (John 13:34), and the love the Father has for believers (John 17:23).

You may have noticed that the Scripture references in the above paragraphs are all from John, either his Gospel or his first epistle. This comes as no surprise when we consider that two of John’s books lead all other NT books in the number of uses of some form of agapaō: 1 John contains fifty-one occurrences, and John’s Gospel contains forty-four.

John’s use of agapaō in its various forms in his Gospel are concentrated in his account of the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) which contains a whopping 70% (31 out of 44) of the word’s occurrences in his Gospel. The staggering majority of the uses of agapaō in the Upper Room Discourse is significant because this is Jesus’ final pre-cross teaching to His disciples. The lesson is about love.

As I study John’s writings, I have observed that 1 John appears to be an expansion of the Upper Room Discourse, which addresses the issue of abiding in Christ. Both 1 John and the Upper Room Discourse in John’s Gospel emphasize the importance of love in the life of a believer. We can therefore conclude that love is the outstanding characteristic of one who is abiding in Christ. Do the math: the greatest of these is love.

____________________

Bill Fiess teaches math in Virginia. Pam Esteven is an editor and lives in Baton Rouge.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
author_fiess

by Bill Fiess

Bill Fiess teaches math in Virginia and can't believe he gets paid to have so much fun.

Cart

Recently Added

March 31, 2023

Milan/Zambia 2023 Prospectus

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, father and daughter team Kathryn Wright and Ken Yates are speaking about a couple of upcoming educational and...
March 31, 2023

Uncomfortable Environments and Serving the Lord (1 Kings 13:9) 

In 1 Kings 13, there is the strange account of a prophet from Judah who went to Israel in the north to pronounce judgment on...
March 30, 2023

What is a Puritan? Also: Will You Have a Rich Entrance into Christ’s Kingdom?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Steve Elkins and Bob Wilkin are looking closely at 1 Peter 1:5-11. This passage talks about some things...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Hebrews: Partners with Christ $22.00 $15.00
  • A Free Grace Primer: The Hungry Inherit, The Gospel Under Siege, and Grace in Eclipse $20.00 $12.00
  • The Road to Reward, 2nd Edition $9.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube