Agape: The Call to Unconditional Love in Action

Agape is the very heartbeat of God, a love that is not self-serving, not conditional, and not dependent on our own efforts or affections. This love is the foundation of our faith, our survival, and our sanctification. Agape is the love that God has poured out on us through Jesus Christ, who is the perfect embodiment of divinity and the visible icon of the invisible God. God’s love was made manifest among us when He sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him—not through our own resources, but through the life of Christ within us.

This love is not a “because of” love, but an “in spite of” love. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God’s agape is the source and model for how we are to love one another, especially within the body of Christ. We are called to a special affection for our brothers and sisters, reinforcing our familial relationship in the Lord. Christianity is not merely a set of beliefs or religious practices; it is the life and love of God incarnate in Christ, living in us by the Holy Spirit, so that we may be His workmanship—mimics of Jesus, His hands and feet on earth.

There are different kinds of love described in the New Testament—phileo (brotherly affection), storge (familial love), and eros (romantic love)—but agape stands apart as the selfless, sacrificial love that God demonstrates and calls us to embody. We are not created to be reservoirs, hoarding love and goodness for ourselves, but conduits through which God’s love flows to others.

Living out agape love is rooted in the very nature of God, who made us in His image. It is revealed and enabled by Christ’s saving work, who set aside His divine privileges to serve and save us. When we receive and live out this love, we become living testimonies of God’s agape, displaying His character to the world. This way of life produces abiding joy and confidence, especially as we look toward the future and the Day of Judgment. Agape love perfects us, casting out fear and aligning us with our created purpose. Ultimately, to love as God loves is to have the heartbeat of Christ within us, expressing itself in real, practical ways toward others.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Agape love is the essence of God’s nature and the foundation of our identity as His image-bearers. To live in agape is to reflect the heart of the Creator, not by mere religious observance, but by embodying the selfless, sacrificial love that defines God Himself. This is the calling and privilege of every believer: to let God’s love flow through us as His living handiwork. [12:28]
• 2. The love we are called to is not transactional or conditional, but rooted in Christ’s saving work—a love that gives without expecting return, that forgives and serves even when it costs us. Jesus set aside every divine prerogative to live among us and to die for us, manifesting agape in its purest form. Our response must be surrender, letting go of self-reliance and allowing His love to transform and empower us. [16:10]
• 3. Living in agape love makes us visible testimonies of God’s character in a world that desperately needs to see Him. Our witness is not in our words alone, but in the peculiar, countercultural way we love—marked by sacrifice, integrity, and a refusal to blend in with the world’s values. To bear the name of Christ is to bear His image in our actions, making His love tangible to those around us. [25:44]
• 4. Abiding in agape love brings deep joy and unshakeable confidence, especially as we face the uncertainties of life and the reality of future judgment. When we walk in the light of God’s love, we experience the assurance that comes from being aligned with our Creator’s design. Perfect love casts out fear, completing and perfecting us as we live out our calling. [32:43]
• 5. Agape love gives clarity and purpose to our lives, realigning us with the mission of God—to be a people who bear His image and spread His glory to all nations. The heartbeat of Christ must be heard in our daily living; if His love is not expressed in practical ways toward others, we miss the very reason for our existence. To love God is inseparable from loving our brothers and sisters, for this is the commandment and the witness we are called to bear. [38:38]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:46] - Introduction to Agape Love
• [01:48] - God’s Love Manifested in Christ
• [03:08] - Loving One Another in the Body
• [04:04] - Clement of Alexandria and Christian Practice
• [05:12] - Four Greek Words for Love
• [07:43] - Storge and Eros: Other Loves
• [08:09] - Five Reasons to Live Agape
• [09:32] - Created in God’s Image
• [11:32] - God’s Greatest Creation: Humanity
• [13:46] - Agape Enabled by Christ’s Work
• [16:49] - Surrendering to God’s Love
• [21:36] - Expiation and Propitiation Explained
• [23:54] - Living Testimonies of Agape
• [28:53] - Joy and Confidence Through Agape
• [35:52] - Agape Gives Clarity and Purpose
• [38:38] - The Heartbeat of Christ in Us
• [39:50] - Closing and Final Encouragement

Bible Reading

1 John 4:7-21 (ESV) — 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Observation Questions

1. According to 1 John 4:9-10, how did God make His love manifest among us? What does it mean that Jesus is the “propitiation for our sins”? ([02:20])
2. The sermon describes agape as “not a ‘because of’ love, but an ‘in spite of’ love.” What examples from the passage or sermon illustrate this difference? ([05:12])
3. What does John say is the evidence that someone truly knows God and is born of God? ([12:28])
4. In verses 17-18, what is the relationship between perfect love and fear? How does this connect to the idea of confidence for the day of judgment? ([32:43])

Interpretation Questions

1. The sermon says, “God did not create you to store up good for yourself. God created you to express his good to the whole world.” How does this challenge common ways people think about love and relationships? ([09:04])
2. The passage says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” What does this reveal about the inseparability of loving God and loving others? ([36:59])
3. The preacher describes agape love as the “heartbeat of Christ within us.” What does it mean for Christ’s love to be expressed in “real, practical ways toward others”? ([38:38])
4. The sermon mentions that living in agape love brings “abiding joy and unshakeable confidence.” Why might living this way produce such results, even in the face of uncertainty or judgment? ([28:53])

Application Questions

1. The sermon contrasts being a “reservoir” (hoarding love) with being a “conduit” (letting God’s love flow through you). In what areas of your life do you tend to be a reservoir rather than a conduit? What is one step you could take this week to let God’s love flow through you to someone else? ([09:04])
2. Agape love is described as “in spite of” love—loving even when it costs you, or when the other person cannot repay you. Can you think of a relationship or situation where God is calling you to show this kind of love? What would it look like to take a practical step in that direction? ([05:12])
3. The sermon says, “Our witness is not in our words alone, but in the peculiar, countercultural way we love.” Are there ways you have blended in with the world’s values instead of standing out with Christlike love? What would it look like to be “peculiar” in your love this week? ([25:44])
4. The passage says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Is there a fear in your life—maybe about being vulnerable, forgiving, or serving—that is holding you back from loving others as God calls you to? How can you bring that fear to God and trust Him to help you love anyway? ([32:43])
5. The preacher asks, “Are the things you’re currently living for worth his dying for?” Take a moment to reflect: Are there priorities or pursuits in your life that need to change so that you are living out the agape love of Christ? What is one area you sense God inviting you to realign? ([16:10])
6. The sermon tells the story of a mother listening to her son’s heartbeat in her daughter’s chest after a heart transplant, saying, “As long as I can hear his heart in her chest, I know his life is at work in her.” If someone listened to the “heartbeat” of your life, would they hear the love of Christ? What is one way you want to make His heartbeat more evident in your daily actions? ([38:38])
7. The passage says, “Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” Is there someone in your life—maybe even in this group or in your church—whom you find difficult to love? What is one thing you can do this week to move toward them in love, even if it’s just a small step? ([36:59])