Agape: Love or Gifting?

The Greek word agape, or agapao, is a key word in the teachings of Jesus and his apostles. It is the word used in the two great commandments: agape neighbor and agape God. It is even used to identify the basic essence of God the Father in 1 John 4.8: “God is agape.” It may be accurately said that it is the single most important word in the New Testament when describing God and his will for humanity.
Our problem comes when trying to capture its meaning with an English word that is comparable. It is a problem because there may not be an equivalent English word that carries the fullness of meaning of this Greek word. English translators have used two words at various places in the New Testament to convey its meaning: love and charity. Interestingly, these two words have very different meanings, yet they are both used for the same Greek word.
In 1384, John Wycliffe used both words in our first English translation of the New Testament. The pattern followed in the works of William Tyndale (1525) and the King James scholars (1611). Since those translations, there has been a progressive trend that has dropped charity from translations in favor of using love only.
When we observe in Scripture the ways in which agape is used in the text, we can begin to draw conclusions about its meaning for Jesus and those early Christians of the New Testament.
When questioned about the meaning of the second Great Commandment, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. In that parable, Jesus told of the actions of three persons: a Levite, a priest, and a Samaritan. The priest and Levite, being Jewish, may have loved their hurt countryman, but they did nothing to help him. The Samaritan, on the other hand, would seldom ever love a Jew, but he gifted him with his time, energy, and money anyway. He actually helped and blessed a person who would normally despise him.
This parable is one among many of Jesus’ teachings which attaches action to the second commandment. The Sermon on the Mount is filled with similar instructions: gift someone with a second mile, a cloak as well as a coat, with prayer instead of retaliation, with good instead of evil. All of these are gifting actions toward other people. They do not necessarily require a person to love the one being gifted. The emphasis is on giving a blessing to other people whether it is deserved or not, and whether one likes them or not. These kinds of actions are identified as grace in the New Testament.
Theologians have defined grace as the “unmerited favor of God.” In more simple terms, it means to bless people who have not earned a blessing. Even more generally, it means to treat people better than they deserve to be treated.
The teachings of Jesus are teachings about treating other people with graciousness, that is, with gifts of actions which they have not earned. Significantly, he did not limit grace to the actions of God, he applied them to all of his disciples.

44"But I say to you, be gracious [agapao] to your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44-45 NASB)

If, therefore, actions labeled as agape actions are the same kinds of actions as those which are defined as actions of grace, the two words have a common meaning. Agape actions are those that apply grace to life situations. They are grace in action. It is reasonable, therefore, to translate agape with the English word “graciousness.” The second Great Commandment would then be translated, “be gracious to your neighbor as you are to yourself.” The emphasis is on giving others undeserved gifts of blessing just as one treats oneself in that same way.
This understanding adds richness and depth to the injunction of Peter when he said,

But grow in the grace and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Give him the glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)

When John makes the strong statements in 1 John 4, they also take on a new depth and richness. He says that “God is gracious” and those who are not gracious do not know him. John is simply reiterating what is said throughout the New Testament: God is a God of grace rather than Law.
Obviously, the “good works” spoken of in the New Testament are works of grace. They are the actions of disciples which bless other people whether or not they deserve the blessings. This kind of gracious lifestyle is filled with “good works.”
John Wycliffe came very close to this understanding when he translated agape as “charite.” Actually, he based his translation on the Latin Vulgate rather than the Greek New Testament. Jerome had translated agape into the Latin caritas circa AD400. Wycliffe brought caritas into English as charite. When he did so, he was getting very close to the concept of the generosity of lifestyle which is an expression of grace. Losing the understanding of the generosity of behavior with which Wycliffe began, has been detrimental to our understanding of the Good News. Truly, when the concept of gift-giving grace is grasped, it is very easy to understand why the story of Jesus was called the Good News. The revelation that God is a God of grace in the process of creating new people of grace on this Earth is glorious good news.
Our understanding of the message of Jesus in the New Testament would be immeasurably improved and enriched if agape were translated as “graciousness” throughout. The initiative-taking thrust of the word would move Christians beyond a simple positive feeling for other people. It would help all believers to understand that our relationship to other persons is not to be a feeling relationship but rather an active blessing relationship. We could appreciate more the message of the book of James when he takes believers to task for not doing anything. Jesus’ injunction to “do unto others as we would have them to do unto us” would take on a fresh and delightful meaning.
Love or gifting? Gifting for sure. The concepts of grace and graciousness are keys to an accurate understanding of the Christian lifestyle. And, they are keys to understanding the nature and actions of the Living God.