6. What is the most important characteristic of a church?

 6 —

What is the most important

characteristic of a church?

Without hesitation, love is the most significant component of the church. Jesus made it very clear that his entire teaching was hinged upon love. 

God is Love.

Jesus said, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). 

Jesus went as far as to say that love was the identifying mark of a Christian — that love between the brethren is what identifies us as His disciples, the church. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).

The Apostle Peter described love as the highest priority of the church. He said "...Above all things have fervent love for one another" (1 Peter 4:8). 

Paul also placed precedence upon love in relationship to other spiritual virtues. He wrote, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

Furthermore, John likewise described that it is not possible to know God apart from love — in fact, he made it crystal clear that any relationship with God was not possible without an extended love for our other brothers and sisters too. 

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love... If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (1 John 4:8,20)

We need to, however, understand the kind of love we're talking about here. Sometimes when we discuss Christian (divine) love, there is a lack of understanding of its meaning. 

The Greeks had three basic words for Love:

(1) EROS - This was the name of the Greek god of love, the son of Aphrodite. The word was used in reference to sexual love, and is the root word for erotic. The characteristic of EROS refers to a self gratifying, gimmee, gimmee type of love. Perhaps like a small baby's need or want of his parents. It is never used in the text of the New Testament.

(2) PHILEO - This is a humanitarian type of love. It's similar to a give and take, "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," type of love — such as friendships. It is used in scripture to describe man's kind of love, his kindness or affection.

(3) AGAPE - A giving, sacrificial type of love, without expectation of anything in return. This is God's kind of love — the Christian (divine) type of love between our brethren, and between ourselves and God. This is the kind of love we're referring to in the scriptures used here. Unconditional love. 

More than any other trait, AGAPE love is the church's most important feature. It is the foundation of all of Jesus' teachings — it is the very personality of God, and is the essential proof that shows that one truly knows God. 

Love is the chief component of spirituality, heading the list of virtues which describe spiritual fruit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love [AGAPE], joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Above all other things in the church, love must be demonstrated, taught and emphasized to the saints. Love will bring about the qualities of harmony, loyalty, and faithfulness that the church needs to thrive. Not only will it help to promote the stability of the fellowship and dissolve division and strife, but love produces the motivation for the church to fulfill its missions — to care about people, to reach out to the lost and needy of our world. 

Agape love is the spiritual fuel on which the church is powered.

Agape is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for [human beings] and of [human beings] for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.

When the word “agape” is used in the Bible, it refers to a pure, willful, sacrificial love that intentionally desires another’s highest good.

Agape Love

Agape love is a sacrificial love that unites and heals. We see the love of God through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

• Agape is a Greek word pronounced ah-gah-pay
• Agape love is a love of choice, not out of attraction or obligation 
• Agape love is what Jesus Christ displayed on the cross for us as he took our place for the sin

The word "agape" is used 106 times throughout the New Testament, with the most use in the book of 1 John. Read those verses here.

Types of Love

C. S. Lewis identified four types of love in the Bible in Greek. Though sources such as Psychology Today identify seven types of Greek words for love, we’ll focus on the four most commonly recognized.

Storge

Storge might also be called affection or familial love. This word isn’t actually used in the Bible, but the concept exists. Storge is based on familiarity. A person will love their family regardless of whether they are people they would be drawn to otherwise; family members often have nothing in common except familiarity and blood.

Storge is a comfortable affection that can be taken for granted but can also be very powerful.

Eros 

Eros is romantic love. Eros is also not a word that appears in the Bible, though it plays a significant role in many Old Testament problems. Eros encompasses sexual and romantic love and is the root word of the English “erotic.” Lovers are often completely preoccupied with one another, filled with eros. 

Eros is often associated with sexual desire and lust, but it can also be a good thing in a marriage relationship when accompanied by and bolstering with other kinds of love.

Philia

Philia is friendship love. This word is used in the Bible. As C. S. Lewis wrote in his book, The Four Loves, “To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves.” Philia occurs from bonding over similar interests. Whereas lovers are preoccupied with each other, friends are preoccupied with the same things. Friends, of course, care about one another, but similar interests attract them to one another. “Philia” is the opposite of “phobia,” meaning that those experiencing philia are drawn to one another. 

Philia is often overlooked in modern culture but is encouraged in the Bible. In Romans 12:10, Paul urges the believers to be devoted to one another in brotherly philia. Philia can be strongly associated with agape as well. In John 15:13, Jesus said there is no greater agape than laying down one’s life for one’s friends.

Agape

Agape could be defined as charity. However, we often think of charity nowadays as giving away money or things, which doesn’t encompass what agape is about. Agape love is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape isn’t born just out of emotions, feelings, familiarity, or attraction but from the will and as a choice. Agape requires faithfulness, commitment, and sacrifice without expecting anything in return.

This is the type of love the Bible speaks about the most. The New Testament references agape over 200 times.

What Agape Means in the Bible

To the Greeks, proper agape meant a general empathy or lovingkindness for all people. Though in the Bible, Christians are indeed expected to care for all in the name of Christ, Christianity took this a step further. Biblical writers used God as the standard for true agape. 

Agape love, in the Bible, is love that comes from God. God’s love isn’t sentimental; it’s part of His character. God loves from an outpouring of who He is. As 1 John 4:8 states, “God is love [agapos],” meaning He is the source of agape love. His love is undeserved, gracious, and sacrificial.

We are to love God and others with agape love. Agape is a choice, a deliberate striving for another’s highest good, and is demonstrated through action. God set the standard for agape love in sending Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners.

Agape Love Examples

As has been noted, the New Testament references agape over 200 times. 

Matthew 22:37-39, also known as “The Greatest Commandments,” instructs us to agapao God and our neighbors, while Matthew 5:43-46 instructs us to even agapao our enemies.

However, a person can also agape or wholeheartedly love the wrong things. 1 John 2:15 warns believers not to love the things of the world.

1 Corinthians 13 lays out a list of things that define agape. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Though other types of love can accompany agape, agape is not just a feeling but a choice.

What Agape Means for Us

Agape love does not come naturally to us in our sinful state. However, it does come naturally to God and is an integral part of Him. By drawing closer to Him and experiencing His love, we can begin to understand what this real love means. Only through Him can we show and experience agape love.