The Key to Understanding Scripture:

When we approach the Bible, the lens through which we interpret its teachings is of utmost importance. This lens shapes our understanding of God, His will, and how we are to live as His followers. In my journey of faith and study, I’ve come to believe that the hermeneutic of agape love—the selfless, sacrificial love that God embodies—is the lens Jesus and the writers of the New Testament invite us to use when engaging with Scripture.

Why the Hermeneutic of Love?

1 John 4:8 and 4:16 declare explicitly that “God is love.” The word used for love here is **agape**, a term that describes a love that is self-sacrificing, unconditional, and active for the benefit of others. This is not merely an attribute of God; it is His very essence. When we say that God is agape love, we mean that His every action, decision, and interaction is rooted in this self-giving love. This has profound implications for how we understand His character and His will.

Jesus, in His teaching, further amplifies the importance of this love. When asked about the greatest commandment, He responded:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Jesus makes it clear that the entirety of the Law and the Prophets—the whole of the Old Testament—hangs on these two commands to love God and others. This means that every command, every law, and every instruction in Scripture must be understood as an expression of love or as a means to cultivate love. It is not merely an aspect of Christian ethics; it is the foundation upon which all ethical instruction is built.

Paul reinforces this in his epistles. In Romans 13:8-10, he writes: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Similarly, in Galatians 5:14, he states: “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

James also speaks to this when he refers to love as the “royal law” or to put another way the “law of God’s Kingdom” when he wrote: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.”* (James 2:8).

In these passages, the apostles are not introducing a new concept; they are unpacking the implications of Jesus’ teaching and the revelation of God’s character as love. They show that agape love is the principle by which we fulfill God’s law.

The Centrality of Love in the Christian life:

Beyond fulfilling the law, love is the defining characteristic of Christian discipleship. In John 13:34-35, Jesus gives His disciples a new command:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Love is the identifying mark of a follower of Christ. It is the distinguishing feature of the Christian community, meant to be evident in every action and relationship.

Paul captures the supremacy of love in 1 Corinthians 13. After discussing the various spiritual gifts, he writes:

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

Paul goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 13:13:

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Love, Paul argues, is greater than faith and hope, and without it, all spiritual achievements are meaningless. Love must be the motivation behind every action, the reason behind every gift, and the goal of every ministry. Moreover, love is not just a virtue among many but is the virtue that binds all others together. Colossians 3:14 says:

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

And 1 Peter 4:8 exhorts: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

In this way, love serves as the glue that holds the Christian community together, enabling forgiveness and fostering the unity that Paul emphasizes as a quintessential mark of the Kingdom of God.

Agape Love as the Fulfillment of God’s Kingdom:

Understanding that the Kingdom of God operates under the law of love is crucial. The kingdom theme runs through the entirety of Scripture, from the creation narrative in Genesis to the New Jerusalem in Revelation. The Kingdom of God is characterized by God’s reign of love—a kingdom where relationships are governed by agape love.

Paul writes in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

This righteousness is relational and rooted in love, as Paul states in Romans 13:10: “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

In Ephesians 5:2, Paul urges believers to live out this kingdom ethic: “And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

The Kingdom of God is, therefore, a realm where agape love is the guiding principle, a love that is exemplified by Christ’s sacrificial life and death.

Agape Love in Action: A Call to Sacrifice

Agape love is not just an abstract concept; it is demonstrated through action. In 1 John 3:16-18, we read: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters… Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” This passage underscores the sacrificial nature of agape love, which is modeled by Christ and expected of His followers.

Jesus further emphasizes this in John 15:12-13: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This self-giving love is the highest form of love, and it is what Jesus commands His disciples to practice.

God’s Love as a Model for Our Own: 

The agape love of God, as revealed in the sending of His Son, is the model for our love. 1 John 4:9-11 states: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” The initiative of God’s love, which is proactive and self-sacrificial, sets the standard for how we are to love others and should be understood to be in all of his actions throughout the entirety of scripture.

Loving Even Our Enemies: 

One of the most radical teachings of Jesus is found in Matthew 5:43-48, where He calls us to love our enemies: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven… Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This passage challenges us to expand our understanding of love to include even those who oppose us, reflecting the perfect love of God. This means when reading scripture, even in how God deals with those who are opposed to himself and consider him their enemy, we must view his actions toward them through the lens of agape love that is acting for their own good.

Sincere and Deep Love Among Believers:

Finally, Peter encourages believers to love one another deeply and sincerely. In 1 Peter 1:22, he writes: “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.” This deep, heartfelt love among believers is a reflection of the purity and sincerity that comes from following the truth of the Gospel as a plea to live as members of the Kingdom of love for one another. This narrative can be seen to be stretching throughout the entirety of scripture narrative.

The Hermeneutic of Love and Theological Coherence:

For those of us who seek to develop a coherent theology, it is essential to align our understanding of God, Scripture, and Christian life with this hermeneutic of love. The hermeneutic of agape love ensures that our interpretation of Scripture is consistent with the character of God as revealed in Christ and the teachings of the New Testament. It prevents us from adopting views or doctrines that depict God as anything less than perfectly loving, self-giving, and just.

This is why any theological system that portrays God as deterministic in a way that undermines human freedom or depicts Him as having desires that conflict with His loving nature must be critically evaluated. The hermeneutic of love calls us to see God’s actions, judgments, and commands as expressions of His agape love, always seeking the ultimate good of His creation.

Conclusion:

The Bible is a complex and multifaceted text, but its central message is clear: God is love, and He calls us to love Him and others. This call to love is not an optional part of the Christian faith; it is its very essence. Therefore, the hermeneutic of love is not just one way to interpret scripture—it is the way that Jesus Himself commands us to use. It aligns with the character of God, the teachings of the New Testament, and the overarching narrative of the Bible.

As we seek to understand and apply the scriptures in our lives, let us do so with the lens of love, allowing it to guide us into deeper truth and more faithful living. This approach not only honors the God who is love but also transforms us into people who reflect that love to the world.