Agape in Robert Morris' "Provocative Grace"

The first time I read Robert C. Morris' creative research into the New Testament was in a study group 9 years ago, but when I reread it recently, I realized that parts of his book, Provocative Grace, fit into this section of my blog, where I've been quoting from books that discussed spiritual love.

Although I'll start quoting Morris with the one time when he uses the word 'agape,' I'll follow that one-time quote with quotes where he uses 'love' in a spiritual way that the meaning is 'agape,' and I'll change the word to 'agape.'

      "Jesus calls us toward agape, a broader form of love that intentionally seeks the well-being of others simply because they are fellow creatures.
      "Our overall goal is clear: participation in the compassionate Agape of God, by whose power we can have agape for ourselves, others, and all of life with wisdom, skill, and grace.
      "Jesus wants to spur us into a maturity that can collaborate with the Agape that gave us birth. This Agape seeks partners in making real 'the kingdom' or reign of God which heals the hurts and develops the life of this world.
      "Jesus invited people then and now to see the world in a wholly new way, through different eyes: as a place where God's own powerful agape for the world itself, for all that makes and keeps life holy, is meant to be the central passion of human life. As we let this agape have its way with our personal and communal life, he said, we begin to enter, here and now, on earth, the realm of God's active grace.

      “The man from Nazareth saw earthly life with heaven’s eyes, and he invites us to have agape for each other, earth, and all earth’s creatures with heaven’s agape, God’s own just and merciful agape. As we live into the agape at the heart of Jesus’ halavah, our actions more and more reveal that we are Wisdom’s ‘children,’ offspring of the very agape that shaped the world and our deepest nature. This agape was the driving force of his life and the center of his message.

      “To speak of love can sound shallow and sentimental if we think that the power of soul is simply a pleasant emotion, [but] the agape Jesus received and gave is not only warm and comforting but challenging and purifying, both food and medicine for the human heart, like the sunshine that both strengthens unfolding plants and destroys mildew.

      “This divinely sourced agape, a reflection of God’s own declaration that the creation is ‘very good,’ is the flame at the core of our being.

       "In its more extraordinary forms, agape drives forgiveness after deep injury, and for those quite different from us, and can even open our heart to the humanity of an enemy.

       “Before all else, agape is the capacity to see everyone and everything as interconnected, ‘held together’ in one cosmic embrace.

       “Because behavior that crafts the soul toward ever fuller experiences of agape is so central to fully functional human life, Jesus makes it the central commandment or challenge of his message.

       “Agape is not only power of the psyche or soul, but it’s meant to rule all the rest.

        “Jesus’ command takes his apprentices into a training course in agape.

        “Jesus invites us to learn agape for our whole self by letting agape flow to every part of us.

       “The path of wisdom embodies all the ways the mysterious Agape that shapes the universe has befriended the human race and desires each human’s God-like potential to flourish.”

New Testament agape quotes

In several of my postings I reflected on the change in meaning when ‘agape’ and ‘agapao’ were left in the original Greek in many biblical quotes. So I will now take a sampling of those quotes and give them with everything translated into modern English except ‘agape,’ ‘agapan’ and ‘agapao.’ (This listing is a little long, but that’s because there are so many verses that contain some form of agape.)

“‘You must agapao the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole being, and with your whole mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You must agapao your neighbor as you agapao yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” (Mat. 22:37-40 Common English Bible [CEB]) {an alternate translation: “‘You shall share in the agape of 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 a second is like it. ‘You shall share agape with your neighbor as you yourself [open to it].’ On these two commandments hang all the sacred way.” (based on the New Revised Standard Version)

“But I say to you, agapao your enemies and pray for those who harass you because of your faith so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. … Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing agape to everyone, so also you must be complete.” (Mt. 5:44-48 CEB)

“I give you a new commandment: Agapao each other. Just as I have agapan you, so you also must agapao each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you have agape for each other.” (Jn. 13:34-35 CEB)

“If you agapao me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.” (Jn. 14:15-17 CEB)

“Whoever agapao me will keep my Logos. My Father will agapao them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (Jn. 14:23 CEB)

“As the Father agapan me, I too have agapan you. Remain in my agape. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my agape, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his agape. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. This is my commandment: agapao each other just as I have agapan you. No one has greater agape than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. … I give you these commandments so that you can agapao each other.” (John 15:9-17 CEB)

“This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the agape of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5 CEB)

“The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what the Spirit means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God. We know that by turning everything to their good, God cooperates with all those who agapao God.” (Rom. 8:26-28 The Jerusalem Bible)

“Nothing therefore can come between us and the agape of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. … For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the agape of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-39 The Jerusalem Bible)

“Knowledge makes people arrogant, but agape builds people up. If anyone thinks they know something, they don’t yet know as much as they should know. But if someone agapao God, then they are known by God.” (1 Cor. 8:1-2 CEB)

“Now I shall show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31 The Anchor Yale Bible)
“If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have agape, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains, but I don’t have agape, I’m nothing. If I give everything that I have and hand over my body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have agape, I receive no benefit whatsoever. Agape is patient, agape is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but is happy with the truth. Agape puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Agape never fails. … Now faith, hope, and agape remain -- these three things -- and the greatest of these is agape.” (1 Cor. 13:1-13 CEB)

“Let all your things be done with agape.” (1 Cor. 16:14 King James Version)

“Agape must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge.” (Rom. 12:9-19a New International Version)

“Serve one another in works of agape, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: Agapao your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal. 5:13 The Jerusalem Bible)

“The fruit of the Spirit is agape, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22 CEB)

“If we live by truth and in agape, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in agape.” (Eph. 4:15-16 The Jerusalem Bible)

“No one has ever seen God. If we agapao each other, God remains in us and his agape is made perfect in us.” (1 Jn. 4:12 CEB)

“There is no fear in agape, but perfect agape drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in agape. We agapao because God first agapan us. If anyone says, I agapao God, and hates a brother or sister, he is a liar, because the person who doesn’t agapao a brother or sister who can be seen can’t agapao God, who can’t be seen. This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to agapao God ought to agapao their brother and sister also. (1 Jn. 4:18-21)

“Let’s agapao each other, because agape is from God, and everyone who agapao is born from God,  and knows God. The person who doesn’t agapao does not know God, because God is agape.” (1 Jn. 4:7 CEB)

“God is agape, and those who remain in agape remain in God and God remains in them.” (1 Jn. 4:16b CEB)