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Old Word; New Meaning
If you know me, you know I have occasionally been known to make up words. Some of them were real words which I only learned later. Did you know God took an old word and made up a new definition?
The word went all the way back to Homer, but was not used often until the 4th century BC. It meant “affection” or “satisfied”. For example, a soldier had affection for his leader. Even when Ammon raped his half-sister Tamar, this word is used in the Greek LXX to describe his lustful affection which he satisfied.
God took this word, used it often in the NT through the Holy Spirit, and gave it a new meaning. How He did this was by using the word to describe Himself, His relationship with Jesus and vice versa. This then was applied to our relationships with both deity and humanity.
The word gained its new definition, not through a divinely written dictionary; but through a divinely lived life. This then lived on imitated by Jesus’s followers. Actions became the definition.
If you haven’t yet figured it out, the word is one of the Greek words for love. Commonly it is defined as “seeking the best for others”. “Sacrificial love” is another way to phrase it. Put together we learn that seeking what is best for others can cost us something personal.
God gave this word a more personal, deeper, and broader meaning than affection. It is agape.
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