Love in the New Testament

Andrew Das, commenting of Galatians 5:6, wrote:

“Love” (agape) was not used extensively in extrabiblical Greek (or the [BC Greek translation of the OT called the] Septuagint) prior to the second or third century AD, but the word is used one hundred sixteen times in the NT and became characteristic of the early Christian movement and its Lord. When Paul says that faith works in love, the most frequent use of “love” by Paul is of believers toward other believers. Whereas no one can see a person’s faith in God, that faith gives evidence of itself in how an individual acts toward others. Love expresses itself in a community (see [Galatians] 5:13-14). The Spirit of God’s Son (4:6) enables the believer to love as Christ loved. Love is the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-23; the first in the list is love!). The other-centeredness of Christian love reflects Christ who “loved” us and “gave himself on our behalf (2:20).

Das, Andrew Concordia Commentary: Galatians 531-532