1Therefore when we couldn’t stand it any longer, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone, 2and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith, 3that no one would be moved by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this task. 4For most certainly, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction, even as it happened, and you know. 5For this cause I also, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, sent that I might know your faith, for fear that by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor would have been in vain.
6But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see you. 7For this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith. 8For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9For what thanksgiving can we render again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God, 10night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?
11Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all men, even as we also do toward you, 13to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Love (Gk. ἀγαπάω, agapao, ἀγάπη, agape). (17:26; Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8, 1 John 2:5, 15) Strong’s 26
The verb and noun forms of this word are each used well over 100 times in the NT, so it is a fairly common word. It is used commonly outside both the NT and Christian literature as well. In non-Christian literature, this word is used much like the term “love” in English, referring to affection for people, things, etc. Christians adopted this word, following Jesus’ use of it, and gave it a narrower and more particular meaning, “divine love.” It is always used in this particularly Christian way in the NT. Divine love is always sourced in God, and is an expected expression of a Christian’s love for God and other Christians. The essence of this divine love is that it affirms eternal and infinite value. When the NT forbids this love, it always has a temporal object in mind (e.g. honored seats, the world). When it encourages it, there is always an object of eternal and infinite value in view, that is, God or humans. Finite human beings are of infinite value simply because God created them in His own image, forever. God affirms that His image, a human being, is of infinite and eternal value (John 3:16). Christians, likewise, must make the same affirmation of love with respect to every human being, especially believers (1 John 4:7, 8).