Self-will, that is, self-pleasing, is the negation of love to God. Christian love has God for its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments, John 14:15, 21, 23 15:10 1Jn 2:5 5:3 2Jn 6. Love had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ, 2Co 5:14 Ep 2:4 ( note) Ep 3:19 ( note) Ep 5:2 ( note) Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian, Galatians 5:22 ( note). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself, cp. But obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects, Ro 5:8 ( note). God’s love is seen in the gift of His Son, 1 John 4:9, 10. Vine - Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. ( Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament) ( See more from Wuest below) The quality of this love is determined by the character of the one who loves, and that of the object loved.
It springs from an apprehension of the preciousness of an object. Wuest - Agapao speaks of a love which is awakened by a sense of value in an object which causes one to prize it. Moody Press) In his commentary on 1 Peter MacArthur says it this way "agapaō expresses the ideal kind of love, that which is exercised by the will rather than emotion, not determined by the beauty or desirability of the object, but by the noble intention of the one who loves." MacArthur writes that agapao "expresses the purest, noblest form of love, which is volitionally driven, not motivated by superficial appearance, emotional attraction, or sentimental relationship. This quality of love is not an emotion but is an action initiated by a volitional choice.
Note that agapao is a verb and by its verbal nature calls for action. To love ( 25) ( agapao - see related study of noun agape) means to love unconditionally and sacrificially as God Himself loves sinful men (John 3:16), the way He loves the Son (John 3:35, 15:9, 17:23, 24).