2 Corinthians 5:14

ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χρ. κ. τ. λ.: for the Love of Christ constraineth us, sc., within the limits laid down in 2 Corinthians 5:13. The words are often quoted as meaning that the love which Christians bear to Christ is the supreme motive of the Christian life; but however true this is in itself, it is not the meaning of the Apostle here. The genitive of the person after ἀγάπη is in St. Paul's Epistles always subjective (cf. ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ, Romans 5:5; Romans 8:39, chap. 2 Corinthians 13:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:5, and cf. also Romans 15:30; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 1:13, and for ἡ ἀγ. τοῦ Χρ. reff. above); i.e., “the Love of God” and “the Love of Christ” signify with him the love which God and Christ bear towards (εἰς) man. (St. Paul often uses the verb ἀγαπάω to express man's love to God, but never the substantive ἀγάπη), St. John's usage varies, the genitive sometimes being objective and sometimes subjective (cf. John 5:42 and 1Jn 2:5; 1 John 2:15; 1 John 3:17; 1Jn 4:9; 1 John 5:3; see also Luke 11:42), but St. Paul's is not doubtful. The “Love of Christ” here, then, is the love which Christ has for us, not the love which we bear to Him; the constraining power of Christian ministration and service is more effective and stable than it would be if it sprang from the fickle and variable affections of men (cf. John 15:16).