God's Love
The Love of God
AGAPE (Greek). uh-gah-pay.
Greek word for “love” (the noun). It describes an active, intelligent goodwill toward another without regard to the response. (It is sometimes described as love “in spite of” as opposed to “because of.”)
1. Eros
The first Greek word is eros. The English word “erotic” comes from it. It refers to sexual love. By itself it is not a wrong term, but it can become wrong in certain situations. In all immoral situations, it is wrong. However, this word is never found in the New Testament. It is the Greek equivalent of a Hebrew word that is used in the Old Testament.
2. Stargei
The second Greek word is stargei, which is love in the sense of natural affection. A good example of stargei love is a mother’s love for her child.
3. Phileo
The third Greek word for love is phileo, which is an emotional love. It is a love of the emotions in response to an attraction. It is the kind of love that may initially attract a male and a female, although it is not the kind of love that one should get married on. It is also a love of deep friendship; people who are “best friends” are exercising phileo love. There is something about the spirits of two human beings that draw them together, and this is a phileo love.
4. Agapei
None of these first three types of love is the true love of the New Testament ethic. The fourth word is agapei. This is a love that can be willed. It is a love of the will. It is the love you choose. It is the kind of love that you can make a commitment to. This is the kind of love on which you should base your decision to get married. It is a love that looks out for the well-being of others. This is the love of the New Testament ethic.
EROS (Greek). air-oce.
Greek for “sexual love”; root of the word erotic.
First and foremost, of course, is God and the Messiah. We are told that we are to love God with the wholeness of our being. It is agapei love that we should have for Him. We should choose to love God and put Him first in our lives and put everything else behind.
To love God is to exist for Him as a slave for his lord (cf. Lk 17:7 ff.). It is to listen faithfully and obediently to His orders, to place oneself under His lordship, to value above all else the realisation of this lordship (cf. Mt 6:33). It also means, however, to base one’s whole being on God, to cling to Him with unreserved confidence, to leave with Him all care or final responsibility, to live by His hand. It is to hate and despise all that does not serve God nor come from Him, to break with all other ties, to cut away all that hinders (Mt 5:29 f.), to snap all bonds except that which binds to God alone.