For almost everyone reading this, English is your primary or only language. And when you read the Bible, you see the word “love” often. It is one of the most used words in the entire Bible. However, the Bible was not written in English, so there is a lot that we miss. In the New Testament, there are 3 main Greek words for love, however these 3 words are not mutually exclusive. Below are details and examples of the three:
ἀγάπη agápē
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
Matthew 5:44
Agape is the root word for love used in the above verses. They are the most popular words for love in the New Testament. Both of these forms are referring to a universal love. Agape love is how God loves humanity and how we are commanded to love others. Another point of agape love is that it is synonymous at times for “charity”. This word is also called “Godly love” because it is the word John uses when he says “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The last way that agape is described is as ” a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.”1.
φιλία philia
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”
Matthew 10:37
“for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
John 16:27
This word (or variations) is used for the above verses and may appear a bit different. Philia love is used more commonly as a friendly or familial love. It is described as a love based on a common agreement or belief. In John 16:27, you notice that Jesus uses philia love when talking to His disciples right after mentioning that they loved him as well. You’ll see that he describes that he has philia love for them after establishing a relationship, so this is the way God loves His children. Again, this is not mutually exclusive from agape love. For example, for a brother in Christ I will have both agape and philia love. However I will not have eros love for him, which I will describe in the next section.
ἔρως érōs
This word actually isn’t used in the New Testament so there aren’t any examples. While writing this, I came to understand why that is the case. This word is used for romantic love. In English, we will use the same word to we love our significant other, our sibling, or Chipotle. If you wanted to be more accurate (while also speaking terrible Greek) you would say “I érōs you”. While writing this, I was questioning why this word wasn’t in the Bible. The Bible talks about love in marriage but doesn’t use eros. This brought me to Ephesians 5:25.
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”
Ephesians 5:25
The love Paul is describing is agape love. I believe Paul didn’t use eros love because there is nothing special about a command to love your wives romantically. Everyone does that, whether you love God, hate God, or don’t know Him. The love marriages truly need is agape love. Sacrificial love that does not change regardless of circumstance. A love that is not a give and take, rather it is a love that is meant to be given in its highest form even if the other person cannot do the same.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agape ↩︎
