He also asks us to have an emotional love for Him in 1 Corinthians 16:22. God calls us to give ourselves completely to Him in every way – heart, soul, and mind. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (NASB) Matt.
Otherwise, we would only be able to love one person.Īnd He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The emphasis is not an exclusive love but a total love. He is calling us to give Him all of our love and give others all of our love. It is the word God uses to call us to love Him and others. God shows His love by rescuing us from our sins if that is what we desire.įor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. The greatest example of love is Jesus Christi who died for our sins. The meanings of these words are briefly given below.ĪGAPE is the most common word used in the New Testament. The other words for love combine different words to make a special point. It sometimes refers to love between people and their ruler and to love between a dog and his owner. To begin, he defines the essential Greek words for romantic loveeros, pothos, philiaand explores the shades of emotion and passion embodied in each.
STERGO primarily refers to love between parents and children. It is more than sexual ecstasy because it also includes embraces, longing, and caring. While AGAPE emphasizes the complete giving of love to another person, PHILEO emphasizes the affection, emotion, a fondness one person has for another.ĮROS refers to love between a husband and wife. This Greek word has the idea of emotional love. So in the New Testament it is used to make the same point. It was used to speak of parents giving all of their love to their only child. It has the idea of a person giving all his or her love or favor to another. Each word gives a different nuance to the word that helps us understand more fully. This word was used in Greek literature to refer to someone who was generously favored by a god. Greeks, on the other hand, have five different words to describe love.