Two kinds of Love

“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”
1 Thessalonians 4:9(KJV)

From our opening scripture, the two Greek words used for love in the New Testament are used here. They are: Philadelphia; meaning, brotherly love, and Agapao or Agape; meaning, unconditional love.

It is from Philadelphia we get the word Phileo; which refers to fraternal affection, brotherly love, or kindness. It also means to be fond of someone or something. So, when the Bible says in Hebrews 13:1, “Let brotherly love continue.” He is instructing us to always serve one another with kindness. In other words, God expects us to continue to treat each other kindly.

The other word used in the Bible for love is the Greek word Agapao. Agapao refers to unconditional love. This is a love that transcends feeling. This is the God kind of love to which we have been born with and we ought to express as children of God.

In contrasting between Phileo and Agapao referred to in the Bible. Phileo is love that is based on feeling, in other words, it is based on the senses. This is the human kind of love expressed for someone, or for something, because of the favourable feeling you have towards them.

For example when you say, “I love ice cream.” You are actually referring to phileo because, your love for ice cream is based on your senses.

Agapao is not based on your feeling, but rather it transcends feeling. It is the God kind of love and it is unconditional. Agapao is the highest kind of love, but Phileo is a lesser kind of love because it is dependent on your senses and how you feel towards someone or something.

From the illustrations above, I believe you can clearly understand the difference between Phileo and Agapao or Agape as it is commonly called.

PRAYER
Dear Father, I thank you because I am born to love, therefore, I receive grace to daily express your unconditional acceptance and love to all men, especially my brothers and sisters in Christ, in Jesus Name. Amen

For further study read:
John 13:35, Romans 12:9-10, Galatians 5:13, Hebrews 10:24

DOING THE WORD
Do something kind for someone today.