Questions:

1. In this world love would generally involve romantic feelings. Can there be a different type of
love?
 With the culture of the world today when we talk about love people would normally think about
romance and such. But there actually are different types of love.
 Unlike in the English or Tagalog language, the Ancient Greek language which the New Testament
is uses, have different words to describe the range of meaning that the word “love” conveys.
 Although we are going to talk about three of the different types of love, there are actually more
than four of them in the Ancient Greek language.

2. What are the different types of love?

EROS

 Eros love can be simply known as romantic love.

 This is one of the most common type of love that people know.
 In Greek, it is the word often used to convey sexual love or the romantic feelings used to people
who are physically attracted to one another.
 This does not mean that eros love is sinful or impure. The nature of sexual is not unclean or evil.
Rather it is a gift from God to married couples their love for one another and strengthen the
bond they have for each other.
 However, a long-term relationship based solely off eros is doomed to failure unless there are
some phileo and agape to go along with it which we will talk about next.

PHILEO

 Phileo love refers to brotherly love and is most often shown in a close friendship.
 An example of phileo love in the Bible is the account of David and Jonathan found in 1 Samuel
18:1-3
 1 Samuel 18:1-3 – After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with
David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him
return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as
himself.
 It is the love we have for our brethren, our family and friends, a love that does not involve
romantic feelings but of camaraderie, of selflessness where we want them to be happy.

AGAPE

 Agape love is the most common translation of “love” in the Bible. It is perhaps the most
important kind of love.
 It can be typically described as unconditional love.
 Goodwill, benevolence, self-sacrifice, willful delight in the object of love, faithfulness,
commitment etc., these are some of the essences of agape love. Giving while expecting nothing
in return.
 It is more than feelings or emotions; it is an act of the will. It is expressed through actions.
 This is the kind of love God has for us. It is the love that prompted the sacrifice of His only Son,
Jesus, for our sins. It is the love of and from God. He loves those who are unlovely, undeserving,
not because of any characteristic we possess, but because He is love. It is His nature.

3. As a Christian, what is the importance of living with love?

 We have talked about agape love and how it is God’s nature, that He loves us unconditionally.
 As Christians, this is the kind of love that we are to emulate. Just as God loved us, we who are
sinners that are undeserving of such kind of love, we are also called to love both are neighbors
and our enemies. We are to love the people who are dear to us, and the unlovable.
 Revelation 3:19 – Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
o Loving our enemies does not mean that we have that we are to accept and tolerate
their sin for even the Lord says He rebukes and discipline those He loves.
o If we really have love for the sinners, then we are to point them to Jesus and lead them
to repentance.
 John 13:34-35 – 34  “A new command  I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you
must love one another.  35  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.”
o We are commanded by God to have love for another.
o As Christians we should be a reflection of who God is, we are made in His image, and if
God is love, then we as Christians should also reflect the love has for us.
o Jesus even said that it is the mark that we are His disciples, that we love one another.
 In our Holy Spirit series, we have talked about how love is the foundation of the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. That is because as we try to emulate God’s love for us, we get so much closer to being
one in the Spirit with Him, as love is God’s nature. Out of our love for God and for another the
fruit of the Holy Spirit blossoms within us.
 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 – 1If I speak in the tongues   of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am
[a]

only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  2  If I have the gift of prophecy  and can fathom all
mysteries  and all knowledge,  and if I have a faith  that can move mountains,  but do not have
love, I am nothing.  3  If I give all I possess to the poor  and give over my body to hardship that I
may boast,   but do not have love, I gain nothing.
[b]

o This emphasizes love the importance of exuding agape love. The Holy Spirit may give us
all the amazing spiritual gifts but if the application of such gifts is not backed with the
love for the Lord and His people, then it will only be a waste.
o No matter how great we are if we do not have love for the Lord and His people, it is all
for naught.

4. How can we best express our love for one another?

 Each person is different from one another and that includes how we receive and express love.
 One may be more inclined to receive words of encouragement, while the other is more inclined
to receive gifts.
 It is important to know what are they more inclined to so we can best express our love for them
that they appreciate the most.
 We are going to look at the Five Love Languages and define each one of them

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION

 People who have the love language of words of affirmation uses and appreciates words to
encourage, lift up, and affirm those who they consider dear to them.
 They are attuned to the opinions, both positive and negative, of the who they cherish.
 People who desire words of affirmation are also the ones who are prone to express them.
 For people who lack this love language, it may be awkward at first to speak what he or she
assumes the other person already knows. But simple affirmations such as “You did a good job!”
or “I’m proud of you!” go a long way in building the confidence of someone who needs words of
affirmation.

ACTS OF SERVICE

 When acts of service is a person’s primary language, he or she interprets the help as a sign of
someone’s love. For them, actions speak louder than words.
 A simple helping hand in household chores can be seen as an expression of love even if no
words are spoken.
 People with this love language will often volunteer to help those who they cherish, even if it is
hard for them. It is their gift to the people they care about.

GIFTS

 People who have this as their primary love language thrive on gift-giving. They express their love
for the people they cherish by giving them gifts that can be valuable to them. They appreciate
being given a gift and have sentiments over the gift regardless of the value of the gift. For them
a gift received is a reminder of the love of the person that gave the gifts.
 When Gifts is a person’s primary love language, he or she usually places a great deal of weight
on the quality of the gift and the effort that went into obtaining it.
 Many perceive this language as materialistic—when that isn’t the case. Through gifts they are
able to say that the people they cherish are in their mind and heart even when they are apart.
 When this is the primary love language, those who care about this person can learn to offer
thoughtful tokens in order to express their affection.

QUALITY TIME

 A person who have this as their primary love language value time with their loved ones with
undivided attention.
 It means having a meaningful conversation and spending time with them.
 A person with this love language appreciates uninterrupted one-on-one time more so than
other people.
 Since this is how they perceive love and affection this is also how they express them. They will
do their best to give time for the people they cherish and will listen to them, giving them their
undivided attention.

PHYSICAL TOUCH
 A person with this love language values physical touch more so than other people.
Hugs, handshakes, or even a simple pat in the back all communicate love to these people. Those
action spell love to those with this primary language. It is how they express and receive love
 The need for the physical touch can be one that does not come from a romantic or eros love but
rather phileo love.
 However, people with this primary love language need to remember that touch can mean a
variety of things, and their intent is not always clearly communicated.

 There are many of ways to express love for one another, and, as followers of Christ, we are to
employ them. We have to consider expressing love on how people perceive them and not just
how we appreciate them.