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Different Types of Love Found in the Bible

Thu, Jun. 19, 2014 Posted: 05:08 PM

The Bible speaks of different types of love. What are they? What kind of love does God have in comparison to
humans?

Storge Love

This is the type of family love that is commonly found in the Bible and is vital to the proper function of families and can
sometimes be found in extended families. This is the type of love found in Martha and Mary who lost their brother
Lazarus. It is the type of love that Abraham had for his son Jacob, the kind that Noah had for his wife and children, and
the same kind of love that any father and mother has for their children as well as the children's love for their parents.
Storge love can also occur between a husband and a wife. It appears to be the same type of love that animal parents
seem to display for their young. Storge is a Greek word (στοργή) for family love and frequently used for natural
affection.

Eros Love

This is the erotic love between men and women which is a sensual love. It is acceptable within the confines of
marriage but outside of this matrimonial union, it is seen as sinful and why Paul told the Corinthians that "if they
cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is b etter to marry than to b urn with passion" (1 Cor 7:9). This love
is what gets many people, even Christians, into serious trouble because they can commit adultery if left unchecked
and not resisted, they can commit adultery of the heart (Matt 5:28), it can lead to an addiction to pornography, and it can
become an idol in itself. While this level of love is necessary and healthy within marriage, outside or before marriage it
can be totally destructive.

Philia Love

This is the type of love that David and Johnathan had and was about as intense as it can be outside of the love that
God displays. These two men would have died for one other. This love produces a bond that eros and storge love
cannot compare with. This is the love that Christians are commanded to have for one another (Rom 12; 1 Cor 13).
Jesus told the disciples and He tells us today, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what
I command you" (John 15:12-14). This love is very unselfish and is like the love where soldiers display while under
fire trying to save a fellow soldier who is wounded, where in combat a soldier falls on a grenade to save the life of his
fellow soldiers, and where someone dies or risks dying for someone or others in order to save or protect their lives.

Agape Love

Agape love is the most supreme love of all and is an attribute of God and does not come naturally to humans. This
type of love is supernatural as Jesus displayed on the cross saying "forgive them for they know not what they do"
(Luke 23:34). This love is not as much a noun (a thing) or what is felt but it is displayed by what someone does. Love
is a verb.it is an action.it is what you do like Jesus dying for us while we were still sinners as summed up in Romans
5:7-8 "For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-
b ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." How many people do you know or
have you heard of that died for their enemies? Jesus did. In fact "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that
whoever would b elieve in Him should not perish b ut have everlasting life" (John 3:16) and it is not a love that
condemns but one where "He came into the world to save the world" (John 3:17b ).

The Greatest Commandment

It isn't ironic that the greatest commandment is all about love..loving God first and foremost and then loving your
neighbor as yourself. When asked which was the greatest commandment Jesus said "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 first commandment. And a
second is like it: You shall love your neighb or as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the
Prophets" (Matt 22:37-40). Loving God first means you seek Him and His kingdom (Matt 6:33) and His agenda (Matt
28:18-20) above your own. Putting Him first, others next, and yourself last. On these two commands to love, it is the
entire message of the Bible that this hangs on (Matt 22:40).

Commanded to Love

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07/11/2014 Different Types of Love Found in the Bible | Better Than I Deserve
Jesus gave us all a new commandment and this was given John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that
you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for one another." We are commanded to love others as Jesus loves us! That's a very
tall order and one that we can do in our own human strength. Jesus said that if we have this love for one another, "all
people (lost and saved) will know that [we] are [His] disciples." If others don't see us love like this then they won't
believe we are Christ's. It is just that simple. John understood this when he wrote "Whoever loves his b rother ab ides
in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumb ling. But whoever hates his b rother is in the darkness and walks in
the darkness, and does not know where he is going, b ecause the darkness has b linded his eyes" (1 John 2:10-
11). What John is saying is that if you say you love God but hate your brother, you're lying to yourself and others and
you are not a disciple of Christ and "the darkness has blinded [your] eyes." It is irreconcilable to say you love God and
treat your brother or sister with contempt. That is hypocrisy at its highest!

Conclusion

God loved the world so much and this love was never displayed in a more magnificent and agape-way than on the
cross. Jesus died for us while we were still ugly, hideous, wicked sinners and still His enemy (Rom 5:8) and that is
the kind of love that is displayed and proven by His actions and completely overshadows all other forms of love, even
human, philia love. Love is much, much more than a feeling.it is an active, working, moving, action-oriented thing. It's
not what you say or feel as much as what you do. Will you repent today and trust in this God Who loved you so much to
send the holy, sinless, Savior to die for you? If not, then the wrath of God is still on you (John 3:36b) and you will be
forever cut off from the love of God, once and for all time and with no chance of redemption (Rev 20:11-15).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What
Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions
about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind
Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon

Jack Wellman

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