Odë:hgöd
Well-known member
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- Jul 27, 2020
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- Christian
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- Married
- Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
- Yes
.
The ancient Greek language, in which the New Testament was written, contains
three distinct nouns for "love." They are agape, storge, and eros. Of those three
ancient Geek nouns, only agape (ag-ah' pay) is in the New Testament so we need
not be concerned about the other two.
» Some have attempted to force storge into the New Testament by means of the Greek noun astorgos (Rom 1:31
and 2Tim 3:3). However; astorgos doesn't mean love, it means the absence of natural affection; especially in regard to
one's own children-- a situation that can easily eventuate in a psychological condition known as Reactive Attachment Disorder.
Examples of agape are located at 1John 4:8 and 1John 4:16 where it's said that
God is love.
Agape has become a sort of sacred cow among Christians; and they typically quote
the entire spectrum of it from 1Cor 13:1-7.
But the entire spectrum of love tells us nothing of its particular nuances. In order to
discern the colors of agape we have to seek out passages where love is a verb.
The two primary colors of agape are agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) and phileo (fil eh'-o). A
Strong's Concordance shows every verse in the New Testament where those verbs
are used; which is very handy for helping us to understand the spectrum of love.
However; the thing to note is that those two verbs are not interchangeable.
For example the colors red and blue, combined with other colors, make up the
spectrum of sunlight. But if we want a red house, we have to use red paint. If we
use blue paint, our house won't come out red because red and blue are not
interchangeable.
In like manner, agapao and phileo together make up the spectrum of love, but they
are not interchangeable-- phileo typically speaks of affection, whereas agapao
usually does not; if ever. For example:
• John 21:15 . . So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter:
Simon; do you love me more than these?
» Some say that "these" refers to the other apostles, but I'm inclined to suspect that Jesus was referring to the sea,
and the fish they had just eaten, and to the boat, and to the tackle, and to the fishing business. Certainly all of that was
important to Peter seeing as how fishing was his life.
The Greek verb for "love" in that passage is agapao, which isn't necessarily an
affectionate kind of love, rather, it's related to things like preferences, loyalties, and
priorities. For example:
• Matt 6:24 . . No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love
the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
• Luke 14:26 . . If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life --he cannot
be my disciple.
The verb agapao is employed several times in the 13th, 14th, and 15th chapters of
John's gospel relative to Jesus and his apostles, and relative to the apostles among
themselves.
But then Jesus asked Peter:
• John 21:17 . . Simon, do you love me?
That time "love" is translated from the Greek verb phileo which is a very different
kind of love than agapao.
Well, the thing is: agapao is more or less impersonal; whereas phileo is just the
opposite. It's an affectionate, bonding kind of love felt among best friends, lovers,
and kinfolk.
In other words: Peter wasn't asked what he thought of Jesus, rather, how he felt
about him, viz: Jesus' question was: Peter; do you like me?
Of course Jesus already knew how Peter felt about him, but Jesus wasn't satisfied
with knowing; he wanted Peter to come out with it, and he did.
• John 21:17 . . He said: Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.
» I'd imagine that expressing his feelings for Jesus was difficult for a rugged blue collar guy like Peter. I worked as a
professional welder for 40 years in shipyards and shops. Not many of the men I worked alongside were comfortable
talking about their feelings for each other.
_
The ancient Greek language, in which the New Testament was written, contains
three distinct nouns for "love." They are agape, storge, and eros. Of those three
ancient Geek nouns, only agape (ag-ah' pay) is in the New Testament so we need
not be concerned about the other two.
» Some have attempted to force storge into the New Testament by means of the Greek noun astorgos (Rom 1:31
and 2Tim 3:3). However; astorgos doesn't mean love, it means the absence of natural affection; especially in regard to
one's own children-- a situation that can easily eventuate in a psychological condition known as Reactive Attachment Disorder.
Examples of agape are located at 1John 4:8 and 1John 4:16 where it's said that
God is love.
Agape has become a sort of sacred cow among Christians; and they typically quote
the entire spectrum of it from 1Cor 13:1-7.
But the entire spectrum of love tells us nothing of its particular nuances. In order to
discern the colors of agape we have to seek out passages where love is a verb.
The two primary colors of agape are agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) and phileo (fil eh'-o). A
Strong's Concordance shows every verse in the New Testament where those verbs
are used; which is very handy for helping us to understand the spectrum of love.
However; the thing to note is that those two verbs are not interchangeable.
For example the colors red and blue, combined with other colors, make up the
spectrum of sunlight. But if we want a red house, we have to use red paint. If we
use blue paint, our house won't come out red because red and blue are not
interchangeable.
In like manner, agapao and phileo together make up the spectrum of love, but they
are not interchangeable-- phileo typically speaks of affection, whereas agapao
usually does not; if ever. For example:
• John 21:15 . . So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter:
Simon; do you love me more than these?
» Some say that "these" refers to the other apostles, but I'm inclined to suspect that Jesus was referring to the sea,
and the fish they had just eaten, and to the boat, and to the tackle, and to the fishing business. Certainly all of that was
important to Peter seeing as how fishing was his life.
The Greek verb for "love" in that passage is agapao, which isn't necessarily an
affectionate kind of love, rather, it's related to things like preferences, loyalties, and
priorities. For example:
• Matt 6:24 . . No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love
the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
• Luke 14:26 . . If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life --he cannot
be my disciple.
The verb agapao is employed several times in the 13th, 14th, and 15th chapters of
John's gospel relative to Jesus and his apostles, and relative to the apostles among
themselves.
But then Jesus asked Peter:
• John 21:17 . . Simon, do you love me?
That time "love" is translated from the Greek verb phileo which is a very different
kind of love than agapao.
Well, the thing is: agapao is more or less impersonal; whereas phileo is just the
opposite. It's an affectionate, bonding kind of love felt among best friends, lovers,
and kinfolk.
In other words: Peter wasn't asked what he thought of Jesus, rather, how he felt
about him, viz: Jesus' question was: Peter; do you like me?
Of course Jesus already knew how Peter felt about him, but Jesus wasn't satisfied
with knowing; he wanted Peter to come out with it, and he did.
• John 21:17 . . He said: Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.
» I'd imagine that expressing his feelings for Jesus was difficult for a rugged blue collar guy like Peter. I worked as a
professional welder for 40 years in shipyards and shops. Not many of the men I worked alongside were comfortable
talking about their feelings for each other.
_
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