Biblical Love
"God is Love"
There are a lot of songs about love.
There are a lot of wrongs about.
Five Greek words for Love
Storge = Family love.
Eros = Romantic love.
Mania = Obsessive, possessive love.
Phileo = Brotherly, friendship love.
Agape = Unconditional love.
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved [agape] children and walk in the way of love [agape], just as Christ loved [agape] us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
- Ephesians 5:1,2
Jesus’ Teaching on “Love”
John 3:16 & 1 John 3:16
“This is how we know what love [Agape] is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
- 1 John 3:16
“For God so loved [Agape] the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
- John 3:16
“We love [Agape] because he first loved [Agape] us.”
- 1 John 4:19
We often substitute the word “Love” for “Like”.
“Love” is not equivalent to “Like”.
“Like” involves an emotional attachment to someone or something.
Biblical “Love” is a Decision”.
It may or may not start with an emotion.
“Like” starts with an emotion because
it is how you FEEL about something
Expectations about “Love”
The PURPOSE of an oven is to be hot.
The PURPOSE of people is to love.
“Love” in the Bible speaks about the action of “acting out” love, rather than feeling of Experiencing the emotion of it.
Love is an Action/Decision
1 Corinthians 13
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, [rude] it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Approaches to Forgetting that Don’t Work:
“Just forget it”… I can’t.
“Don’t think about it”… I do.
An Approach that Does Work for
“Not keeping a record of wrongs”:
Properly file it!
Option #1
File Name:
“Things Done Wrong to Me”
File Description:
Things that the cross of Jesus will deal with.
Option #2
File Name:
“Things Done Wrong to Me”
File Description:
“Unpleasant things that are making me stronger.”
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails… 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Ways to Express Love
Just as people linguistically speak different languages, so they may also communicate their “Actions of love” in different ways.
Love Languages
1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Acts of Service
4. Gifts
5. Physical Touch
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
- John 15:13
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