Beloved, Let Us Love Series

SPIRITUAL GROWTH ENHANCERS

REF: 011

1 John 4:11, NLT: "Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other."

BELOVED, LET US LOVE

The literary work of 1, 2, and 3 John is been attributed to the apostle John, who also wrote the Gospel of John. The 1 letter was addressed to a Christian community of Churches. The main themes of the epistle are love and fellowship with God.

Thus, The Book of 1 John is a book of love and joy. It explains the fellowship we have with others and with Jesus Christ. If we take the words written by John and we apply them to our daily lives, the true love, commitment, fellowship, and joy we long for will be ours.

Since God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die to cover the cost of our sins, we should offer a similar response by loving others. Just as Jesus offered unconditional love through His sacrifice, believers are to offer similar love based on God's example rather than our feelings or the actions of others.

What Is Love?

According to research, There are four Greek words that we translate as 'love'. Each one represents a different form of love. The first one, "eros", stands for sexual, romantic love. Eros is the kind of love mostly known by the world.

The term originated from the mythological Greek god of love, sexual desire, physical attraction, and physical love, Eros, whose Roman counterpart was Cupid.

Biblically, eros love is the bonding love associated with married couples but unfortunately, it has become a normal practice and outbreak breeding immorality among young persons and even elderly folks both in the secular and Christendom.

But within the boundary of marriage, eros love is to be celebrated and enjoyed as a beautiful blessing from God:

"Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love." (Proverbs 5:18–19; see also Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 7:5; Ecclesiastes 9:9)

Even though the term eros is not found in the Old Testament, the Song of Solomon vividly portrays the passion of erotic love.

The second word, "philia", generally refers to the affection between friends. From this word we have Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love”.

Philia originates from the Greek term phílos, a noun meaning "beloved, dear ... a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant held dear in a close bond of personal affection.

Although eros and philia have others as their focus, they both can be motivated by self-interest, self-gratification and self-protection.

They are both the kind of love which emphasis is to satisfy the desires of the one doing the loving. There may be an element of giving involved, but it is giving to get something in return.

The third Greek word for love is "'Storge" which is the very close protective and emotional type of love such as exists between a mother and her child. This Greek word describes family love, the affectionate bond that develops naturally between parents and children, and brothers and sisters.

Storge love is family love. It is the love that exists between family members--brothers and sisters--parents and children. Many examples of the family love are found in Scripture, such as the love of Jacob for his sons, and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus.

The fourth Greek word love is "agape". This is known as the unconditional love of God. It is the most perfect and purest type of love that God requires from us towards one another.

The meaning of this word for love stands in sharp contrast to that of the other two words. This word alone points to a completely self-sacrificing love, a love that lacks self-interest, self-gratification and self-preservation.

Agape love is motivated primarily by the interest and welfare of others.

In the New Testament, agape is the Greek word most frequently used for the love for God, the love for spouses and the love for enemies.

Agape love means action. It means that we act in a loving way towards others. It means we use our mind and our might for the benefit of another, without regard for ourselves. It is not based on our feelings.

Agape is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This term defines God's immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. It is divine love that comes from God. Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.

Why should We Love One Another

We are not just to love one another but we are required to do this unconditionally and where unconditionally means "without a condition or a reason". There is no reason to love. What if the reason disappears with time?