The english word love has different meanings in the greek and its enlightening to understand the different meanings. This is a totally new kind of love, where we love god for his own sake. Four kinds of sin sins of attitude, action, neglect, and intent. This is the kind of love god wants each of us to exemplify in our lives and particularly in our marriages. Well explore these different types of love characterized by romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and gods divine love. Philia love can be corrupted and turned into something evil.
So lets look at the four types of love found in the bible, and that lewis helps to. Here we can see philia love expressed in its most pure form. Dodim an impulse of heart, sexual attraction hamed desire, covet, lus t agav impure love, doting, lust rea companionship, friendship. Agape this love is represented by gods love for us. They studied everything from public speaking to the starts in the universe. Storge storegae, or familial love, is a kind of philia pertaining to the love between parents and their children. This is the kind of love that is based on common interests, common goals, or personalities that just seem to get along well.
Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sons. Knowing the difference expands your biblical understanding of love. A love that transforms bible study guides amazing facts. The languages in which the bible was written, hebrew and greek, are more precise in that they utilize different words for the different types of love. The biblical writer with the most references to love is, not suprisingly, the apostle john. So lets look at the four types of love found in the bible, and that lewis helps to draw out in the four loves, published in 1960, and based on a radio series he did with the bbc a few years prior to the books release. The use of the types of sermons as a preacher plans his sermons, he must decide many things such as the needs of the audience, the scriptures that can best provide the. Jan 01, 2020 okay, first of all, youre most likely not referring to four biblicallydefined types of love, but the four greek words all typically translated into english as love. Bible study series a comprehensive lesson on love love according to the world love, by dictionary definition, is described as. The 4 types of biblical love growing in god and his word.
This term defines gods immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. Most times, the greek words for love used in the bible are simply translated love but in the greek text they mean different things. How to study the bible spirit and truth worship center. These scriptures are very intentional with thought behind them. Learning the different kinds of love can help you improve your relationships. God did this intentionally because agape is the most powerful, and echoes the love he has for us. Spirit thanks to the ancient greeks, we can learn from all the different types of love in our lives. It would not be an overstatement to say that every action that is pleasing to god is motivated by love. The ancient greeks identified six types of love, and thousands of years later, these categorizations are still relevant. Okay, first of all, youre most likely not referring to four biblicallydefined types of love, but the four greek words all typically translated into english as love. Teaching kids three different types of biblical love. Starting with eros, we must note that the term doesnt show up in scripture. The five kinds of love ove in english has hundreds of meanings in common usage. Knowing the 6 types of love can improve your relationships.
Feb 16, 2016 the four different types of love bible study lesson. Uhgahpay is the highest of the four types of love in the bible. Dec 06, 2015 the english word love has different meanings in the greek and its enlightening to understand the different meanings. Any strong affection, closeness, or devotion to things or persons. What are the three types of love in the catholic bible. But there are also literal different types of love. Jul 01, 2016 did you know that the bible talks about four different types of love. Is it the kind of love experienced between spouses. Therefore, its no surprise that love carries a lot of weight in the bible as a primary theme. Learn how gods agape love is different from all the other types of love. According to the ancient greeks, there are four distinct words for love, each indicating a different way in which we feel this incredible. I pray for the lord to heal our hearts, past hurts that have build a protective hedge around our hearts that blinds us from his love. It is a nonpartial, sacrificial love, which is best exemplified by gods provision for us on the cross. Love in the hebrew is expressed by a variety of words which are somewhat broad in their usage.
This is the natural, human type of love and affection that we have for a. According to the bible, what are the four types of love. The course will cover a wide assortment of topics ranging from basic biblical information, e. When a young lady was reading a large book for her universitys english literature course, she found it very boring and could barely stay focused while reading it.
The four types of love in greek are eros, phileo, storge and agape. Suggestions a study of the four loves divides very easily into a twopart discussion, or even a fourpart one if you wish to look at each love separately andor to incorporate questions raised by the introduction, and the chapter on sub human loves as well. Of the four types of love, only one can be chosen agape. And love is something they were also fascinated with. It is compatible with quite a bit of takenforgrantedness or. There are four types of love expressed in the bible. We love everything from pancakes to parents, but in vastly different ways. But what kind of love do we find in the scriptures. Gods love for us is all over the bible we thought it would be fun to test some knowledge with a few trivia questions about love in the bible. Storge is the love that is inherent, for example the love between parents and their children. But then she met a handsome young professor on campus, and they quickly fell in love. Nov 05, 2015 this is a totally new kind of love, where we love god for his own sake. There are four main types of love found in the bible that are categorized by four greek words. We have taught that only agape and phileo appear in the bible, but storge does appear in a compound form in.
There is a greek word, phileo, that means brotherly love. Did you know that the bible talks about four different types of love. In hollywood films, we think of love as the romantic infatuation you experience when you first fall in love. In english they are all translated as the word love, but the original greek is much more specific.
I like the analysis of how the different types of love work in a marriage and how agape is the foundation. Oct 10, 2017 in ancient greece, philosophers frequently discussed the different types of love. Oct 20, 2017 i dont know about the catholic bible, but i have learned in my protestant bible there are 3 types of love. The four types of love from the ancient greek language. In three of the four gospels, jesus tells us what he expects from us, and you shall love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. There are four main categories that love tends to fall into eros, storge, philos, and agape. How to study the bible is designed to give a student the information and tools required to begin effectively studying the word of god.
Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure. There is also another type of love that sort of falls into philia, depending on how you look at it, called storge. These types of love are for different types of relationships and different levels of relationships. In the english language, the word love is forced to bear the burden of a multitude of meanings. Free love printable bible journal templates rosemary pope. Even though we use the same word to express these feelings, theyre clearly not the same. Did you know that there are four types of love found in the bible. Artists, poets and painters all epitomize the heart as the. When we have received faith and know the lord in our minds, our hearts should instantly love him and not only him, but we now can love others with this new love for god, and we can love them as his own sons and daughters, just as we have discovered ourselves to be. A compelling tale that will help you dive deeper into your own emotions and understanding, this is highly recommended for anyone who values the relationships and people in their life.
Gods love for us is a perfect example and starting place to study on love. Storge roughly translates to family loyalty, while agape is an unconditional love. The seven types of love discussed below are loosely based on classical readings, especially of plato and aristotle, and on j. So, lets take a look at the different types of love so you can better understand your own relationships. There are four greek words for love that are important for bible students to understand. There are actually four greek words that communicate a different type of love. But in its purest sense, you can see that even though this type of love can be corrupted, it originally came from god as a gift to all of us. What scriptures are used in these free printable bible journal templates. The four different types of love bible study lesson. There is no distinguishing between i love you, mom and i love eating french fries. But the bible tells us of something even more basic. Lewis which explores the nature of love from a christian and philosophical perspective through thought experiments. The big key to understanding agape is to realize that it can be known from the action it prompts. The four forms of love in the bible learn religions.
Storge, familial love, is a word for the bond that exists between one who loves and persons, animals, and the things that surround him. You may love your spouse, love your job, or love your car. How to apply the bible to your life in four steps zondervan. You might not catch it just reading through but when you look at the original greek words youll find different meanings. Bible verses about love about how the four different words for love in the bible philos, agape, storge, and eros are used in the scriptures. Oct 10, 2017 while the greeks are known for having four main types of love, there are three main types of love in the bible. Over the course of the summer, weve taken a dive into the theme of first love, based on 1 john 4. This love keeps on loving even when the loved one is unresponsive, unkind, unlovable, and unworthy. It refers to sexual love and probably derived its name from the mythical god of love.
Agape is the very nature of god, for god is love 1 john 4. The word represents what we consider today to be romantic love. As we know, scripture tells us that love is the highest attribute. In this study, we are going to learn about one of the most important and powerful things in the universe. All types of gods love i pray will become as natural as breathing for me as i grow to know and trust him more and more. Eros love is what you feel when you tell someone youve fallen in love with them. Agape the greatest, unconditional love it is the noblest word for love in the greek language.
Lewis continues the discussion of the four ancient philosophical definitions of love. The greek word that refers to the love of god, one of the kinds of love we are to have for people, is agape. Love in the bible, as in our everyday usage, can be directed from person to. For instance, when the bible says that god so loved the world does this. Phileo verb means to have ardent affection and feelinga type of impulsive love nelsons new illustrated bible dictionary, 1995, love. I have a poem about agape love, must post it someday. One hallmark of biblical interpretation is the meantmeans distinction. In the english language today, we use the word love in a variety of applications. We say that we love broccoli and we say we love our spouses.
Sometimes, you still read these terms in old books or in discussions of the greek language or history. Lewis wrote a book called the four loves, dealing with the four classical loves, usually spoken of by their greek names, eros, storge. Three of them appear in the bible but all are translated as love. There are at least two categories or types of love mentioned in the bible. A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. Explore 4 types of love in the bible learn religions. There are four greek words for love that are important for christians to understand. Whether you are a christian or just want to learn more about other religions, it is important to learn more about these forms of love. This is the kind of love that is based on common interests, common goals. However, in the greek version of the bible, different types of love are described using different words even if the english version of the bible translates them as love. Although most people believe that love revolves around the heart, it actually occurs in the brain.
The book was based on a set of radio talks from 1958 which had been criticised in the u. Uh gah pay perhaps the best way to understand agape love is to think of it as the type of love that comes from. The ancient greeks studied love and classified them into eight different types. I dont know about the catholic bible, but i have learned in my protestant bible there are 3 types of love. The different kinds of love mentioned in the bible united. Feb, 2016 there are four greek words for love that are important for bible students to understand. It differs from most philia in that it tends, especially. Because of these distinctions, we can learn that in order to truly enjoy eros we must also search for greater depths through philia and cultivate ludus, avoiding mania as our relationships mature. Learn the different types of love and better understand your. Agape the greatest, unconditional love it is the noblest word for love in.
The 4 types of love and how they radically impact your life. In english they are all translated as the word love, but. In earlier translations of the bible, the three types of love were considered agape, eros and philos. Pdf is there a problem with our definitions of love, a collection of definitions from. Suggestions a study of the four loves divides very easily into a twopart discussion, or even a four part one if you wish to look at each love separately andor to incorporate questions raised by the introduction, and the chapter on sub human loves as well.