The Greatest of These
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13).
The world is constantly pushing the word “love” into our lives. While the church does need love, we don’t need the type of love that the world is promoting. The world promotes a conditional, self-centered, uncommitted love. But is that what the Bible teaches?
The Bible uses four different Greek words for love. AGAPE, PHILEO, STURGE, and EROS.
AGAPE love is the highest form of love. It is best displayed by the nature of God as John wrote that “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). John used the word AGAPE which when replaced with love literally reads “God is AGAPE.” This form of love is also seen in Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind as Paul wrote “God shows his love (AGAPE) for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Further, Paul’s beautiful description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 was written using the word AGAPE.
PHILEO love is commonly referred to as “brotherly love.” This is the type of love that one would have for his neighbor. The word PHILEO was most famously used by Peter in his conversation with Jesus at the end of John’s gospel account. Jesus asked “Do you love (AGAPE) me?” and Peter answered “Yes, Lord; you know that I love (PHILEO) you.” Peter knew that if he truly had AGAPE love for Jesus at the time of Jesus’ death, he wouldn’t have denied Jesus.
STURGE love refers to a deep caring bond that is found within a family. While the word STURGE cannot be found within scripture, it is derived from the Greek word PHILOSTORGOS which represents a loving, natural affection. The opposite word ASTORGOS meaning “without natural affection” was used by Paul when describing unrighteous character and one of the characteristics he uses was “disobedient to parents” (Romans 1:30).
Finally, there is EROS love which refers to a romantic, passionate, and often physical love. While in the New Testament, the primary form of love that is used is AGAPE, EROS is acknowledged in the Bible, particularly within the sanctity of marriage.
Regardless of the definition or use of these four loves found in the Bible, the world has distorted love. What was once selfless, committed, unconditional, and valued the sanctity of marriage now is selfish, uncommitted, conditional, and seeks sexual gratification outside the bounds of marriage.
The world says we need love. Yes, we do. But not the kind of love that the world promotes. Instead, we should be seeking the type of love that Jesus promotes in Matthew 5:44 that allows us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Further, we should consider Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Notice, that in that passage, Paul does not explain what love feels like, he shows what love does.
Because of space, I will only point out one characteristic of love that Paul presents. That is “love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant” (1 Corinthians 13:4). In other words, love is not proud. Huh, that’s odd. What month is it right now? At the time of this writing, it is the last day of June, also known as pride month. The same people who are promoting “love is love,” and “love is all that matters,” are the same people who lack true love. Let us be aware and cautious about the worldly love these people spread. At the same time, let us embody the love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians chapter 13.
The Greatest of These is Love!
