Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Phileo
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Matthew 24:12-13
In recent years, the indicator in verse 12 about "love . . . grow[ing] cold" has often been cited when a grievance toward a particular church organization or group arose. This verse, however, can easily be misapplied, so it behooves us to more fully understand what it means so that we can know if or when it is being fulfilled. Understanding the word translated "love" is a vital first step. It is the well-known Greek word agape, the love that people have only because God has given it to them (Romans 5:5; II Timothy 1:7; I John 2:5; 4:7-8). The people whose agape love is growing cold must have had it in the first place, so it refers to those whom God has called into a relationship with Him (John 6:44). It is important to differentiate between this agape love and the other types of love mentioned in the Bible. Phileo love means "to be a friend to" or "to be fond of" a person or object, indicating "having affection for," whereas Strong's Concordance notes that agape "is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety" (emphasis ours). Similarly, philadelphia love means "fraternal affection" or "brotherly love." Agape love, though, is manifested first toward God, because it is a dutiful, submissive, obedient love, one that does what is right regardless of how a person feels about it. In other words, agape love has a moral core rather than an emotional one. The Bible shows that, in general, we show agape love to the Father through our obedience and submission, especially to His law (John 14:15-23; 15:10; I John 2:5; 5:2-3; II John 6). We show agape love to each other through sacrifice, just as Jesus' example of love—to those around Him and to us—was through sacrifice (John 13:34; 15:12-13; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 5:2, 25; I John 3:16, 18; 4:9-12). The meaning of Matthew 24:12, then, is that agape love will grow cold because of lawlessness, even though there may still be brotherly love, kindness, and human affection. Remember, we show agape love to God through obedience—the opposite of lawlessness—so when disobedience increases, agape grows cold. An example of this appears in the letter to the Ephesians, where Jesus says that they had left their first love—their first agape—and He commands them to repent (Revelation 2:4-5), that is, to turn away from their lawlessness. When there is compromise, or the setting aside of God's standard of righteousness and holiness, then the submissive love toward God and the sacrificial love toward man will begin to grow cold. It is a simple cause-and-effect relationship. In this prophecy, Jesus Christ is describing an ongoing breakdown in the relationship with God. Since that most important relationship is the source of agape love, if it is waning, then it will be evident in other relationships. A symptom may be that sacrificial love toward other people is decreasing, but the real cause is that the relationship with God is cooling off. A cause of this deterioration is found in the preceding verse: "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many" (Matthew 24:11). While a true prophet always upholds God's law (Deuteronomy 13:3-4; Isaiah 8:19-20; Romans 8:7), a false prophet is willing to compromise with God's standard of holiness when it suits him. Those following a false teacher will likewise slide into lawlessness, becoming separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-3).
David C. Grabbe
Is the Love of Many Growing Cold?
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John 21:15-17
Most translations fail to bring out that two different words are translated as "love" in John 21:15-17. Twice, Jesus asks Peter if he had agape love for Him, and both times Peter says, "Yes, You know that I love you"—but Peter does not use agape but phileo, which indicates personal warmth, regard, and affection. Phileo is a more fickle, more human love than agape, which is a reasoned, intentional devotion with a moral core. Agape love comes from God, and it is focused on what is right and best for the other person, regardless of how one feels. Jesus twice asks Peter if he has this agape love, and both times Peter can only truthfully respond that he has tremendous personal affection for Him. Peter cannot say he has agape love for Him, when he had recently demonstrated that he did not love Jesus as much as he had claimed. Peter feels personal warmth and affection for His Messiah, but when it came to putting His will above his own, Peter is not as devoted as he has claimed. We can see that the love of God cannot be separated from the will of God. His will forms the basis for agape love; if an act is outside of God's will, it cannot be agape love. Peter probably thought his intention to sacrifice his life was an act of agape love! After all, that same Passover night, Jesus had told the disciples that "greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). So Peter may have reasoned that dying with Jesus would demonstrate godly love. Yet, because that was not God's will for Peter, such a great sacrifice was not actually the love of God! The third time that Jesus questions Peter, He uses the word phileo. He lowers the bar, essentially asking Peter if He were a close friend and felt affection for Him. This upsets Peter, because, undoubtedly, his recent failure is still fresh in his mind, and these reminders are painful. The gospels record that after Peter had denied Christ the third time, and the rooster crowed, that Peter "wept bitterly," indicating painfully moving grief. In John 21:17, that grief is still present: "Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.'" Here the translations obscure another important distinction. In addition to the two Greek words for "love," these verses also contain two different Greek words translated as "know." When Peter says, "You know all things," it is the same Greek word that he uses in his previous answers—eido—and it means "to see," usually in a figurative sense. It has the sense of understanding, comprehending, and perceiving. But this third time, after Jesus asks if Peter had phileo love for him, he responds with a different word that means "to know." This time he uses ginosko, indicating an experiential knowledge. His third response, then, implies that Jesus understood all things and had experienced Peter's phileo love toward Him, yet the humbled Peter will not claim that Jesus had experienced agape love from him. The lesson for Peter (and for us) is that we cannot have agape love if Christ does not supply it. If He is active in us, however, then the meager efforts we put forth—if they are His will—will begin to produce abundantly, just like the great catch of fish earlier in the chapter.
David C. Grabbe
Breakfast by the Sea (Part Two)
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1 John 2:15
This verse begins to explore the connection between Babylon and Laodiceanism. "Do not love the world. . . ." Theologically, that makes sense after understanding what God says in Revelation 18:7 about pride, self-sufficiency, avoidance of suffering, and the like. The apostle John, aware of the nuances of the concept of love, did not use agape here but phileo, which means "have affection for, to cherish, a feeling of warm regard." Agape is a reasoned love, and there need not be any feeling or affection connected with it at all. That kind of love can very easily be done coldly, calculatedly, simply because it is right. Here in I John 2:15, the apostle says, "Don't have a feeling of warm regard or affection toward the world." Why would he have to say anything like that unless the world was attractive? The world possesses a beauty that, carnally, we find very difficult to resist. Because Laodiceanism springs from this attractiveness, it becomes very critical to a Christian. Many members of God's church find the world irresistible. Somehow or another, many cannot avoid it spiritually.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The World, the Church, and Laodiceanism
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Jude 1:2
Jude wishes upon his readers specific blessings. His salutation is not the same as the apostle Paul and some of the other writers used. He specifically chooses "mercy, peace, and love," as all three are vital in times of apostasy. He asks for mercy because they probably needed to repent. His whole reason for writing the epistle stems from the fact that they had begun to get lax, allowing false teachers and false teachings in. They needed God's mercy as they began to repent. He wishes them peace because, obviously, a major result of apostasy is war and division. Remember, his brother writes in James 3:18 that the fruits of righteousness are produced in peace, and these people were not producing the fruits of righteousness for two reasons: false teachings and war. Thus, they needed peace Finally, he includes "love," the prime virtue. They needed love because it would take love to resolve this situation—and not just love for God but love for one another. This is the agape form of love, not just phileo— not just caring for one another but setting the mind to do God's will for each other and for God.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Jude
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