Agape and Phileo – Logos and Rhema are ALL Interchangeable

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What is the difference, biblically and theologically, between agape and phileo. I have read that secular Greek texts/philosophers thought phileo a higher form of love as it refers to intimacy and a desire to love, whereas agape is more a duty bound, more objective type. The Septuagint appears to use both without any sort of rhyme or reason, and indeed in Hebrew there is only one word for love. Where did the notion that agape is some sort of higher, Godly form of love come from?

Agape and phileo

A Christian revival has broken out at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky which is spreading to other campuses throughout the nation. Unlike other so-called revivals of recent, this one seems to be legitimate. This one has no ulterior motive, no crazy displays of laughter, dog barking, etc, And nobody is making any money off of this one. It just seems to have started without any sort of planning and yet at a time when America is in great need to examine itself. Could it be that this one started in the mind of God Himself???

KEENER: Answering critics of the Asbury Revival

Previously we have seen revivals of various nature – some legitimate and literally changing lives while some were obviously phony. One focused on “Holy Laughter” and the leader actually started out one revival service by telling jokes. “Did you hear the one about the farmer’s daughter . . ?” Still another phony one started in Tulsa when some nut at a Kenneth Hagin meeting began oinking like a pig. And still another started in Florida when a pastor tripped and fell over a microphone cord and was declared to have been slain in the Spirit.
Now I would have actually thought that revivals would have started out previously when great discoveries were made that verified the Christian faith as legitimate. For example why wasn’t there a revival throughout France when Louis Pasteur debunked spontaneous generation and demonstrated that life forms cannot just come about as the result of natural selection. Thus an all powerful Creator was the only alternative. Pasteur’s discovery literally wiped out a deadly plague that threatened to end all life on the European continent.
Or why didn’t revival break out when Albert Einstein discovered that we live in an expanding universe that traces back to a point of creation and that leading to the conclusion that, as Albert put it, “Creation requires a Creator?”
Or what about recently when the Rawling s manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew was found to trace back as early as 30 AD and to have been preceded by one in Aramaic which was likely composed in the presence of Jesus Himself? Or what about O’Callaghan’s discovery of portions of Mark in the Dead Sea Scrolls?
I could go on and on with various other discoveries that have tended to validate the Christian faith and made the atheist community run and hide. And yet we saw no revival.
Perhaps the answer is simply that all of this centered on head knowledge while the present one beginning at Asbury is centered on loving the unlovable and on repentance from sin. Yes sin, that ugly word that many people seem to be removing from their vocabulary these days.
In fact many today have adopted the Hindu concept that sin is relative to persons, places and situations. For example Nimrod taught that there were no moral absolutes. What is sin for you might not be sin for me.
Now there certainly are personal convictions that some of us share that others do not. For example I look at Coca-cola as something that for me at least would be sinful to drink. Place a dirty penny in a saucer full of Coke overnight and by morning you will see a shiny coin with all the dirt and grime eaten away. So I can only imagine what a belly full of soda is doing to the lining of our stomach. And our body is the temple of God so I don’t think we have a right to be destroying it.
Okay that is my personal conviction but I have to recognize that there are some very godly people out there who do not share that conviction.
But what if there actually are moral absolutes that all of us need to be living by? What if there actually is a God out there who is very upset that we do not live by these absolutes??? That I think is what has stirred the Asbury revival and why it is exploding beyond the bounds of the small little town of Wilmore, Kentucky. Young people are seeing the obvious hatred stirred on by leftist groups such as Black Lives Matter and then seeing people like Joe Biden feel the need to apologize for even suggesting that All Lives Matter.
And those young people are not willing to bow or apologize. Of course all lives matter, including those of the unborn, and it is about time that we all got around to acknowledging that.
Two Greek terms come to mind here and both affirm absolutes. They are AGAPE and LOGOS. AGAPE is a term of absolute love for all regardless of their status. A young Muslim terrorist recently cracked open a Bible and saw Jesus ‘ words “Love thy enemy” and thought “Wait a minute. I am their enemy. Maybe I had better read this book a little more carefully.”
Ernest Borgnine, the famous actor was once asked to play the role of the Roman Centurion in the movie “Jesus of Nazareth.” Ernie had lived a rather vile life. He was in the midst of seeing his fifth marriage come to an end and had developed a behind the scenes reputation as a bully to women. And to top it all off, Ernie didn’t even know the Biblical story of the character he was to play. But the money was there and he was after all Italian.
So Ernie stood here trying to get himself in the mood. “Let’s see I am a soldier and I don’t like what they are doing to the man. Okay.”
And then Ernie heard someone read Jesus’ words “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” And all of a sudden it hit him. Here was the Son of God in torment and agony and all that was on His mind was you and I. In Ernie’s words “Tears as big as tea cups started coming out of me. I looked around to see Ann Bancroft. She wasn’t even in the scene but she was crying as well.”
And Ernie’s life changed. Marriage number 5 was so healed that it lasted 39 years until his death. And along the way Ernie accepted much more wholesome parts. For example he played the role of the angel Jonathan in a tear jerker episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ which many of us remember fondly.
Laura’s baby brother has died and she thinks it is because she has committed the unpardonable sin. So she heads up into the mountains to find God and reason with him to take her life and send her brother back. I believe it is in two parts and would highly recommend that you watch it.
Years later John Wayne remarked to Borgnine “Ernie You’re a great guy. How come you and I never made a movie together?” That is the sort of change that AGAPE love brings out and others begin to notice.
And then there is the Greek word LOGOS. It is used to describe Jesus in John chapter one. John could have instead used the term RHEMA as it also translates to ‘Word.’ But he chose to use LOGOS as it infers a truth that fits every situation. An absolute truth.
Again this is the sort of change that the Word of God makes in people. And I believe it is having similar effects in Wilmore and beyond. Again no gimmicks, no crazy acts of spirituality and nobody is making any money off of this one. So long as that continues I believe the Asbury revival will continue to spread.

Collegiate Day of Prayer 2023 – LIVE from Asbury University — Feb 23rd @ 8-10p ET

John Mushenhouse

I have been reading the debate over the different types of love and was not allowed for some reason to comment. I will comment here on one post. A person gave the usual teaching that agape was the God kind of love . Yes it is ,but we need to go a little deeper and actually explain its meaning. It is a self-sacrificing love as best shown in this well known verse. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —Genesis 22:2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” —1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. — and this one about how great love was shown and is our standard – John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Troy Day

Thin, lean, and scrawny are synonyms.  They may all be equally accurate, but a wise husband will be careful which one he chooses to describe his wife!