The Spirit of Love

 My last post I revealed how emotions are spirits and how there are different types of spirits. There is a spirit of a man (i.e. his motives or his driving force), there is a spirit like a wind or a breathe (like an invisible force), and there is a spirit like an emotion (a feeling). My argument is that Love is a spirit but not an emotional spirit but rather a driving force. If the Holy Spirit of YHVH is Love then it would do us well to understand what Love is.

 We always hear about the different types of love in the Greek. We will talk about these types of "love" but we will need to go beyond the Greek and into the Hebrew to see the Love that is YHVH.

Definitions sighted from

https://www.google.com/amp/s/greekcitytimes.com/2020/02/14/the-8-ancient-greek-words-for-love/

Eros (romantic, passionate love, lust)

Philia (affectionate love, friendship)

Agape (selfless, universal love)

Storge (familiar love)

Mania (obsessive love)

Ludus (playful love)

Pragma (enduring love)

Philautia (self love)

 The Greeks believed that in order to care for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves.

 As Aristotle said “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of a man’s feelings for himself.”

 One problem for me is that the Greek interpretations of "love" do not align itself with the Hebrew Love of YHVH. In the Greek they interpret love as different feelings and choices. They separate family love and friendship as well as obsessive desires and lust. In Hebrew lust is different than love but love includes both familiar love and sexual love.

 In Hebrew a common word for Love is אהב אהב Transliteration: 'âhab 'âhêb (Phonetic: aw-hab')

BDB Definition: to love

1. human love for another, includes family, and sexual 

2. human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom

3. human love for or to God

4. act of being a friend

5. Gods love toward man.

Strong's Definition: A primitive root; to have affection for (sexually or otherwise): - (be-) love (-d, -ly, -r), like, friend.

 Lust is about an unhealthy desire a compulsive type of desire and not always just sexual desire. We see a sexuality to the Hebrew love that we have come to separate in the Greek. In the strongs definition we see the most direct answer, to have affection for. 

 We see how we have lost the meaning of love by corrupted ideals about what is love. In a typical modern fashion we have deconstructed love and perverted its base meaning. We say that we love chocolate or cake because we desire these things, and while it is true that human appetites for things falls under the Hebrew definition of love it is a twisting of this meaning that leads us to think of carnal desires as love. The affection for someone or something is the base for love, a desire based in caring for something or someone not just personal pleasure. 

 The Greek philosophy corrupted our idea of love by making it about us and not others where in Hebrew love has always been rooted in putting others first. This is why you hear people say that God is Agape love because He is selfless, what I want to do is show that all true love is selfless love. YHVH also falls under Pragma love because His Love is enduring, I would argue that Agape love is Pragmatic love in nature and is another example of how this deconstruction of love is problematic. 

  Yeshua spoke about Love, He said "no greater Love is there than to die for a mere friend". Yeshua demonstrated Love in His obedience to the Father as well in His death on the cross. We can also see Love in the fruits of the Spirit.

 Gal 5:22-23 KJV 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 Not just that love is a fruit but all of the fruits are of love! Longsuffering is that pragma love we see in the Greek and means that we suffer even when we dont have to. It's not about us. Meekness and gentleness both imply that we humble ourselves and withhold our strength. Temperance is self control, meaning we dont do what we want but endure for another. 

 Love is so rich and deep that it could never be an emotion or a feeling rooted in self, Love is a driving force a motivation to put others first. Love is a desire but not a self fulfilling desire but rather a desire to do well for others even when they dont deserve it. To Love is to die, not a lustful feeling but a choice found in affection for others. Love is the Holy Spirit.

We are reconciled to the Father through the Son by the Spirit of Love.

- The Responsible Christian