Saturday, October 8, 2016
9:01 AM

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (agapas-embracing God's will; choosing His choices and obeying them through His power)     Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love (philo) You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs." He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (agapas) Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love (philo) You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love (phileis) Me?" 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 (philō )You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.
Joh 21:15‭-‬17 NKJV

Agape - ag-ah'-pay:  love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially (plural) a love-feast -- (feast of) charity(-ably), dear, love.

agapao  ag-ap-ah'-o:  to love (in a social or moral sense) -- (be-)love(-ed).

Bible > Strong's > Greek > 25

◄ 25. agapaó ►
Strong's Concordance
agapaó: to love
Original Word: ἀγαπάω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: agapaó
Phonetic Spelling: (ag-ap-ah'-o)
Short Definition: I love
Definition: I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 25 agapáō – properly, to prefer, to love; for the believer, preferring to "live through Christ" (1 Jn 4:9,10), i.e. embracing God's will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power. 25 (agapáō) preeminently refers to what God prefers as He "is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16). See 26 (agapē).

With the believer, 25 /agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). True 25 /agapáō ("loving") is always defined by God – a "discriminating affection which involves choice and selection" (WS, 477). 1 Jn 4:8,16,17 for example convey how loving ("preferring," 25 /agapáō) is Christ living His life through the believer.

phílos – a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection.

Note: The root (phil-) conveys experiential, personal affection – indicating 5384 (phílos) expresses experience-based love.

[25 (agapáō) focuses on value-driven (an decision-based) love – which of course does not exclude affection!]

Devotion:
Out of impulse, Peter told Jesus that he will do anything for Him, even to die with Him. But he denied the Lord 3 times and he grieve over his failure.
It is a comfort to know that our Lord does not commission us until His work in us has caused us to see our actual pathetic condition. He wants us to arrive at the point of realising that by ourelves we can accomplish zero. Only in brokenness we begin to see the hope that can be found only in Him. He enables us when we cannot. He strengthen us when we are weak. He shows us that love is not to focus on ourselves but focus on Him and by reaching out to the poor and needy. We even have to depend on His help to love Him, how much more we need His help to love others. The Lord restored Peter by commission him to feed His little children and tender His people; only after Peter understood that he could never depend on his own strength and enthusiasm to love Jesus. Only Jesus can show us how to love Jesus. Only Father God can teach us how to love Jesus the way the Father loves Him. We can only obey Him through His power.
Lord Jesus had caused Peter's love for Him to moved from philo (experienced-based love; personal affection) to agapaó (decision-based love; embracing God's will; choosing His choices and obeying them through His power, include personal affection but in a social and moral sense).

Lord I want to love You, teach me to love You.