Is the love between husbands and wives any different from the love fellow Christians have for each other or for non-believers?<\/p>\n\t
Greek has three basic words for love, two of which are used in the Bible:<\/p>\n
Agape<\/i>\u00a0is a devoted love. It gives even when it is not returned.\u00a0Agape<\/i>\u00a0is a love done on purpose; it is chosen. This is the type of love that we are told God had for mankind. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us<\/i>” (Romans 5:8). This is the type of love described in\u00a0I Corinthians 13:4-8; the type of love that Christians are to have for each other. It is also the type of love that husbands are to have for their wives. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her<\/i>” (Ephesians 5:25).<\/p>\n
Philio<\/i>\u00a0is the love of companions. It is what you have with your best friend. Interestingly, while husbands are told to love (agape<\/i>) their wives, wives are told to love (philio<\/i>) their husbands and children. “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children<\/i>” (Titus 2:4).<\/p>\n
I believe the difference is due to women being more emotional in their relationships. Men can often act despite their emotions at the moment. Women generally act because of their emotions. Because husbands are to lead their homes, it requires making decisions and acting regardless of his current emotional feelings. Thus when a disagreement occurs between a husband and wife, it is the husband’s responsibility to do what is right — to express his love for his wife — regardless of any bitter feelings of the moment. God made woman to be man’s companion (Genesis 2:18;\u00a0Malachi 2:14). Thus a wife’s love (philio<\/i>) for her husband is the fulfillment of her role.<\/p>\n
All Christians, male or female, are to demonstrate the\u00a0agape<\/i>\u00a0type of love to each other. People can be annoying at times, yet we must choose to show love for one another regardless of our current emotions toward that person at the moment.<\/p>\n
The third Greek word for love, which is not found in the Bible, is\u00a0eros<\/i>. It is the word for romantic or sexual love. While husbands and wives display a sexual passion for each other (I Corinthians 7:1-9;\u00a0Proverbs 5:18-19), it does not serve as a foundation of the relationship. It is a pleasant benefit to being married, but it does not define marriage.<\/p>\n
You mention the love Christians ought to have toward non-believers. While we should be concerned for the souls of everyone we meet, not willing that any should perish, yet the Bible warns us not to build close ties with those who chose to remain in the world. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”<\/i>” (II Corinthians 6:14-17). Or, as John put it, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him<\/i>” (I John 2:15). The Greek word for love here is\u00a0agape<\/i>. A Christian cannot choose to devote himself to those in the world. He will compromise his principles and destroy his relationship with God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Is the love between husbands and wives any different from the love fellow Christians have for each other or for non-believers? Answer: Greek has three basic words for love, two of which are used in the Bible: Agape\u00a0is a devoted love. It gives even when it is not returned.\u00a0Agape\u00a0is a love done on purpose;…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[65,64],"class_list":["post-2789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-love","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":90423,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-marry-the-person-you-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":0},"title":"Is it wrong to marry the person you love?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I came to your website and followed it for a couple of days. I'm glad that you are helping people with your answers. I want to know if Christians can have a love marriage? Is it against God's word or is it against God's will? If two people,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68465,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-bridegroom\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":1},"title":"Jesus, the Bridegroom","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer God created Adam and Eve to be husband and wife, cleaving to each other in faithfulness (Genesis 2:24). Here is the beginning of marriage, but marriage was not meant to be an end in itself. Marriage is intended to point to something even greater: God and His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89069,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-without-natural-affection-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":2},"title":"What does “without natural affection” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful\" (Romans 1:31 KJV). What is natural affection? Answer: \"Without natural affection\" (astrogous) means \"Being without the natural love between parents and their children.\" Seneca, a Roman philosopher, used the word in \"justifying\" for killing unwanted children. It is a person\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20826,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-two-homosexuals-truly-love-each-other\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":3},"title":"Can two homosexuals truly love each other?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering, can you explain loving someone as in I Corinthians 13? My friend I disagree regarding whether homosexuals love each other because the basis of their relationship is sin; there is nothing good about it. They might be nice to each other, get each other things, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42859,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/love-and-respect\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":4},"title":"Love and Respect","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 5:25-33 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are some topics that are joined such that you cannot have one without the other. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Faith and obedience are two sides the same subject. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You can\u2019t really have faith without obedience - James 2:14-18 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And you can\u2019t really have obedience without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40100,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ruling-with-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":2789,"position":5},"title":"Ruling with Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irven Lee via\u00a0Truth Magazine, January 1, 1981 An elder is to be \"one that ruleth well his own family, having his children in subjection with all gravity; for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}