It has been said, "There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand copies." It might be amended to read that there is but one real love, and as many copies as there are human beings in this world. The Bible simply declares, "God is love." Hence, there are as many concepts of love among men as there are concepts of God.
There are four words in the Greek language for "love." One of them has reference to the natural affection that is common to all life. It is almost like gravitation or some other blind force of nature, and is observed in animals as well as humans. Another word, "eran," means only passion in its lowest form, seeking nothing but gratification, and is not found in the New Testament at all. Among the pagan Greek writers it was synonymous with sex love. The two remaining words are found to predominate the New Testament philosophy of love. One of them is the word "phileo" and its various forms, appearing around 45 times in all. Let me define this word, for in spite of the varied manifestations of love among mortals, all of them are based on this one concept.
It is the kind of love common to friends. It means to be fond of, or to have strong affection or personal attachment for another. It is an unimpassioned love that responds only to the pleasure it takes in a person or object. It is based on an inner community between the person loving