Like agapaō, phileō also means "to love. In addition, it is also used for 'kissing' and
speaks primarily about persons with whom you are close friends. It is about friendship love. You
wishes your friends well. This also immediately constitutes the difference from agapaō. Phileō focuses
namely, primarily on loving persons with whom you are related or who belong to the same sphere
belong. Yet this love is not inferior or of lower quality. It is only more circumscribed in
extent. Thus the Son loves the Father (phileō, John 5:20) and Jesus loves those around him
(phileō, John 16:27b).
This love not inferior or of lower quality.
Although God calls Christians to love people outside their own kinship and sphere as well
have, we are at the same time called to be sure to do good to our fellow believers (Gal. 6:10).
There is nothing wrong with that. We see an example of this in Jesus' relationship with Lazarus. At the
death of Lazarus, Jesus weeps and the Jews acknowledge, "See, how He (phileō) loved him!
