God's kind of Love: Episode 1

Main ideas and lessons

• The speaker begins a teaching series on “God’s kind of love”, arguing that many people misunderstand it.
• He claims modern culture has sold people a “bill of goods” about love—often confusing love with lust or emotion-driven feelings.
• In English, “love” is used too broadly (e.g., “love my wife,” “love my dog,” “love ice cream”). But in the Bible’s original language (Greek), different kinds of love are distinguished:
  • Eros: sexual/erotic love
  • Phileo: brotherly/affectionate love
  • Agape: God’s kind of love
• He rejects the idea that God’s love is expressed by causing sickness, poverty, shame, or destruction as “blessings in disguise.”
• He argues that God is love (citing 1 John 4:8, 4:16), so God’s nature cannot be aligned with teachings that portray God as harming people.

Scriptural framework used

• Luke 11:9–13 (illustration)
  • Humans wouldn’t give bad things (e.g., stones instead of bread, serpents instead of fish) to their children.
  • Therefore, the heavenly Father gives good gifts—specifically, the Holy Spirit—to those who ask.
• 1 Corinthians 12–13
  • Chapter 12 discusses spiritual gifts (examples mentioned: tongues, prophecy, miracles/healings, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits).
  • The highlighted verse: “covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”
  • 1 Corinthians 13 is presented as the “love chapter,” showing that love must govern how gifts are used.
• Key thesis about 1 Corinthians 13
  • Love doesn’t “replace” the gifts; rather, gifts used without love become self-serving, divisive, or meaningless.
  • Gifts should be used in a non-carnal way, motivated by God’s love.

Methodology / instructions implied (how to apply “God’s kind of love”)

• Hold spiritual gifts and Christian actions together with love, instead of using them to:
  • promote oneself
  • gain attention/acclaim
  • create strife and division
  • pursue personal gain
• When operating in gifts (tongues, prophecy, healings, miracles, etc.), the motivation should be:
  • charity/agape (God’s love), expressed through actions/deeds, not only feelings
• Understand faith properly:
  • Faith must “work by love” (citing Galatians 5:6).
  • If faith isn’t working, the deeper issue may be misunderstanding God’s love rather than insufficient effort.
• Reframe prayer/trust:
  • If someone struggles with unbelief (“Will God really heal me / prosper me / help me?”), the suggested fix is:
    • seek a revelation of God’s unconditional love
    • stop tying God’s answers to the person’s performance/goodness

Definitions and conceptual claims about love

• The speaker prefers the term “charity” (as used in King James Bible wording) because it clearly points to agape—love involving deeds/actions, not just emotion.
• Emotions may be involved, but:
  • emotions are not the driver
  • God’s love is a decision and acted choice, not a “seizure-like” feeling that happens then disappears (“falling in love” style)
• Jesus is used as an example:
  • Jesus’s sacrifice is presented as love demonstrated through action (not merely emotional sensation).

Examples of “wrong” vs “right” use of love/gifts

• Wrong understanding (examples listed/argued)
  • “Lust is love” (the speaker says this is a lie)
  • Using spiritual gifts to seem spiritual, build a personal ministry, or exalt the self
  • Teachings claiming God causes problems (sickness/shame/poverty) to humble or punish
  • Giving/tithing/charitable acts without love—out of obligation, debt anxiety, or fear of curses
• Right understanding
  • Gifts and faith should be motivated by agape
  • Love is the “mortar” holding faith, works, and actions together

Key points from 1 Corinthians 13 quoted/used

• 1 Corinthians 13:1–2 (paraphrased with quotes)
  • Speaking in human/angelic tongues without charity = noise (sounding brass/tinkling cymbal).
  • Having prophecy, knowledge, mysteries, and even mountain-moving faith without charity = nothing/profits nothing.
• 1 Corinthians 13:3
  • Even extreme sacrifice (giving goods to feed the poor, giving the body to be burned) without charity = profits nothing.
• Conclusion drawn by the speaker:
  • Without love, spiritual power and religious activity lose their true value.

Anecdote illustrating love producing faith

• The speaker describes personal financial hardship while in ministry.
• He claims he had a dream showing God’s love; afterward:
  • his circumstances seemed unchanged,
  • but his perspective shifted,
  • and faith increased immediately.
• He compares it to a child trusting a parent to catch them while jumping into a pool: trust/fear and doubt connect to knowing (or not knowing) love.

Teaching conclusion and product promotion

• The speaker ends by saying:
  • he will continue the discussion in the next program (“tomorrow”)
  • he has a new teaching titled “God’s kind of love.”
• The materials are offered via CDs, DVDs, and a USB (audio + video).
• Viewers are called to respond to receive the materials.

Speakers / sources featured

• Speaker/host: Andrew Wommack (implied; “here’s Andrew” and “Andrew Wommack” appears in the announcement)
• Biblical sources cited/used
  • Luke 11:9–13 (father giving good gifts)
  • Luke 6:38 (“Give and it shall be given unto you”)
  • John 3:16
  • 1 John 4:8, 4:16 (“God is love”)
  • 1 Corinthians 12–14, especially 1 Corinthians 13:1–3
  • Galatians 5:6
  • James 1 (emotions/conceiving sin referenced)
  • Malachi 3:8–9 (fear of curse mentioned in the context of obligation-based giving)