All Christians are aware of God’s great love for us and how it gladdens our hearts every day.
Love is so important in Christianity that on numerous occasions we say that God is love. In this article we will look at the Bible’s references to God’s love, with a great list of fascinating verses.
The love of God in Christianity
In the history of mankind there have been many religions with their different gods and some of them still persist today. In almost all of them, the divine figures were cruel and dangerous to the people when they got angry, creating enormous disasters according to mythology.
In Christianity and other contemporary religions, God is love and as such is kind to his people. The Lord loves his creation and that is why he has dedicated so many actions and efforts towards us, such as sending his son Jesus.
God’s love transcends the feeling of human love and requires surrender, forgiveness, sacrifice and dedication. As we have said, the ultimate expression of this love was the surrender of Jesus to humanity who, in exchange for his life, bore all our sins and gave us essential guidelines for living a conscientious life, full of kindness and love for our neighbor.
Verses on God’s love in the Old Testament
Although the beliefs of the people who lived at the time when the Old Testament was written had some influences from earlier religions in which the love of God was not such an important theme, we find many references in all its books to this great love. Let’s see them!
In the morning let me know of your great love, for in you I have put my trust. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (Psalm 143:8)
People need to be guided on the path of life and we will let ourselves be guided by those who love us and love us.
May love and truth never leave you: wear them always around your neck and write them in the book of your heart. You will have God’s favor and a good reputation among the people. (Proverbs 3:3-4)
Love and truth are among the most important values of Christianity and we should always carry them with us and apply them in the world.
Can a mother forget her nursing child, and cease to love the child she has borne? Even if she forgets, I won’t forget you! I carry you engraved in the palms of my hands; your walls are always present in my mind. (Isaiah 49:15-16)
The Lord loves his creation as a mother loves her newborn child. It will never leave us and we must remember that.
In exchange for you I will give men; in exchange for your life I will give peoples! For I love you and you are precious and worthy of honor in my eyes. (Isaiah 43:4)
God’s love is synonymous with surrender and sacrifice, being a love superior to any human feeling.
Engrave me as a seal upon your heart; wear me as a mark upon your arm. Love is as strong as death, and passion as tenacious as the grave. As a divine flame it is the burning fire of love. (Song of Solomon 8:6)
There is no feeling like the love of Our Lord, it is more intense than anything we can imagine.
He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. (Proverbs 21:21)
Following God’s path brings happiness and a good future.
Hatred is a cause of dissension, but love covers all faults. (Proverbs 10:12)
Hate and love may seem like opposing words, but the truth is that love is far superior to hate.
Here are some more verses without commentary, since their message is very similar to the previous ones.
The Lord’s great love never ends, and his compassion never runs out. Every morning his kindnesses are renewed; great is his faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23)
I love the Lord because he hears my pleading voice. Because he inclines his ear to me, I will call upon him all my life. (Psalm 116:1-2)
For only an instant his anger lasts, but a lifetime his kindness. If at night there is weeping, in the morning there will be shouts of joy. (Psalm 30:5)
This is my prayer to the God of my life: that by day the Lord may send his love, and by night his song may accompany me. (Psalm 42:8)
Do not nurse secret hatreds against your brother, but rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you will not suffer the consequences of his sin. Do not be vindictive toward your neighbor, nor bear a grudge against him. Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:17-18)
Verses of God’s Love in the New Testament
With the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, the image of God changed radically in the faithful, and love became one of the pillars of our religion.
The actions that Christians do should always be out of love and following in the footsteps of Jesus. This is reflected in the Gospels and the other books of the New Testament as we will see below.
Love is patient, it is kind. Love is not envious or boastful or proud. He does not behave rudely, is not selfish, does not get angry easily, does not hold grudges. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)
True love is a pure feeling that is not linked to any other emotion or value. If this is not the case, it ceases to be love and becomes interest or envy.
Do everything with love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)
This simple sentence perfectly reflects the morals and ethics of Christians. We must love in all the acts of our lives.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which is the perfect bond. (Colossians 3:14)
As we have already said, God’s love is superior to any human feeling or experience.
And we have come to know and believe that God loves us. God is love. He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)
Love brings us closer to the Lord so it is important to love and act with love every day.
Always humble and kind, patient, tolerant of one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2)
Just as God loves us even though we often do not deserve it, we should love the people of this world and above all always tolerate them.
We love God because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
We have love in humanity because the Lord taught us to love. Without Him the world would be gray.
Love must be sincere. Hate evil; hold fast to what is good (Romans 12:9).
There is nothing purer than love and it is the path we must take before any decision.
So much for the verses commented on, but we leave you a wonderful list of verses of God’s love below. We recommend you to read them!
More verses about God’s love
Now, therefore, these three virtues remain: faith, hope and love. But the most excellent of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Above all, love one another deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)
I ask him, through the Spirit and with the power that comes from his glorious riches, to strengthen you in your innermost being, so that by faith Christ may dwell in your hearts. And I ask that, rooted and grounded in love. (Ephesians 3:16-17)
If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but lack love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)
And this is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be offered as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. (1 John 4:10)
Love one another with brotherly love, respecting and honoring one another. (Romans 12:10)
May the Lord lead you to love as God loves, and to persevere as Christ persevered. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy. He purified it, washing it with water by the word. (Ephesians 5:25-26)
No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God remains among us, and among us his love has been fully manifested. (1 John 4:12)
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)
Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
However, as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
But perfect love casts out fear. He who fears expects punishment, so he has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18)
Have outstanding debts to no one, except to love one another. Indeed, he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)
See what great love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! And we are! The world does not know us precisely because it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)
May the Lord make you grow to love one another more and more, and everyone, just as we love you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
He who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Love does not harm others. So love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or want, or peril, or violence?(Romans 8:35)
With this article, we wanted to make known the large number of references to the love of God in the Bible, to highlight the importance of this word in our daily lives as Christians.
God’s love unites us all so that we may love each other as his children. See you next article!