Love: Bible Verses About the Topic of Love

Love

by Matt Slick | Jun 17, 2010 | Bible Verses by Topic, The Bible

A list of Scripture on the topic of love arranged in an outline, topical order. The Bible shows us the relation to the subject of love, defining its nature, focus, responsibilities, and proper objects.

Commanded:
1. Toward God
  1. Deuteronomy 11:1, “You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.”
  2. Matthew 22:36, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
2. Toward Everyone
  1. Matthew 5:43-48, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you 45 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47 “And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
3. Toward One Another
  1. Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
  2. John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
  3. John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”
4. Toward Your Neighbor
  1. Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”
  2. Matthew 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
  Toward Your Wives
  1. Ephesians 5:22, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”
Described as
1. Great
  1. Ephesians 2:4, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”
2. Poured out
  1. Romans 5:4, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
3. Surpassing knowledge
  1. Eph. 3:19, “and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.”
Its Effect
1. Shown to be Jesus’ disciples
  1. John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus
1. John the Apostle
  1. John 13:23, “There was reclining on Jesus’ breast one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
  2. John 21:20, “Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
2. Lazarus
  1. John 11:36, “And so the Jews were saying, “Behold how He loved him!”
3. Martha
  1. John 11:5, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”
Definition
1. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”
Love of God
1. We cannot be separated from
  1. Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
  2. Romans 8:39, “nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Other-Centered
1. Giving
  1. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
  2. 1 John 4:9, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
2. God and Others
  1. Matt. 22:36-40, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, ”‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
3. Sacrificial
  1. John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
  2. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.”
  3. Ephesians 5:1, “and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
  4. 1 John 3:16, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Miscellaneous
1. Fulfillment of the Law
  1. Matt. 22:36-40, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, ”‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Wrong Objects of Love
1. Darkness
  1. John 3:19, “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.”
2. Money
  1. 1 Tim. 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.”
  2. Hebrews 13:5, “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
3. Recognition
  1. Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”
  2. Luke 11:43, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the front seats in the synagogues, and the respectful greetings in the market places.”
  3. Luke 20:45, “And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.”