Hello! It’s John and please allow me to say: Welcome & Thank You for Your Interest in The Biblical Meaning of Love to grow your relationship with God!
I am a Licensed and Ordained Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a man transformed by the Love, Power, Promises, and Word of God…It’s my mission to share insights into The Way, The Truth, and The Life, so that you may also enjoy the Fruits of the Spirit — Let’s Grow!!!
The Bible speaks of love quite a bit. Love is not singular or accurately measurable; there are different types; each possessing myriad layers. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, it gives us words like Agape (Unconditional/Sacrificial Love), Phileo (Brotherly Love), Eros (Passionate/Sensual Love), and Storge (Instinctive Familial Love). Each term captures a unique flavor of love that shapes how we should see and live it out. But, in this article–for the sake of length–we will focus on the first of these forms of love.
Agape love is top-tier. This kind of love is unconditional, sacrificial, selfless, and free. It all starts with God’s love and the sacrifice of the Son in John 3:16. It’s a constant love; it doesn’t diminish even when the recipient is undeserving.
1 Corinthians 13 describes love as patient, kind, and not jealous. It also defines what love is not; prideful, dishonoring of others, self-seeking, etc. Additionally, it declares that Faith, Hope, and Love remain when all else fails or passes away and that Love is the greatest of these three.
1 John 4:7-8 instructs us:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
This verse declares that God IS Love. It tells us that love isn’t just a thing we do, it’s a reflection of who God is. While loving others, God’s character is displayed for the whole world to see, and long for. They may not understand it, but they long for it nonetheless. They need it.
Jesus didn’t just talk about love; he lived it out. Stories like the Good Samaritan (Luke:10:25-37) and Jesus washing the disciples’ feet show love in action (John 13:2-17). He did not tell us to do it, without doing it himself—He demonstrated it in numerous ways. He got his hands dirty helping folks and showing kindness. When you love like this, you’re echoing Jesus’ teachings and making an impact just like he did.
God Is Love: Biblical Verses and Implications
Ever wonder what it means when we say ‘God is love’? As mentioned above, 1 John 4:8 lays this out in plain and simple terms: ‘Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.’ This isn’t just about God being loving; it goes deeper. God is the very essence of love. Without Him, our views and enactments of love fall way short and we are left unsatisfied with what we think is love.
God’s nature embodies love, and that love has a ripple effect. The negative issues of this world often link back to a lack of love—greed, hatred, injustice. When love is missing, chaos fills the void. Think about Cain and Abel. Cain’s lack of love for his brother led to a tragic outcome: A literal brotherly fallout that resulted in the first murder.
Similarly, the Pharisees loved rules more than people. Their love of power caused them to abuse the rules that God created for the benefit of His people. This lack of love caused a toxic religious environment, culminating in social and spiritual turmoil and the capital punishment and death of the literal Embodiment of Love, Jesus Christ.
Without love, we miss the point of our existence and faith and are left with a void in our hearts and lives that we try to fill with all the wrong things. This, too, leads to chaos and unfulfilled lives.
On the other hand, Christianity teaches that God’s love isn’t passive; it’s active and all-consuming. His Love fuels kindness, patience, and truth in our lives. We see this in Jesus’ parables and miracles. He didn’t just heal physical ailments; he reached the heart, showing compassion and mercy wherever he went. This kind of love changes lives. It changes the world.
Understanding God’s love helps us see the bigger picture In a world desperate for real love. It’s not just about hugs and hallmark moments. It’s about being patient when it’s tough, showing kindness when it’s not deserved, and standing up for what’s right even when it’s hard. This is the love that reflects God’s heart and brings healing to a broken world.
Living Out Biblical Love: Instructions and Applications
The Bible doesn’t just tell us to love; it provides specific instructions and examples. Jesus’ command in John 13:34-35 sets the bar high: ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.’ Simple, clear, but oh-so challenging. This love isn’t just for friends and family; it’s for everyone, even that annoying coworker or the stranger next door.
Now, one of the hardest instructions he provides (and yes, demonstrated on the cross in asking for the forgiveness of those torturing and killing him Luke 23: 33-34 ), is loving our enemies. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:43-48 to love not just our friends but our enemies too. ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’
This isn’t just about being nice; it’s about breaking the cycle of hate and conflict with radical love. It’s something this world needs, I am sure you’ll agree.
Even though you know the world needs this to happen, putting it into practice can feel like climbing a mountain… But take heart, it is not impossible. Start small. Show kindness in everyday interactions. Compliment a stranger, help someone in need, or listen without interrupting. These little acts build up a good habit of love. It will see you up one side of the mountain and down the other.
Practicing love also means digging into the community. Surround yourself with people who uplift and challenge you. The early church thrived because they supported each other, sharing everything from meals to life’s burdens. When you’re in a loving community, it’s easier to demonstrate love yourself.
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role here. We’re not trying to love by our own strength and understanding. Galatians 5:22 reminds us that love is a fruit of the Spirit, meaning it’s something God grows in us. Lean on Him. Pray for strength and guidance. When we let the Holy Spirit work in us, loving others becomes a genuine, heartfelt act—not just a checkbox on our to-do list.
Chaos Reigns in the Absence of God
Imagine a world where God is absent. Love would be the first casualty. Without God, who is love, our world loses its moral compass and sense of compassion. Hatred and self-centeredness rise to fill that void. Where there is no love, hatred abides and Satan has the world in his hands. He would gleefully rule.
It’s an all-around grim picture, yes?
We all crave love. We want it in relationships, our communities, and in our lives. Yet, for some reason, many reject the very source of pure love: God. When we shut God out, love gets twisted into something selfish and conditional. We’re left chasing after imitations that never satisfy.
Unchecked hate is what you get when God isn’t in the equation. The Bible shows us this over and over. Look at the wars, betrayals, and broken relationships rooted in humanity’s choices to reject God’s way of love. Fear and distrust become the way of life when God’s love isn’t guiding us. But Perfect Love casts out all fear (1 John:16-18).
Without God, love becomes nonexistent. He IS Love and without him, no Love exists. Real, selfless, love takes a back seat to self-interest. Society starts valuing power over compassion, and material gain over generosity. But this isn’t sustainable. We need God’s love to restore balance, create healthy relationships, and bring peace, into the world.
Recognizing the necessity of God’s presence for true love is the first step in changing our world. By embracing God’s love and letting it guide our actions, our lives and communities will be transformed.
God’s love isn’t a fairy tale; it’s the cornerstone for a life that’s abundant and fulfilling.
May God Keep You & Yours, Always!
John
Founder of TruthsOfFaith.com
Overall your article is well laid out, very informative. you do a very good job explaining and walking people through the article. Honestly I’m a fella-that not very big on talking about religion. But I’ll be honest this is a good read .
I only have one question
So if love is god why are so many judged by that love ?
you did a very well written article.
thanks for sharing
shawn commented on
What Is The Biblical Meaning Of Love
God is Love. It is his essence. It is his character makeup. He is the source of all love and he became flesh to dwell among us so that we do not have to be judged for our sins.
It is his gift to us. He offered us The Way, The Truth, and The Life, through becoming human, being tempted in every way that we are tempted, and being put to a horrible death to make atonement for my sin, your sin; everyone’s sin.
Bad things happen to people… good people, bad people, all people. Manyof those things are brought about by our own poor choices and actions, and some are not…
We were initially created with eternal life in the Garden of Eden. There was no decay, No death. We walked with God, talked with God, and were in the very presence of the Holy God. He gave humans everything and made mankind ruler over everything.
He created us out of his need to love us, and have fellowship with us, and gifted us the earth and everything in it. At that time, there was no cellular decay. No sickness. No Death. No sin. There was no TIME; Time is measured by decay.
We merely had one–single–rule to follow: Do not eat of the fruit of a single tree in the Garden: The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had said that when we eat of that fruit we would surely die.
We chose to disobey and cellular death entered in. Our pristine condition was corrupted and time began.
God is perfect in his love, he is perfectly just, and he is sinless.
Therefore, to allow us to spend eternity in his presence, sin has to be offset, to be dealt with, to be rectified, to be paid for.
God became flesh and limited his deity so that he could be tempted by every sin we are, punished and sacrificed for all sin so that the wages of sin are satisfied for all who choose God and all that is good.
He did so that we can avoid judgment on the day when every individual who has rejected his offer will be judged and called to pay for their sins. The Bible calls this the White Throne Judgment.
Again, this judgment will only take place for those who have chosen to reject what God has done, what he has offered, and the sacrifice he has made… And he WILL honor their choice.
For all our lives, for every life, he sends messages and opportunities for us to choose him. He makes sure that we hear the truth, over and over throughout our lives, because it is his highest desire that we choose good over evil, that we choose an eternity with Him.
Yet a choice not for him is a choice for not good. God is all good and perfectly just. We were created out of love, and because of love, the human Son of God was created and sacrificed so that we could choose to avoid the necessary payment for the rectification for all of our sins.
There is light and there is darkness. There is good and there is evil. And, again, God created evil so that we have a choice. God wants us to choose to be with Him, or not. He is all good and every part of anything good. When we choose him; it’s all good.
When we do not choose him? Well, the opposite of good is what we get. To give us a choice, he had to create evil and allow us to choose between an eternity of all that is good, or all that is not good. But he makes certain that we know what the choices are during our lifetimes and the consequences he will honor what we choose and a choice not for God is a choice for not good; for evil.
So, the bad that happens is because of choices for not good. And even the bad that happens to people who do not deserve it (Job for instance) are serving an ultimate good and choose to hang in there with God when evil befalls us.
The bad in our lives is not because God is judging us. Judgment will come once for every individual. Those who have not chosen God will be judged for their sins and pay the price for them which is being separated from God, and all that is good, for all of eternity.
Those who have accepted his sacrifice will be judged, not for their sins, but for their rewards for obedience to following God during their lives and the impact for good that they have had in the lives of others and for hanging in there with God when they have every WORLDLY reason to give up on God.
Jesus came that we do not have to be judged for our sins, but rewarded for loving God, and people, and working with him to save as many as will choose to spend eternity in the presence of God and all that is good.
God IS Love and even evil was created out of God’s Love — to give us the free will to choose Him. If he is all good and perfectly just, what must he have had to do so that we HAVE a choice? Yes, he had to create not-good; evil… and so he did.
While we live, we are not judged in the manner that you’re inquiring about. That is reserved for whether we will pay our own price for the sins in our lives, or accept the offer of a loving God who sacrificed his only son so that we might become his sons and daughters and spend eternity with him. The choice he offers? The choice he offers to be determined by exercising our free will?
Condemnation or Reward. That is the choice and it is, solely, ours to make.
Thanks for your Interest and the compliments on the writing.
For a deeper look at other topics, please follow the following links: Building & Strengthing your Faith, Forgiveness, Grace, Love, Hope, and Wisdom.
Thanks for your interest in growing your relationship with God through uncovering His truths.
May God Bless & Keep You & Yours, Always,
John
Founder of TruthsOfFaith.com