Let these 40 meaningful Bible verses about love spur you on, as you strive to follow God’s commands to love Him and love your neighbor as yourself.
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✝️ 🕊️ ❤️ Welcome, friend! This is the final part in a three-part series about faith, hope, and love… check out part one here: 30 Great Bible Verses About Faith, and part two here: 35 Encouraging Bible Verses About Hope.
I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say, there is no more important topic in the Bible than LOVE!
From the love of God the Father, to the love of Christ Jesus in laying down His life for us, to the way we are commanded to love one another… learning to BE LOVED and to LOVE OTHERS is the most important task we can undertake in life.
The Apostle Paul said it well in the most beautiful Bible verse about love: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV).
And yet, in spite of how imperative love is, we so often fall short of loving God and each other. (Raising my hand here; I am a miserable failure at this, in so many ways, on so many days!)
Where is the shortcoming for you? Perhaps it’s forgetting about God’s great love for you… neglecting to soak up Bible verses about the unconditional love of God, commune with Him in prayer, or be appreciative of the many blessings He’s bestowed on you. And then maybe it’s also, failing to love your neighbor as yourself… thinking that you’re better or more worthy than they are, or just failing to care.
I would wager that for pretty much all of us, it’s both: Not accepting/appreciating the love of God, and also not loving one another accordingly. And certainly if we aren’t soaking up God’s love, then we will struggle with loving others.
Which is why it’s so necessary to revisit, time and time again, the best Bible verses about love! I don’t know about you, but I surely need extra reminders to bask in the glow of God’s love, and to love others in the same way God loves me.
40 Meaningful Bible Verses About Love
So, with that in mind, I’ve rounded up some of the most meaningful Bible verses about love that I could find. Note that you won’t find any verses about self love, romance, or other feel-good definitions of love here… this post is only about agape love!
(In case you’re not familiar with this term, ‘agape’ is a Greek word which is used in the New Testament to describe a self-sacrificial, others-focused kind of love. According to GodQuestions.org, “Agape love as modeled by Christ is not based on a feeling; rather, it is a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own.”)
This kind of agape love may not come naturally for us, but with God it’s possible! Because He loved us first, we can then love Him and one another.
And I’ve arranged these 40 great Bible verses about love, with that order in mind… the Scriptures about God’s love for us come first, followed by us loving God back, and then loving each other. And finally, there is a short section of verses at the end that define what it means to truly LOVE. My prayer is that you and I will be filled with the love of God, and equipped and empowered to love one another as He does!
Quick Links:
Verses 1-14: Bible Verses About the Love of God
Verses 15-21: Bible Verses About Loving the Lord
Verses 22-34: Bible Verses About Loving One Another
Verses 35-40: Bible Verses About How to Love
Bible Verses About the Love of God
No matter what kind of love we give or receive here on earth, there is no love as far and wide and deep as our Heavenly Father’s love. Can I get an AMEN?! God’s love for me and for you is a never-ending, all-consuming, hard-to-wrap-your-head-around love.
So, as you soak up these Bible verses about the love of God , just remember: No one can love you more completely and unconditionally than He does!
1) John 3:16-17 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
2) Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
3) 1 John 3:1 (NLT)
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
4) Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5) Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
“The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
6) Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
7) Psalm 86:15 (NIV)
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
8) 1 John 4:8-10 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
9) 2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NLT)
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
10) John 15:9-10 (ESV)
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
11) Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
12) Psalm 36:7 (NIV)
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
13) Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV)
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
14) Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Bible Verses About Loving the Lord
The power of God’s love is not only for our good, but also for us to love Him in return! It’s not easy… there are so many things in life that can distract us, and tempt us to ‘love’ the world ahead of God. But these Bible verses about love don’t mince words… they make it clear how important it is to love God above all else!
And isn’t it worth the effort, to love God more than all the unreliable, fleeting things of this world?! The world offers us nothing in return, but God offers us everything—up to and including eternal life with Him!
15) Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV)
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
16) Deuteronomy 7:9 (NLT)
Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.
17) Matthew 22:36-38 (NIV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”
18) Matthew 6:24 (NIV)
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
19) John 14:23 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”
20) 1 John 2:15 (NIV)
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
21) Psalm 97:10 (NLT)
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his godly people
and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
Bible Verses About Loving One Another
Oh, how challenging it can sometimes be, to love one another! And yet, that is exactly what God calls us to do. No wonder there are plenty of Bible verses about relationships, which remind us again and again the importance of loving the people around us.
As you read these meaningful Bible verses about love for one another, think about how much God loves you, and because of that, how you can then love others.
22) Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT)
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
23) John 13:34-35 (NIV)
“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.”
24) John 15:12-13 (NIV)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
25) Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
26) 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
27) 1 John 4:7, 19-21 (NIV)
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. […] We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
28) Romans 13:8 (NLT)
Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.
29) Romans 12:9-10 (NIV)
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
30) Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
31) Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
32) Matthew 5:43-45 (NIV)
“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, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
33) Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
34) Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Bible Verses About How to Love
And finally, I thought it would be a great idea to end with some Scriptures that describe what AGAPE LOVE actually is. In our modern culture, and especially in the English language, the word ‘love’ can mean so many different things. We can ‘love’ pizza, have romantic feelings of ‘love’ towards someone, and also ‘love’ Jesus (as in, we like His character, His ideas, everything He stands for, etc.). But agape love is something totally different, and it’s a kind of love that we tend not to exercise very often.
These Bible verses on love and unity are a breath of fresh air in that regard… they describe what real agape love looks like, and how we can love (God and people) with that caliber of love.
35) 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV)
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
36) Romans 13:10 (NLT)
Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
37) Luke 6:31 (NIV)
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
38) 1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
39) James 2:8 (AMP)
If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]” you are doing well.
40) Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Which of these meaningful Bible verses about love do you find the most moving? What motivates you to take action, to love God and your neighbors? I encourage you to write them down, carry them with you, memorize, and/or post them in a prominent place. Soak up those reminders of God’s love for you, and remember to keep His most important commands: to love Him and love each other.
As I compiled these Bible verses about love and hope and faith, the one that stood out to me personally was John 14:23 ‘Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”’ Extra emphasis on that second sentence… as Christians, we talk a lot about how to grow closer to God. And there it is, right there in Jesus’ words: to be closer to God, we need to obey His teachings… chief among them, to LOVE God and LOVE people.
I want the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to make their home in my heart… therefore, I will keep Jesus’ commands as best I possibly can. By the grace of God and with His strength, I can love Him and love my neighbors. Who’s with me?!
Hi! Thank you so much for visiting Divine Creative Love. I’m a Jesus-lovin’ girl, lettering artist, designer, and general creative-at-heart. And, I have narcolepsy. I blog about faith in God, overcoming challenges, and creative topics such as Bible journaling. If you’re new here, be sure and subscribe to my list so you won’t miss anything!