True love. What the Bible Says About Love

Do not reject enemies, but love and bless, adore them, even those who curse you. Pray with all your heart for them when they persecute, offend and hate you (Mat. 5:44).

Like yourself, love your neighbor and those who are far away - the law of God says (Gal.5:14).

Perfect love is omnipotent - incinerates fear, expelling it, and torment remains in the past.

Love is merciful, never ceases, has no evil intentions and envy, pride is alien to it, lies and untruth are not its allies, it is not proud, does not irritate and does not act outrageously, it exalts the truth, it protects and believes passionately, it hopes for everyone and everything is steadfast endures, and never ceases to live. Cor.13:4-8

The commandment of the Most High is that he who loves the Lord is obliged to love his relative (1 John 4:21).

To love correctly by truth and deed, and not by tongue and word.

Do not judge your neighbor in vain, and do not give false evidence (Deut. 5:20).

Read the continuation of the quotes on the pages:

Why do you boast of villainy, strong one? ... you love more evil than good, more lies than telling the truth; you love all sorts of disastrous speeches, the tongue is insidious: for this God will crush you completely, tear you down and uproot you from your dwelling and your root from the land of the living. The righteous will see and be afraid, laugh at him [and say]: “Behold, a man who did not build his strength in God, but hoped for his abundance of wealth, was strengthened in his villainy.” (Ps. LI, 3-9)

Love does no harm to the neighbor; so love is the fulfillment of the law.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the love of them is greater.

No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because there is torment in fear. He who fears is imperfect in love. (First Epistle of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian)

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. (First Epistle of St. Apostle Paul to the Corinthians)

Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud,

Whoever says: I love God, but hates his brother, is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? (1 epistle John IV, 20)

Love your neighbor as yourself (Mat. 22:39).

He who fears is imperfect in love.

Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18).

By obedience to the truth through the Spirit, having cleansed your souls to unfeigned brotherly love, constantly love one another from a pure heart, as you have been reborn not from corruptible seed, but from incorruptible, from the word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:22-23).

Each of us must please our neighbor, for good, for edification (Rom. 15:2).

For the commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet another's, and all the others are contained in this word: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Rom. 13:9).

And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight (1 John 3:22).

Let none of you think evil in his heart against his neighbor, and do not love a false oath, for I hate all this, says the Lord (Zech. 8:17).

Be all of one mind, compassionate, brotherly-loving, merciful, friendly, humble; do not return evil for evil, or swearing for swearing; on the contrary, bless, knowing that you are called to this, that you may inherit the blessing (1 Peter 3:8-9).

"He who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

What is love? When we, as humans, think of love, we think of some kind of good and pleasant feeling. However real love does not depend on feelings. She means a lot more than what I feel for someone. This applies to romantic love, and love for one of the relatives, for a friend or for a colleague - We often give our love or accept it based on what benefit it will bring to ourselves. But, what will I do if loving someone will cost something? What does the Bible say about love?

“Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, does not pride itself, does not behave violently, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. 1. Kor. 13:4-8

When I do this in spite of my feelings, and regardless of what other people do, then I am in love. I don't feel like I'm in love when I'm tempted to anger, to impatience, to seek my own, to believe in everything bad, or to lose faith in someone. When I reject all these feelings and instead rejoice, become long-suffering, humble myself, bear others and endure everything - this is true love. Love sacrifices itself, all its natural reactions, demands that are part of human nature, then I don't expect anything in return.

“There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Love first

“In this is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1. John 4:10. It's good when someone loves me and I answer such people mutual love. It is not hard. But this is not proof of love. God loved us before we loved Him, and we did nothing to earn God's love. How do I react if I have been mistreated? Where is my love then? Love gives, gives not only to those who treat us well. But love loves its enemies, it loves first. This love does not disappear, even if it is not reciprocated. This love endures everything.

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:44-45

Divine love

“Whoever says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God love his brother also.” 1. John 4:20-21

Our love for God is no greater than our love for our neighbors. Divine love does not change according to circumstances. She is firm.

We often wish others would change. We find it difficult to love people the way they are, and we want them to change. This is proof that we are more concerned with our own well-being and comfort. We are looking for our own, instead of loving others.

The truth is that instead of hoping that others will change, we must find the sin in ourselves and be cleansed of it. Personal interest and thoughts that "I know better", vanity and stubbornness, etc. - all these sins I find in myself when I deal with other people. When we are free from all this, then we can endure, believe, hope and endure everything for the sake of others. We love those around us as they are, we begin to pray for them with sincere love and care.

With no exceptions

There are no exceptions here. There should not even be a thought that this person did not deserve it. Jesus gave His life for us and this is irrefutable proof of how much He loves us. No one else deserves it less than we do. To love does not mean agreeing with the sins of others or agreeing with everything they do. Love is when we carry others in our hearts, pray for them, believe in them, and wish them the very best, no matter what their feelings say. Then I can love the one for whom I initially felt reluctance. Then I can instruct, give advice, or correct to help others move away from all that can be harmful. But all this only when I am driven by sincere concern for other people.

Everyone I meet should feel drawn to Christ through fellowship with me. Love draws people. Kindness, humility, meekness, patience, understanding. How can I feel attraction if I am emanating: impatience, pride, rudeness, hatred, etc.?

When I feel that I lack this divine love, then I can ask God to show me how I can get it. I must be willing to sacrifice my own will and start thinking about others.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the love of them is greater." 1. Kor. 13:13

I will cite just a few of the most famous places Scriptures about love:

"...love covers all sins" (Prov. 10:12)

"... and his banner over me is love" (P. Songs 2:4)

"... for love is strong as death; jealousy is fierce, like hell; its arrows are fiery arrows; it is a very strong flame.

Great waters cannot extinguish love, and rivers will not flood it. If anyone gave all the wealth of his house for love, he would be rejected with contempt." (P. Song 8:6-7)

"Most of all, have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Pet. 4:8)

"We know love in this, that He laid down His life for us: and we must lay down our lives for our brothers." (1 John 3:16)

"... because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:7-8,18)

"Love consists in this, that we do according to His commandments" (2 John 6)

"Let love be unfeigned..." (Rom. 12:9)

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" Rom. 13:10)

"... love edifies" (1 Cor. 8:1)

“If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, then I am a ringing brass or a sounding cymbal. If I have love, then I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, and I do not have love, it does not profit me at all. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

“Love is longsuffering, is kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, does not pride itself, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; it covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything Love never ceases, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished. (1 Cor. 13:4-8)

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greater of them." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love..." (Gal. 5:22)

"Most of all, put on love, which is the bond of perfection" (Col. 3:14)

"Let the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ" (2 Thess. 3:5)

"The end of exhortation is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith" (1 Tim. 1:5)

"...you left your first love" (Rev. 2:4)

"Let everything be with you in love" (1 Cor. 16:14)

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34)

"...constantly love one another with a pure heart" (1 Pet. 1:22)

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph. 5:25; Col. 3:19)

“You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for he commands His sun rises on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, for if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?" (Mat. 43:46)

"...love him with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:33)

"... let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18)

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most famous passages on the subject of love. Let's read verses 4-8a:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, does not pride itself, does not behave violently, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never ends…"

One of the many features of love that I would like to focus on here is that love does not "think" evil. The word “thinks” in this passage is a translation of the Greek verb “logiso”, which means “to count, calculate, count”. Thus, love does not count, does not count evil. This is love without any consideration for possible personal gain.

I think this kind of love is implied by the words of our Lord in Matthew 5:38-42:

Gospel of Matthew 5:38-42
“You heard what was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your coat as well; and whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go two mile with him. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Only that love that does not count evil can serve the Lord's words above. And such is the love of God as He showed it to us:

Romans 5:6-8
“For Christ, while we were still weak, at the appointed time died for the ungodly. For hardly anyone will die for the righteous; perhaps for a benefactor, maybe someone will dare to die. BUT GOD PROVES HIS LOVE FOR US THAT CHRIST DIED FOR US WHEN WE WERE STILL SINNERS.”

AND Ephesians 2:4-6
"God rich in mercy, according to His great love with whom he loved us, and gave us life, dead in trespasses, with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him, and seated us in heaven in Christ Jesus.”

The love of God is manifested not only in the fact that He gave His Son, but also in the fact that He gave Him to sinners, dead in trespasses and sins! And such love is an example for us:

1 John 4:10-11
“In this is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved! If God so loved us, then we must also love one another.”

Gospel of John 15:12-13
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends.”

1 John 3:16
“We have known love in this, that He laid down His life for us: and we must lay down our lives for our brothers.”

God's love did not count our evil. It didn't count that we were dead in trespasses and sins. God gave His Son not for the sake of the righteous, but for the sake of sinners:

1 Timothy 1:15
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

Gospel of Luke 5:32
"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Christ washed the feet not only of the obedient disciples, but also of the disobedient. This is the real love of God. The love that we are talking in 1 Corinthians 13 is not to love only those who love you and those who you think "deserve" your love. But to love those who do not love you and those from whom there is nothing to expect and even those who have harmed you:

Gospel of Matthew 5:43-48
“You heard what was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the publicans do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what special thing do you do? Don't the pagans do the same? Therefore, be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Perhaps many times we have read these lines and perhaps many times we have thought that they are difficult to apply. But love is not something that comes directly from us. We can do nothing of ourselves (Gospel of John 5:30). On the contrary, love is a FRUIT - something that is given by the NEW NATURE. When we submit to the Lord, when we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17), new nature bears its fruit in the same way as an ordinary tree: i.e. NATURALLY.

Galatians 5:22-23
“The fruit of the Spirit: LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, mercy, faith, meekness, temperance. There is no law for them."

Notes

See: E.W. Bullinger "A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament", Zondervan Publishing House, p. 628

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; as I have loved you, let you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Do not the publicans do the same?

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart rejoice when he stumbles. Sol 24:17

Do not say: "as he did to me, so I will do to him, I will repay a man according to his deeds."

As in water face to face, so the heart of man is to man.

What is hateful to yourself, do not do to anyone else.

No more love like one who lays down his life for his friends.

But to you who hear, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Love does no harm to the neighbor; so love is the fulfillment of the law.

Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said to him: You answered correctly; do so, and you will live.

Thou hast said the truth, that there is one and there is none other than Him; and to love Him with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Love is that we act according to His commandments. This is the commandment that you have heard from the beginning, to walk on it.

He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling block in him.

Love also the stranger, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Love is that we act according to His commandments.

And whom He predestined, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Who will blame the elect of God? justifies them.

Most of all, have fervent love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does not profit me at all.

Love never ceases, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the love of them is greater.

Everything you do will be with love.

For hardly anyone will die for the righteous; perhaps for a benefactor, maybe someone will dare to die .

Above all, put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not behave violently, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything.

Better is a dish of greens, and with it love, than a fattened bull, and with it hatred.