10 Most Important Bible Verses on Love

June 12, 2013 By Jack Wellman 16 Comments

If you had to choose one, which is the most important love verse in the Bible? Why would you
choose one over the other? What seems to be the most important verses in the Bible on love?
For God So Loved the World
John 3:16 God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Some manuscripts take the first part of this verse, God so loved the world and render it as for
this is how God loved the world. I like that very much. When we get closer to the literal Greek
wording of this verse, it gets even better. We could read it as: For this is how God loved the
world, that He gave His one and unique Son, that whoever believes in Him will never perish but
have everlasting life. Either way you read it, this Bible verse may be the most important verse
of all for it displays such a sacrificial love a life-giving love which is unequaled and
unmatched in all the world. Love is a verb and its what you doand this act at Calvary was the
most supreme act of love that has ever been displayed. That Christ died for us while we were
still His enemies and most unworthy sinners at that, shows that love is an act of the will and not a
feeling in the heart.


Greater Love Has No Man
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for
his friends.
We could paraphrase this verse to read, No one has a greater love than that which he or she
would willingly die for their friend. This reminds me of the many veterans who are serving and
who have ever served their countries for their nations freedom. Many did give their lives to
defend what we often take for granted. I have heard true stories of veterans who threw
themselves on hand grenades to save their fellow soldiers lives but didnt live to tell about it.
Those whom they saved retell this most selfless act. That kind of love reflects the agape love of
God. The agape love is the greatest love that there is and it is the type of love that gives a
person over to sacrificing their own life to save another. This love was most abundantly
displayed on the cross by Jesus Christ. He gave His life as a ransom for the many (Mark 10:45,
1 Tim 2:6).
Love Your Enemies
Matthew 5:43-45 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.
It is natural to love your family and friends, but to love those who hate you and persecute you?
Wow. God loved us before we even existed (Eph 1) and died for us while we were still sinners
and His enemies. By the way, anytime Jesus says You have heard it said He is referring to the
Old Testament laws and so when Jesus follows that by saying but I say to you, He is referring
to the New and better Testament. This is a difficult one indeed and it cant be done in human
strength but only by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this reference in Matthew, Jesus says that
God is gracious even to those who are sinners, sending sunshine and rain to themwhich are
essential to life. The analogy might be that God even gives the sinners good things in life
because He is a benevolent God. This is why good things sometimes happen to bad people.
Love Is Unselfish
First Corinthians 12:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is
not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
First Corinthians chapter 13 may be the greatest chapter on love in all the Bible and love is
displayed here by many tangible evidences. It is patient; with people and circumstances. It is
kind; to people and animals. It doesnt brag; about self but brags about others and glorifies God
and gives Him the credit. It isnt arrogant; lording over people your position, power, or
knowledge. It isnt rude; but polite and displays manners and proper etiquette. It doesnt insist
on its own way; but give precedence and priorities to others, even if it has to compromise. It
isnt irritable; it is not easily provoked to anger by people or circumstances. It isnt resentful; it
rejoices when others succeed, even at their own expense. It doesnt rejoice in wrongdoing; it
never delights in other peoples sinsinstead, it rejoices in the truth of the Bible, it bears all
thing (all means all), believes all things (gives people the benefit of the doubt), hopes all things
(hopes for the best for all concerned) and endures all (all, like being used, abused, persecuted
and so on). These things are love.
Love Your Neighbor as Your Self
Mark 12:30-31 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater
than these.
The religious leaders were trying to trip Jesus up by asking Him which was the greatest
commandment and Jesus nailed it spot on when He said that we are to love the Lord our God
with all of our heart, might, mind, and soul. But we are also to love our neighbors. Who are our
neighbors? In the Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus showed that all men and women are our
neighbors and so we should love them as well, even if they were a Samaritan to us. Part of this
command is not obeyed by many good Christiansthe part where we are to love ourselves as
our neighbors. When we hate ourselves and are extremely hard on ourselves, we are breaking
this commandment where we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Love One Another
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just
as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know
that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
In what is called the High Priestly Prayer in John 13 and 14, Jesus gave the disciples, and by
extension, all who would be His disciples, a new commandment. This new commandment was
to love one another just as or in the same manner that Christ loves us. That is a big-time love
my friend. By this love we have for one another all people will know that you are my disciples
and so this love for one another is evangelistic and it is diagnosticdiagnostic in the sense that it
proves that we are either His disciple or we are not. In the church today there are both wheat and
tares and Christ will separate them some day. Those who are His inherit eternal lifethose that
are tares, are plucked up and burned.


If You Love Me, Obey My Commandments
John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
At first glance, this doesnt appear to be worthy of being on anyones top 10 list of Bible verses
on love, but waitlet me explain why I chose this one. We display our love for others when
they ask us to do something and we do it willingly because we love them. If we truly love Jesus,
why wouldnt we want to please Him by obeying what He has told us to do? Obedience is
preferred over sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22). Samuel asks a rhetorical question in this verse: Has the
Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. God would rather
have a person obey Him than to offer many or costly sacrifices because obedience shows respect
and love for the one to whom it is given.
Love Covers a Multitude of Sins
First Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a
multitude of sins.
My children and grandchildren sin and will sin again but no amount of sins will ever stop me
from loving them. My friends have sometimes sinned against me too but to display my love for
them, I am willing to forgive them, whether they ask my forgiveness or not. Since we are all
sinners, I can not cast the first stone and many times I have caught them in a sin but never
mention it to anyone else. Love does not gossip and when see others sin and dont tell other
people, we are covering for them. The exception is that if it hurst the churchlike gossip. If
they acknowledge their sin, repent of it, and confess it, then it is covered by God and so why
would I gossip to others to say, Hey, did you hear about so and so and what he/she did? Jesus
death on the cross, and the love displayed in that action, covers all of our sins (2 Cor 5:21).
Proverbs 17:9 says much the same thing as the author writes, Whoever would foster love covers
over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends and that love covers
over all wrongs (Prov 10:12b).
Love of a Friend
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
I have a close, special friend of mine who is a man and I am not ashamed to tell him that I love
him. I love him more than a brother. This man is honest enough to tell me the truth, even when
he knows it hurts and he is open enough to hear a friends rebuke. King David and Jonathan had
a love like this as described in 1 Samuel 18:1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the
soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. What a
precious thing. Their souls were knit togetherthey were made of the same fabric, so to speak.
Jonathan loved David as his own soul which reminds me of Jesus second commandment of
the two greatestto love your neighbor as yourself. This was repeated later in 1 Samuel 20:17
when Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he
loved himself.
Marital Love
Genesis 29:20 Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a
few days to him because of his love for her.
Husband and wives love is reflective of Christs love for the church and the church of her
Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:25-28 is one of the best descriptions of how a husband
should love his wife, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself
up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love
their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Men, there is no plan B. This is an imperative command. Men are to love their wives as
themselves and as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. The greatest thing a
husband can do for his wife is to love her. Women, the greatest need for a man is to have respect
for him because respect is interpreted as love just as women interprets love as respect for her.
Men and women have different needs and so for men it is to be respected and for women it is to
be loved. The husband and wife relationship is like that of Christ and the church in that it is a
sacrificial love. When a man loves his wife, he would willingly give his life for her while the
wife would more easily submit for a man willing to do this.
Conclusion
To me, these are the 10 most important verses in the Bible on love. You may have different
ones. If you do, please leave a comment and tell us which is your favorite Bible verse or verses
on love. What Bible verse is the most important to you and why? Add your favorite Bible verse
on love in the comments section below so that we might add it to our Bible verse love bank and
by doing so, we can accumulate a vast treasure trove of Gods infinite love for those who Christ
died for and even for those who are outside of the faith. There is no greater love, there is no love
more sacrificial, and there is no love that dies in your place, than that of Jesus Christ who died
for us while we were still His enemies. Paul wrote of this exact thing in Romans 5:6-8, For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die
for a righteous personthough perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but God
shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you have not yet repented, confessed your sins, and trusted in Christ to save you from Gods
wrath, then you dont know the full extent of Gods love yet. John 3:36 says that Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God remains on him because Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son
of God (John 3:18). I pray that is not you.