Does the Bible teach that God is love?
The Bible has a lot to say about God’s love. Throughout its pages, we see a God who loves deeply and perfectly. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key passages in Scripture that teach about God’s loving nature:
1. 1 John 4:8 – “God is love”
This straightforward statement that “God is love” is found in 1 John 4:8. The verse goes on to say that “whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This teaches us two important things about God’s nature – first, that God’s very essence and identity is love. Love is not just an attribute of God, but His very being. Second, we cannot truly know God apart from understanding His love. A relationship with God means experiencing His patient, merciful, unconditional love for us.
2. John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world”
Perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16 encapsulates God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity. It says “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.” This reveals the depth of God’s love – that He would send His only Son Jesus to make a way for us to be reconciled to Him, even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). God’s love moved Him to sacrificially give so that we could have life.
3. Romans 8:38-39 – “Nothing can separate us from God’s love”
Romans 8:38-39 lists the many things that cannot separate believers from the love of God: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What confidence we can have that once we are in relationship with God through Christ, nothing can undo His steadfast, covenant love for us!
4. 1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us”
1 John 3:1 is an exclamation of wonder at God’s love: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” Through faith in Christ, we are adopted into God’s family and become His beloved children. The verse reminds us that this gracious privilege is initiated by God alone, who “lavished” His unmerited love upon us through Jesus.
5. Psalm 103:8 – “The Lord is compassionate and gracious”
Throughout Psalm 103, David reflects on God’s loving and forgiving nature towards His people. In verse 8 he writes, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Even when God’s people sin and turn from Him, He is patient, extending mercy and grace. His love abounds and exceeds any expectations we could have.
6. Isaiah 54:10 – “God’s unfailing love for us will not be shaken”
Isaiah 54 contains promises of God restoring Israel, His “unfaithful wife.” Verse 10 says, “‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Though we may break faith with God, He keeps His promises. His love remains steadfast through every storm.
7. Zephaniah 3:17 – “The Lord your God is with you, He will take great delight in you.”
Zephaniah 3:17 paints a beautiful picture of God’s affection for His people: “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.” God does not stand aloof from us; He rejoices over His children with singing. He is mighty to save, yet He also takes great delight in us.
8. Song of Solomon 2:4 – “His banner over me is love”
In this verse from a poetic book describing love between a bridegroom and bride, we get a glimpse of God’s protective love for us: “His banner over me is love.” A banner was a flag identifying and protecting an army. God’s love is like a banner flying over us, identifying us as His own and protecting us in His care.
9. Psalm 86:15 – “You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God.”
Psalm 86 is a prayer asking for God’s help and declaring trust in Him. The psalmist appeals to God’s gracious and loving nature, saying in verse 15: “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” We can come to God boldly, knowing He is inclined to show mercy because of His great love.
10. 1 Corinthians 13 – The “Love Chapter”
1 Corinthians 13, often called the “Love Chapter”, gives an extended description of what true, godly love looks like. “Love is patient, love is kind…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4,7). Since God is love (1 John 4:8), this “love chapter” gives us a perfect description of God’s loving nature and how it is expressed to us.
11. Deuteronomy 7:9 – God keeps His covenant of love
Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” God remains faithful to His promises because of His loving, covenant-keeping character. His love extends through the generations to all those who follow Him.
12. Lamentations 3:22-23 – God’s love and mercy are new every morning
In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah cries out over Jerusalem’s destruction. Yet even in affliction he affirms God’s faithful love: “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” (Lamentations 3:22-23). No matter what we face, God has endless love and mercy to give to those who turn to Him.
13. Ephesians 2:4-5 – God’s love saves us from death
Ephesians 2 describes God saving us from spiritual death, saying, “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” (Ephesians 2:4-5). Even when we were lost in our sins, God mercifully intervened to give us life – a demonstration of perfect, sacrificial love.
14. Titus 3:4-5 – God saved us according to His mercy
Titus 3 echoes this same idea: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5). Our salvation rests entirely on God’s grace and love, not our own merit. We can take no credit for it.
15. 1 John 4:19 – We love because God first loved us
1 John 4:19 explains the motivation for our love: “We love because he first loved us.” All human love is a response to first experiencing divine love. God initiated; we can only follow in His steps. Our imperfect love is made possible by His perfect and unlimited love.
16. Exodus 34:6 – God proclaimed His name as abounding in love
When Moses asks to see God’s glory, God proclaims His name and identity: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). Again, we see God describing Himself as merciful, patient and overflowing with covenant love for His people.
17. Psalm 136 – God’s love endures forever
Psalm 136 powerfully drives home the eternal nature of God’s love. The phrase “his love endures forever” is repeated 26 times! Every verse recounts a demonstration of God’s love for His people – in creation, the exodus from Egypt, giving the promised land, etc. God’s faithful love endures timelessly.
18. Isaiah 49:15-16 – God’s love is compared to a mother’s love
Isaiah 49 contains messianic prophecies about Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. Verses 15-16 use maternal imagery to convey God’s profound love: “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” God’s love exceeds even a mother’s love for her child.
19. Hosea 11 – God’s heart of love for his wayward people
The book of Hosea portrays God’s love and grief over the unfaithfulness of His people. Hosea conveys God’s heartache using the imagery of an aggrieved husband and a wayward wife. Even though His people worship idols, God cannot give them up. He promises restoration, saying in Hosea 11:8-9, “My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger.”
20. Romans 5:6-8 – God demonstrates His love through Christ’s death
“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” (Romans 5:6-8). The cross is the ultimate display of God’s love for humanity.
These are just some of the key passages that teach about God’s love throughout Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s loving heart and His acts of love towards creation. His very nature is love, epitomized by the gift of His Son to redeem mankind. As 1 John 4:10 summarizes it: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God is the source of all true love. His love is sacrificial, unconditional, eternal, and all-encompassing. As His beloved children, we are called to receive His love and reflect it to others. There is perhaps no greater truth about God’s identity revealed in Scripture than “God is love.”