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Notes on Love
English Definitions
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
CHARITY, n. 1. In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. 1 Cor 8. Col 3. 1 Tim 1. In a more particular sense, love, kindness, affection, tenderness, springing from natural relations; as the charities of father, son and brother. 3. Liberality to the poor, consisting in almsgiving or benefactions, or in gratuitous services to relieve them in distress. 4. Alms; whatever is bestowed gratuitously on the poor for their relief. 5. Liberality in gifts and services to promote public objects of utility, as to found and support bible societies, missionary societies, and others. 6. Candor; liberality in judging of men and their actions; a disposition which inclines men to think and judge favorably, and to put the best construction on words and actions which the case will admit. The highest exercise of charity, is charity towards the uncharitable. 7. Any act of kindness, or benevolence; as the charities of life. 8. A charitable institution. Charity-school, is a school maintained by voluntary contributions for educating poor children.
LOVE, v.t. luv. [L. libeo, lubeo. See Lief. The sense is probably to be prompt, free, willing, from leaning, advancing, or drawing forward.] 1. In a general sense to be pleased with; to regard with affection, on account of some qualities which excite pleasing sensations or desire of gratification. We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case, gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love a warm room in winter. We love to hear an eloquent advocate. The Christian loves his Bible. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind - Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Mat 22. 2. To have benevolence or good will for. John 3.
LOVE, n. 1. An affection of the mind excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of an object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. It is opposed to hatred. Love between the sexes, is a compound affection, consisting of esteem, benevolence, and animal desire. Love is excited by pleasing qualities of any kind, as by kindness, benevolence, charity, and by the qualities which render social intercourse agreeable. In the latter case, love is ardent friendship, or a strong attachment springing from good will and esteem, and the pleasure derived from the company, civilities and kindness of others. Between certain natural relatives, love seems to be in some cases instinctive. Such is the love of a mother for her child, which manifests itself toward an infant, before any particular qualities in the child are unfolded. This affection is apparently as strong in irrational animals as in human beings. We speak of the love of amusements, the love of books, the love of money, and the love of whatever contributes to our pleasure or supposed profit. The love of God is the first duty of man, and this springs from just views of his attributes or excellencies of character, which afford the highest delight to the sanctified heart. Esteem and reverence constitute ingredients in this affection, and a fear of offending him is its inseparable effect. 2. Courtship; chiefly in the phrase, to make love, that is, to court; to woo; to solicit union in marriage. 3. Patriotism; the attachment one has to his native land; as the love of country. 4. Benevolence; good will. God is love. 1 John 4. 5. The object beloved. The lover and the love of human kind. 6. A word of endearment. Trust me, love...
Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible
LOVE - the high esteem which God has for His human children and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people. Because of the hundreds of references to love in the Bible, it is certainly the most remarkable book of love in the world. It records the greatest love story ever written--God's unconditional love for us that sent His Son to die on the cross (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). Love is not only one of God's attributes; it is also an essential part of HIs nature. “God is love,” the Bible declares (1 John 4:8, 16)--the personification of perfect love. Such love surpasses our powers of undesrtanding (Eph. 3:19). Love like this is everlasting (Jer. 31:3), free (Hos. 14:4), sacrificial (John 3:16), and enduring to the end (John 13:1). Two Greek words for love appear in the Bible. Depending on context, they may express distinct meanings. Phileo can mean “to have ardent affection or feeling,” while agapao can denote “to have esteem” or “high regard.” In conversation between Jesus and Peter, some have seen a play upon these two words (John 21:15-17). Twice Jesus asked, “Simon do you love [esteem] me?” Twice Peter replied, “You know that I love [have ardent affection for] You.” Then Jesus asked (v. 17), “Do you love [have ardent affection for] Me?” and received the same answer from Peter. Today most scholars see the uses of agapao with phileo here as stylistic variation, not a clear-cut difference in meaning. The warm word agape is the characteristic term of Christianity. This word for love is used several different ways in the Bible. 1. Agape love indicates the nature of the love of God toward His beloved Son (John 17:26), toward the human race generally (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8), and toward those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:21). 2. Agape love conveys God's will to His children about their attitude toward one another. Love for one another was a proof to the world of true discipleship (John 13:34-35). 3. Agape love also expresses the essential nature of God (1 John 4:8). Love can be known only from the actions it prompts, as seen in God's love in the gift of His Son (1 John 4:9-10). Love found its perfect expression in the Lord Jesus . Christian love is the fruit of the Spirit of Jesus in the believer (Gal. 5:22). Love is like oil to th wheels of obedience. It enables us to run the way of God's commandments (Ps. 119:32). Without such love, we are as nothing (1 Cor. 13:3). Such Spirit-inspired love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8) but always flourishes.
LOVE, BROTHERLY - love of brothers for each other (Rom. 12:10; Heb. 13:1; 2 Pet. 1:7). The phrase is used in a symbolic sense to express love of Christians for one another, since all are sons of the same Father. The Greek word translated as brotherly love implies more than love for one's “blood brothers,” as in pagan writings; it means love for the broader brotherhood of true believers, for the members of the church, the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10) and “of God” (Eph. 2:19; also 1 Pet. 2:17; 3:8: 5:9). Christians are a brotherhood in the service of Christ (Matt. 23:8), a family made up of those who do the will of God (Matt. 12:50; Mark 3:35; Luke 8:21). “A new commandment I give to you,” Jesus said to His disciples, “that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). A Christian's love should extend beyond the Christian brotherhood, however, to all people. “If you greet your brethren only,” said Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “what do you do more than others?” (Matt. 5:47). The Christian is called not only to love his neighbor and his brother but also to love his enemy (Matt. 5:44).
LOVE FEAST - a meal shared by the early Christians when they met together for fellowship and the Lord's Supper. The term love feast is clearly used only in Jude 12 (feasts of charity; KJV). But some Greek manuscripts support “love feasts” instead of “deceptions” in 2 Peter 2:13. The love feast is also referred to in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, and probably in Acts 6:1-3, although neither passage in English versions of the Bible uses the term. The Greek word for love feast also is the main New Testament noun for love, indicating that the meal was originally intended to be a rich experience of God's love. The purpose of the love feast was to remember Christ, to encourage His disciples, and to share God's provisions with the needy. In the time of Christ, communal meals to express friendship and observe religious feasts were practiced in both Greek and Jewish cultures. The yearly Passover meal was the most important such event among the Jews. Jesus chose this occasion to institute the LORD'S SUPPER , or Eucharist (Matt. 26:17-30). Thus it was natural for the early Christians, whenever they celebrated the Lord's Supper, to do it in connection with a common meal. The “breaking of bread,” which the very first disciples did daily, most likely refers to this dual experience of common meal and Eucharist (Acts 2:42, 46). Because of such abuses as those described in the New Testament (1 Cor. 11:17-34; 2 Pet. 2:13), and probably for reasons of convenience, the meal and the Eucharist became separated in some regions by the second century. The meal--known as the love feast, the agape, and even the Lord's Supper--continued for several centuries. However, at times it became merely a charity supper for the poor and at other times a lavish banquet for the wealthy. After much controversy in the church, it was finally abolished at the end of the seventh century. A few Christian groups, however, still observe the agape.
Hebrew and Greek Definitions
Hebrew words translated as “love,” “loved,” “lovedst,” “lovely,” “lover,” “lovers,” “loves,” “lovest,” “loveth,” “loving,” “lovingkindness,” and ”lovingkindnesses” in the KJV (Strong's numbering): 157, 158, 159, 160, 1730, 2245, 2617, 2836, 2896, 3039, 5358, 5382, 5689, 5690, 5691, 7355, 7453, 7474
Greek words translated as “charity,” “charitably,” “love,” “love's,” “loved,” “lovedst,” “lovely,” “lovers,” “lovest,” and “loveth” in the KJV (Strong's numbering): 25, 26, 2309, 4375, 5358, 5360, 5361, 5362, 5363, 5365, 5367, 5368, 5369, 5377, 5382, 5383, 5388
Strong's Hebrew and Greek Definitions:
H157 'ahab 'aheb - A primitive root; to have affection for (sexually or otherwise): - (be-) love (-d, -ly, -r), like, friend.
H158 'ahab - From H157; affection (in a good or a bad sense): - love (-r).
H159 'ohab - From H156; meaning the same as H158: - love.
H160 'ahabah - Feminine of H158 and meaning the same: - love.
H1730 dod dod - From an unused root meaning properly to boil, that is, (figuratively) to love; by implication a love token, lover, friend; specifically an uncle: - (well-) beloved, father’s brother, love, uncle.
H7474 rayah - Feminine of H7453; a female associate: - love
G25 agapao - Perhaps from agan (much; or compare [H5689]); to love (in a social or moral sense): - (be-) love (-ed). Compare G5368.
G26 agape - From G25; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: - (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.
G5360 philadelphia - From G5361; fraternal affection: - brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.
G5368 phileo - From G5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), that is, have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while G25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as G2309 and G1014, or as G2372 and G3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specifically to kiss (as a mark of tenderness): - kiss, love.
Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions:
H157 'ahab / 'aheb - 1) to love 1a) (Qal) 1a1) human love for another, includes family, and sexual 1a2) human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sleep, wisdom 1a3) human love for or to God 1a4) act of being a friend 1a4a) lover (participle) 1a4b) friend (participle) 1a5) God’s love toward man 1a5a) to individual men 1a5b) to people Israel1a5c) to righteousness 1b) (Niphal)1b1) lovely (participle) 1b2) loveable (participle) 1c) (Piel) 1c1) friends 1c2) lovers (figuratively of adulterers) 2) to like - Part of Speech: verb
H158 'ahab - 1) loves, amours (only in plural) 2) (TWOT) love - Part of Speech: noun masculine
H159 'ohab - 1) loved object 2) (TWOT) love - Part of Speech: noun masculine
H160 'ahabah - 1) love 1a) human love for human object 1a1) of man toward man 1a2) of man toward himself 1a3) between man and woman 1a4) sexual desire 2) God’s love to His people - Part of Speech: noun feminine
H1730 dod - 1) beloved, love, uncle 1a) loved one, beloved 1b) uncle 1c) love (plural abstract) - Part of Speech: noun masculine
H7474 rayah - 1) attendant maidens, companion - Part of Speech: noun feminine
Thayer's Greek Definitions:
G25 agapao - 1) of persons 1a) to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly 2) of things 2a) to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing.
G26 agape - 1) brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence 2) love feasts
G5360 philadelphia - 1) love of brothers or sisters, brotherly love 2) in the NT the love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren
G5368 phileo - 1) to love 1a) to approve of 1b) to like 1c) sanction 1d) to treat affectionately or kindly, to welcome, befriend 2) to show signs of love 2a) to kiss 3) to be fond of doing 3a) be wont, use to do
Vine's Expository Dictionary:
LOVE
A. Verbs. 1. AGAPAO and the corresponding noun agape (B, No. 1 below) present “the characteristic word of Christianity, and since the Spirit of revelation has used it to express ideas previously unknown, enquiry into its use, whether in Greek literature or in the Septuagint, throws but little light upon its distinctive meaning in the N.T. Cp., however, Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5.
“Agape and agapao are used in the N.T. (a) to describe the attitude of God toward His Son, John 7:26; the human race, generally, John 3:16; Rom 5:8; and to such as believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, particulary, John 14:21; (b) to convey His will to HIs children concerning their attitude one toward another, John 13:34, and toward all men, 1 Thess. 3:12; I Cor. 16:14; 2 Pet. 1:7; (c) to express the essential nature of God, 1 John 4:8.“Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son, 1 John 4:9,10. But obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects, Rom. 5:8. It was an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself, cp. Deut. 7:7,8.“Love had its perfect expression among men in the Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Cor. 5:14; Eph. 2:4; 3:19; 5:2; Christian love is the fruit of His Spirit in the Christian, Gal. 5:22.“Christian love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all, Rom. 15:2, and works no ill to any, 13:8-10; love seeks opportunity to do good to 'all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith,' Gal. 6:10. See further 1 Cor. 13 and Col. 3:12-14.” (From the Notes on Thessalonians by Hogg and Vine, p. 105).2 PHILEO is to be distinguished from agapao in this, that phileo more nearly represents tender affection. The two words are used for the love of the Father and the Son, John 3:35 (No. 1), and 5:20 (No. 2); for the believer, 14:21 (No. 1) and 16:27 (No. 2); both, of Christ's love for a certain disciple, 13:23 (No. 1), and 20:2 (No. 2) Yet the distinction between the two verbs remains, and they are never used indiscriminately in the same passage; if each is used with reference to the same objects, as just mentioned, each word retains its distinctive and essential character.Phileo is never used in a command to men to love God; it is, however, used as a warning in 1 Cor. 16:22; agapao is used instead, e.g., Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27; Rom. 8:28; 1 Cor. 8:3; 1 Pet. 1:8; 1 John 4:21. The distinction between the two verbs finds a conspicuous instance in the narrative of John 21:15-17. The context itself indicates that agapao in the first two questions suggests the love that values and esteems (cp. Rev. 12:11). It is an unselfish love, ready to serve. The use of phileo in Peter's answers and the Lord's third question, conveys the thought of cherishing the Object above all else, of manifesting an affection characterised by constancy, from the motive of the highest veneration...Again, to love (phileo) life, from an undue desire to preserve it, forgetful of the real object of living, meets with the Lord's reproof, John 12:25. On the contrary, to love life (agapao) as used in 1 Pet. 3:10, is to consult the true interests of living. Here the word phileo would be quite inappropriate.Note: In Mark 12:38, A.V., thelo, to wish, is translated “love” (R.V., “desire”).B. Nouns. 1.AGAPE, the significance of which has been pointed out in connection with A, No. I, is always rendered “love” in the R.V. where the A.V. has “charity,” a rendering nowhere used in the R.V.; in Rom. 14:15, where the A.V. has “charitably,” the R.V., adhering to the translation of the noun, has “in love.”
Note: In the two statements in 1 John 4:8 and 16, “God is love,” both are used to enjoin the exercise of love on the part of believers. While the former introduces a declaration of the mode in which God's love has been manifested (vv. 9, 10), the second introduces a statement of the identification of believers with God in character, and the issue at the Judgment-Seat hereafter (ver. 17), an identification represented ideally in the sentence “as He is, so are we in this world.”2. PHILANTHROPIA denotes, lit., love for man (phileo and anthropos, man); hence, kindness, Acts 28:2; in Tit. 3:4, “(His) love toward man.” Cp. the adverb philanthropos, humanely, kindly, Acts 27:3.Note: For philarguia, love of money, 1 Tim. 6:10, see MONEY (love of). For philadelphia, see BROTHER, Note (1).LOVE-FEASTS
AGAPE is used in the plural in Jude 12, and in some mss. in 2 Pet. 2:13; R.V. marg., “many ancient authorities read 'deceivings,'” (apatais); so the A.V. These love-feasts arose from the common meals of the early churches (cp. 1 Cor. 11:21). They may have had this origin in the private meals of Jewish households, with the addition of the observance of the Lord's Supper. There were, however, similiar common meals among pagan religious brotherhoods. The evil dealt with at Corinth (1.c.) became enhanced by the presence of immoral persons, who degraded the feasts into wanton banquets, as mentioned in 2 Pet. and Jude. In later times the agape became detached from the Lord's Supper.
LOVELY
PROSPHILES, pleasing, agreeable, lovely (pros, toward, phileo, to love), occurs in Phil. 4:8. In Sept., Esth. 5:1 (3rd sentence).
LOVER
This is combined with other words, forming compound adjectives as follows:
1. PHILOTHEOS, a lover of God, 2 Tim. 3:42. PHILOXENOS, loving strangers (xenia, hospitality), translated “a lover of hospitality” in Tit. 1:8, A.V. (R.V., “given to h.”); elsewhere, in 1 Tim. 3:2; 1 Pet. 4:9. See HOSPITALITY.3. PHILAGATHOS, loving that which is good (agathos), Tit. 1:8, “a lover of good,” R.V.Note: The negative aphilagathos is found in 2 Tim. 3:3, “no lovers of good.”4. PHILARGUROS, loving money (arguros, silver), translated “lovers of money” in Luke 16:14; 2 Tim. 3:2, R.V. (A.V., “covetous”). See COVETOUS.5. PHILAUTOS, loving oneself, 2 Tim. 3:2, “R.V.6. PHILEDONOS, loving pleasure (hedone, pleasure), 2 Tim. 3:4, “lovers of pleasure.”Note: For loving warmly, Rom. 12:10, see AFFECTION, B, No. 2. For aphilarguros, no lover of money, 1 Tim. 3:3, R.V., and Heb. 13:5, R.V., see COVETOUS.Occurences in the Bible:
Old Testament examples:
H157 'ahab / 'aheb - Total KJV Occurrences: 208
love (74) - Gen.27:4; 29:32; Exod. 20:6; 21:5; Lev. 19:18; 19:34; Deut. 5:10; 6:5; 7:9; 7:13; 10:12; 10:15; 10:19; 11:1; 11:13; 11:22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6; 30:16; 30:20; Josh. 22:5; 23:11; Jdg. 5:31; 16:15; 1Sam. 18:22; 2Sam. 13:4; 2Chr. 19:2; Neh. 1:5; Psa. 4:2; 5:11; 31:23; 40:16; 69:36; 70:4; 97:10; 116:1; 119:97; 119:113; 119:119; 119:127; 119:132; 119:159; 119:163; 119:165; 119:167; 122:6; 145:20; Prov. 1:22; 4:6; 8:17 (2); 8:21; 8:36; 9:8; 16:13; 18:21; 20:13; Ecc. 3:8; Song 1:3-4 (2); Isa. 56:6; Isa. 61:8; Isa. 66:10; Jer. 5:31; Dan. 9:4; Hos. 3:1 (2); Hos. 4:18; 14:4; Amos 5:15; Mic. 3:2; Zech. 8:17; 8:19
loved (48) - Gen. 24:67; 25:28 (2); 27:14, 29:18; 29:30; 37:3-4 (3); Deut. 4:37; 23:5; Jdg. 16:4; 1Sam. 1:5, 16:21; 18:1; 18:16; 18:20; 18:28; 20:17; 2Sam. 12:24; 13:1; 13:15; 1Ki. 3:3; 11:1; 2Chr. 11:21; 26:10; Est. 2:17; Job 19:19; Psa. 26:8; Psa. 47:4; 78:68; 109:17; 119:47-48 (2); Isa. 43:4; 48:14; Jer. 2:25; 8:2; 14:10; 31:3; Ezek. 16:37; Hos. 9:1; 9:10; Mal. 1:1-2 (4); Mal. 2:11
loveth (38) - Gen. 27:9; 44:20; Deut. 10:18; 15:16; Ruth 4:15; Psa. 11:5; 11:7;33:5; 34:12; 37:28; 87:2; 99:4; 119:140; 146:8; Prov. 3:12; 12:1 (2); 13:24; 15:9; 15:12; 17:17; 17:19 (2); 19:8; 21:17 (2); 22:11; 29:3; Ecc. 5:10 (2); Song 1:7; 3:1-4 (4); Isa. 1:23; Hos. 10:11; 12:7
lovers (17) - Psa. 38:11; Jer. 22:20; 22:22; 30:14; Lam. 1:2; 1:19; Ezek. 16:33; 16:36-37 (2); 23:5; 23:9; 23:22; Hos.2:5; 2:7; 2:10; 2:12-13 (2)
friends (8) - 2Sam. 19:6; Est. 5:10; 5:14; 6:13; Prov. 14:20; Jer. 20:4; Zech. 13:6 (2)
lovest (7) - Gen. 22:2; Jdg. 14:16; 2Sam. 19:6; Psa. 45:7; 52:3-4 (2); Ecc. 9:9
beloved (6) - Deut. 21:15-16 (3); Neh. 13:26; Song 1:16; Hos. 3:1
friend (4) - 2Chr. 20:7; Prov. 18:24; Prov. 27:6; Isa. 41:8
lover (2) - 1Ki. 5:1; Psa. 88:18
liketh (1) - Amos 4:5
lovedst (1) - Isa. 57:8
lovely (1) - 2Sam. 1:23
loving (1) - Isa. 56:1
H158 'ahab - Total KJV Occurrences: 2
lovers (1) - Hos. 8:9
loving (1) - Prov. 5:19
H159 'ohab - Total KJV Occurrences: 1
loves (1) - Prov. 7:18
H160 'ahabah - Total KJV Occurrences: 41
love (34) - Gen. 29:20; 2Sam. 1:26 (2); 13:15; 1Ki. 11:2; Ps. 109:4-5 (2); Prov. 5:19; 10:12; 15:17; 17:9; 27:5; Ecc. 9:1; 9:6; Song 2:4-5 (2); 2:7; 3:5; 3:10; 5:8; 7:6; 8:4; 8:6-7 (3); Isa. 63:9; Jer. 2:2; 2:33; 31:3; Hos. 3:1; 9:15; 11:4; Mic. 6:8; Zeph. 3:17
loved (7) - Deut. 7:8; 1Sam. 18:3; 20:17 (2); 1Ki. 10:9; 2Chr. 2:11; 9:8
H1730 dod - Total KJV Occurrences: 57
beloved (31) - Song 1:14; 2:3; 2:8-10 (3); 2:16-17 (2); 4:16; 5:1-2 (2); 5:4-6 (4); 5:8-10 (6);5:16; 6:1-3 (4); 7:9; 7:11; 7:13; 8:5; 8:14; Isa. 5:1
uncle (10) - Lev. 10:4; 25:49; 1Sam. 10:14-16 (3); 14:50; 1Chr. 27:32; Est. 2:15; Jer. 32:7; Amo. 6:10
love (7) - Prov. 7:18; Song 1:2; 1:4; 4:10 (2); Ezek. 16:8; 23:17
beloved’s (2) - Song 6:3; 7:10
father’s (2) - Num. 36:10-11 (2); 2Ki. 24:17
brother (1) - 1Chr. 24:25
brothers’ (1) - Num. 36:11
loves (1) - Song 7:11-12 (2)
uncle’s (1) - Lev. 20:20
wellbeloved (1) - Song 1:13
H7474 rayah - Total KJV Occurrences: 9
love (9) - Song 1:9; 1:15; 2:2; 2:10; 2:13; 4:1; 4:7; 5:2; 6:4
New Testament examples:
G25 agapao - Total KJV Occurrences: 142
love (74) - Matt. 5:43-44 (2); 5:46 (2); 6:24; 19:19; 22:37; 22:39; Mark 12:30-31 (2); 12:33 (2); Luke 6:27; 6:32 (4); 6:35; 7:42; 10:27; 11:43; 16:13; John 8:42; 10:17; 13:34 (2); 14:15; 14:21; 14:23 (2); 14:31; 15:17; Rom. 8:28; 13:8-9 (2); 1Cor. 2:9; 1Cor. 8:3; 2Cor. 11:11; 12:15; Gal. 5:14; Eph. 5:25; 5:28; 5:33; 6:24; Col. 3:19; 1Th. 1:3; 3:12; 4:9; 2Tim.4:8; Jas. 1:12; 2:5; 2:8; 1Pet. 1:8; 1:22; 2:17; 3:10; 1John 2:15 (2); 3:11; 3:14; 3:18; 3:23; 4:7; 4:11-12 (2); 4:19-21 (4); 5:2 (2); 2John 1:1; 1:5; 3John 1:1
loved (38) - Mark 10:21; Luke 7:47; John 3:16; 3:19; 11:5; 12:43; 13:1 (2); 13:23; 13:34; 14:21; 14:28; 15:9 (2); 15:12; 17:23 (2); 19:26 (2); 21:7; 21:20; Rom. 8:37; 9:13; 2Cor. 12:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:4; 5:25; 2Th. 2:16; 2Tim. 4:10; Heb. 1:9; 2Pet. 2:15; 1John 4:10-11 (3); 1John 4:19; Rev. 1:5; 3:9; 12:11
loveth (20) - Luke 7:5; 7:47; John 3:35; 14:21 (2); 14:24; Rom. 13:8; 2Cor. 9:7; Eph. 5:28 (2); Heb. 12:6; 1Jo. 3:10 (2); 3:14; 4:7-8 (2); 4:20-21 (2); 5:1 (2)
beloved (7) - Rom. 9:25 (2); Eph. 1:6; Col. 3:12; 1Th. 1:4; 2Th. 2:13; Rev_20:9
lovest (2) - John 21:15-16 (2)
lovedst (1) - John 17:24
G26 agape - Total KJV Occurrences: 116
love (84) - Matt. 24:12; John 5:42 (2); 13:35; 15:9-10 (3); 15:12-13 (2); 17:26; Rom. 5:5; 5:8; 8:35; 8:39; 13:9-10 (3); 15:30; 1Cor. 4:21; 16:24; 2Cor. 2:4; 2:8; 5:14; 8:6-8 (3); 8:24; 13:11; 13:14; Gal. 5:6; 5:13; 5:22; Eph. 1:4; 1:15; 2:4; 3:17; 3:19; 4:2; 4:15-16 (2); 5:2; 6:23; Phil 1:9; 1:17; 2:1-2 (2); Col. 1:4; 1:8; 2:2; 1Th. 5:8; 5:13; 2Th. 2:10; 3:5; 1Tim. 1:14; 6:11; 2Tim. 1:7; 1:13; Phm. 1:5; 1:7; Heb. 6:10; 10:24; 1John 2:5; 2:15; 3:1; 3:16-17 (2); 4:7-10 (4); 4:12; 4:16-18 (7); 5:3; 2John 1:3; 1:6; Jude 1:2; 1:21; Rev. 2:4
charity (28) - 1Cor. 13:1-4 (7); 13:8; 13:13 (2); 14:1; 16:14; Col. 3:14; 1Th. 3:6; 2Th. 1:3; 1Tim. 1:5; 2:15; 4:12; 2Tim. 2:22; 3:10; Tit. 2:2; 1Pet. 4:8 (2); 5:14; 2Pet. 1:7; 3John 1:6; Jude 1:12; Rev. 2:19
charitably (1) - Rom. 14:15
dear (1) - Col. 1:13
love’s (1) - Phm. 1:9
loved (1) - Eph. 5:2
G5360 philadelphia - Total KJV Occurrences: 12
brotherly (5) - Rom. 12:10; 1Th. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; 2Pet. 1:7 (2)
love (4) - Rom. 12:10; 1Th. 4:9; Heb. 13:1; 1Pet. 1:22
kindness (2) -2Pet 1:7 (2)
brethren (1) - 1Pet. 1:22
G5368 phileo - Total KJV Occurrences: 26
love (10) - Matt. 23:5-6 (2); Luke 20:46; John 15:19; 21:15-17 (3); 1Cor. 16:22; Tit.3:15; Rev. 3:19
loveth (6) - Matt. 10:37 (2); John 5:20; 12:25; 16:27; Rev. 22:15
kiss (3) - Matt. 26:48; Mark 14:44; Luke 22:47
loved (3) - John 11:36; 16:27; 20:2
lovest (3) - John 11:2-3 (2); 21:17 (2)
kindness (1) -Acts 28:2
Questions (taken from the book Bible Readings for the Home):
1. What is God declared to be? 1 John 4:16
2. How great is God's love for the world? John 3:16
3. In what act especially has God's love been manifested? 1 John 4:9
4. In what does God delight? Micah 7:18
5. How are His mercies continually manifested? Lam. 3:22-23
6. Upon how many does God bestow His blessings? Matt. 5:45
7. What did Jesus say of the one who loves Him? John 14:21
8. Into what relationship to God does His love bring us? 1 John 3:1
9. How may we know that we are the sons of God? Rom. 8:14-16
10. How is the love of God supplied to the believer? Rom. 5:5
11. In view of God's great love to us, what ought we to do? 1 John 4:11
12. With what measure of love should we serve others? 1 John 3:16
13. What exhortation is based upon Christ's love for us? Eph. 5:2
14. Upon what ground does God's work for sinners rest? Eph. 2:4-6 & Titus 3:5, 6
15. In what other way is God's love sometimes shown? Heb. 12:6
16. In view of God's great love, what may we confidently expect? Rom. 8:32
17. What is God's love able to do for His children? Deut. 23:5
18. When men appreciate God's love, what will they do? Ps. 36:7.
19. How enduring is God's love for us? Jer. 31:3
20. Can anything separate the true child of God from the love of God? Rom. 8:38, 39
21. Unto whom will the saints forever ascribe praise? Rev. 1:5, 6
There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the widness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour;
There is healing in His blood.
From the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man's mind,
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.
-Frederick W. FaberQuotations (taken from the books: Exploring the Heart and Mind of the Prince of Preachers and The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations):
“Love not clay as if it were undying--love not dust as though it were eternal.” C.H. Spurgeon
“We are sure he loves who dies for love.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Love and self-denial for the object loved go hand-in-hand. If I profess to love a certain person, and yet will neither give my silver nor my gold to relieve his wants, nor in any way deny myself comfort or ease for his sake, such love is contemptible; it wears the name, but lacks the reality of love: true love must be measured by the degree to which the person loving will be willing to subject himself to crosses and losses, to suffering and self-denials. After all, the value of a thing in the market is what a man will give for it, and you must estimate the value of a man's love by that which he is willing to give up for it.” C.H. Spurgeon
“That love which wouldlead its beloved into sin is lust; it deserves not the name of love; but true love will ever seek the highest health and wholeness (which is holiness) of its object. Pure affection will grieve to see a fault, mourn over a folly, and seek to remove a blot. Perfect love seeks the perfection of the thing it loves.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Perhap ssome of you do not feel that there is anything very remarkable in this love of the Lord to the loveless. I should like you to try if you could love somebody who has nothing about him that is at all lovable.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Love cannot endure a doubt. If love is crossed with doubt it becomes jealousy, and that is cruel as the grave.” C.H. Spurgeon
“We shall not long have love to man if we do not first and chiefly cultivate love to God.” C.H. Spurgeon
“You are no lover of Christ if you do not love his children. As soon as ever the heart is given to the master of the house it is given to the children of the house. Love Christ and you will soon love all that love him.” C.H. Spurgeon
“I am told that Christians do no love each other. I am very sorry if that be true, but I rather doubt it, for I suspect that those who do not love each other are not Christians.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Now no man is a Christian who does not love Christians. He, who, being in the church, is yet not of its heart and soul, is but an intruder in the family.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Christians, you are to love one another, not because of the gain which you get from one another, but rather because of the good you can do to one another.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Love to God will help a man to persevere in service when otherwise he would have given up his work.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Nothing gives Christ greater delight than the love of His people.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Love is an exotic; it is not a plant which will flourish naturally in human soil, it must be watered from above. Love to Jesus is a flower of a delicate nature, and if it received no nourishment but that which could be drawn from the rock of our hearts it would soon wither.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did He choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another.” C.H. Spurgeon
“You know the Master might have said to Peter, had he appealed to his works, 'Yes, thou mayest preach, and yet not love me; thou mayest pray, after a fashion, and yet not love me; thou mayest do all these works and yet have no love to me. I did not ask thee what are the evidences of thy love, I asked thee the fact of it.'” C.H. Spurgeon
“I could not help saying once, I remember, that I would love God even if he damned me, because he was so gracious to others.” C.H. Spurgeon
“I once knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts, and when I got to the bottom of her doubt, it was this: she knew she loved Christ, but she was afraid he did not love her. “Oh!” I said, “that is a doubt that will never trouble me; never, by any possibility, because I am sure of this, that the heart is so corrupt, naturally, that love to God never did get there without God's putting it there.” You may rest quite certain, that if you love God, it is a fruit, and not a root.” C.H. Spurgeon
“You cannot love a thing without becoming something like it, in proportion to the force of love; and just in proportion as you love Jesus you must get like him.” C.H. Spurgeon
“But if you feel that everything that has to do with God you love--his work, his service, his perople, his day, his book--and that you do all that in you lies to spread his kingdom, both by prayer, by word of mouth, by your liberality, and by your example; if you do love you can easily see it, I think, and there are many ways by which you can test yourself.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Ah! if that question, 'If ye love me,' needed to be raised in the sacred college of the twelve, much more must it be allowed to sift our churches, and to test ourselves.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Perhaps, they who love the Master best are the very people who will be the most likely to have such a high opinion of the love which he deserves, that they will often chide themselves that they do not love him at all, when they see how little their love is compared with that perfection of affection which he deserves.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Here is the strength of the saints, here is the glory which God getteth out of true believers,--that they cannot and will not be soured against their God.” C.H. Spurgeon
“I cannot bear it--that we should love Jesus little. It seems to me horrible. Not to have your heart all on fire for Christ--this is execrable! Let us love him to the utmost. Let us ask him to give us larger hearts, and to fire them with the flame that is his own, that we may love him to the utmost possibilities of affection.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Some persons say, 'We went to such-and-such a place, and the people there love their minister too much.' That would be very dreadful, but it is not so. As for ministers being in danger of being ruined by too much love, it very seldom falls to their lot. Very generally, they get quite as many kicks as anything else; and if they do get too much love in any particular place, they get too much of the reverse somewhere else.” C.H. Spurgeon
“Now, sometimes, there is a foundation for this kind of fear, for men do act in a very hectoring manner to their fellow-men, and the very persons who talk most about being libberal in their views are generally the greateset persecutors. If I must have a religious enemy, let me have a professed and avowed bigot, but not one of your “free thinkers” or “broad churchmen” as they are called, for there is nobody who can hate as they do; and the lovers of liberal-mindedness who have no creed at all think it to be their special duty to be peculiarly contemptuous to those who have some degree of principle, and cannot twist and turn exactly as they can.” C.H. Spurgeon
“I would hate my own soul if I did not find it loving God.” St. Augustine of Hippo
“An old woman can love God better than a doctor of theology can.” St. Bonaventure
“Give me such love for God and men, as will blot out all hatred and bitterness.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Love for God and obedience to God are so completely involved in each other that any one of them implies the other too.” F.F. Bruce
“The reason why God's servants love creatures so much is that they see how much Christ loves them, and it is one of the properties of love to love what is loved by the person we love.” St. Catherine of Siena
“By love he may be gotten and holden, but by thought never.” The Cloud of Unknowing
“Virtue is nothing else than an ordered and measured affection directed towards God for his sake alone.” The Cloud of Unknowing
“Charity means nothing else but to love God for himself above all creatures, and to love one's fellowmen for God's sake as one loves himself.” The Cloud of Unknowing
“Love for God is ecstatic, making us go out from ourselves: it does not allow the lover to belong any more to himself, but he belongs only to the Beloved.” St. Dionysios the Areopagite
“A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without this.” Jonathan Edwards
“God can do everything except compel a man to love him.” Paul Evdokimov
“We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.” Johann Wofgan von Goethe
“Love unites the soul with God: and the more love the soul has the more powerfully it enters into God and is centered on him.” St. John of the Cross
“A man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God.” Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis
“Let us make God the beginning and end of our love, for he is the fountain from which all good thing flow and into him alone they flow back. Let him therefore be the beginning of our love.” Richard Rolle of Hampole
“Love of the creature toward the Creator must include obedience or it is meaningless.” Francis August Schaeffer
“Only through love can we attain communion with God.” Albert Schweitzer
“Our love for God is tested by the question of whether we seek him or his gifts.” Ralph Washington Sockman
“Love of God is the root, love to our neighbor the fruit of the Tree of Life. Neither can exist without the other, but the one is cause and the other effect.” William Temple
“By love alone is God enjoyed, by love alone delighted in, by love alone approached and admired. His nature requires love. The law of nature commands thee to love him: the law of his nature, and the law of thine.” Thomas Traherne
“He who is filled with love is filled with God himself.” St. Augustine of Hippo
“'Pour into our hearts to the attitude of your love.' Pour it in: become yourself one flowing for us, for your flowing does not carry us to you. be rain in our dryness; be a river through our landscape so that it might have in you its center as well as the cause of its growing and bearing fruit.” Hans urs von Balthasar
“Love seeketh not itself to pleace, / Nor for itself hat any care, / But for another gives its ease, / And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.” William Blake
“He who loves his fellow man is loving God the best he can.” Alice Cary
“Only love can bring individual beings to their perfect completion as individuals because only love takes possession of them and unites them by what lies deepest within them.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“It is impossible to love Christ without loving others in proportion as these others are moving towards Christ. And it is impossible to love others in a spirit of broad human communion without moving nearer to Christ.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“Remember that the one you love in your heart are but guests in your soul.” Jim Cotter
“We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other.” Dorothy Day
“No man can be a Chrsitian who is unconcerned for the salvation of others.” Richard Burdon Haldane
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” Martin Luther King Jr.
“Love is infallible; it has no errors, for errors are the want of love.” William Law
“Condescend to all weaknesses and infirmities of your fellow creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their virtues, relieve their wants, rejoice in their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, and condescend to do the lowest offices to the lowest of mankind.” William Law
“Faith like light, should always be simple, and unbending; while love, like warmth, should beam forth on every side, and bend to every necessity of our brethren.” Martin Luther
“To know oursleves loved is to have the depths of our own capacity to love opened up.” John Main
“Blessed is the man who can love all men especially.” Maximus the Confessor
“True charity means returning good for evil--always.” Mary Mazzarello
“It is only inasmuch as you see someone else as he or she really is here and now, and not as they are in your memory or your desire or in your imagination or projection, that you can truly love them.” Anthony de Mello
“Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves.” Thomas Merton
“Love is an action, an activity. it is not a feeling.” M. Scott Peck
“The measure of our love for others can largely be determined by the frequency and ernestness of our prayers for them.” Aiden Wilson (A.W.) Pink
“He who has charity is far from all sin.” St. Polycarp
“When a man sees that his neighbor hates him, then he must love him more than he did before to fill up the gap.” Rabbi Rafeal
“Charity is that with which no man is lost, and without which no man is saved.” St. Robert Bellarmine
“Can a man love God while ignoring the need of his brother?” Frances J. Roberts
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments. Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove. / O no! it is an ever-fixed mark, / That looks on tempest and is never shaken.” William Shakespeare
“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” Mother Teresa
“It is not a matter of thinking a great deal but of loving a great deal, so do whatever arouses you most to love.” Mother Teresa
“Love is the only spiritual power that can overcome the self-centeredness that is inherent in being alive. Love is the thing that makes life possible, or indeed, tolerable.” Arnold Joseph Toynbee
“His love enableth me to call every country my country, and every man my brother.” Daniel Wheeler
“Self-admiration is the death of the soul. To admire ourselves asa we are is to have no wish to change. And with those who don't want to change, the soul is dead.” William Barclay
“Love is pure when self is slain.” Harold R. Crosser
“Self-love is cunning, it pushes and insinuates itself into everything, while making us believe it is not there at all.” St. Francis de Sales
“You have an ego--a consciousness of being an individual. But that doesn't mean that you are to worship yourself, to think constantly about yourself, and to live entirely for yourself.” William Franklin (Billy) Graham
“The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves.” William Hazlitt
“Love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, gentle, strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking her own: for wheresoever a man seeket his own, there he falleth from love.” Thomas à Kepis
“All the sin of heathendom, all the sin of Christendom, is but the outgrowth of the one root--God dethroned, self enthroned in the heart of man.” Andrew Murray
“If I am half-full of myself, there is no way I can be full of God.” Richard Owen Robert
