What Is Love According to the Bible?

1. Love as God’s Nature

At the most foundational level, the Bible teaches that God is love:

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

This doesn’t mean that “love” in the human sense defines God, but rather that God’s very being is the source and standard of what true love is. Love is not just one of His attributes; it is His essence.

2. The Highest Commandment

Jesus summarized the entire law and prophets with two commands about love:

“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. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39)

Here, love is not optional but the core of faith: complete devotion to God and self-giving care for others.

3. Love Defined by Action, Not Feeling

Biblical love is not primarily about emotion but about action. It’s sacrificial, selfless, and oriented toward the good of the other. The clearest example is Christ Himself:

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Love is seen in what someone does, especially in costly, self-giving acts.

4. The Classic Definition: 1 Corinthians 13

The Apostle Paul gives the most famous, detailed description of love:

“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.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7)

This passage shows love as a steady, enduring commitment rather than a fleeting feeling.

5. Love as Fulfillment of the Law

Paul explains that love sums up all of God’s commandments:

“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8)

This shows that every rule or moral teaching in Scripture ultimately points toward love—toward how we relate to God and to others.

6. Love Empowered by the Spirit

Finally, love is not something people generate on their own. It is a fruit of the Spirit’s work in believers:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23)

True biblical love flows from God’s Spirit dwelling within.

In Summary

According to the Bible:

Love is the very nature of God (1 John 4:8).
Love is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37–39).
Love is defined by action, not just feeling (John 15:13).
Love is patient, kind, enduring, and selfless (1 Corinthians 13:4–7).
Love fulfills the law and is the fruit of the Spirit (Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:22).

In short, biblical love is the self-giving, sacrificial pursuit of the good of another, rooted in God’s own nature and revealed most clearly in Jesus Christ.

SAHAJA.