Article
"There is nothing greater than Love on this earth!"
(All that the Bible Says about "Love" has been quoted and has been paraphrased in this Article  
in Simple, Practical and Biblical Terms!)
by Dr. John Williams 
(Founder/President of IICM)
Key Scripture: 1 Jo 4:20
If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: 
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

 

1. The Key Scriptures on "Love" in the order in which they appear in the Bible and the Paraphrased/Simplified Versions immediately following each verse

Le 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.  
(If we truly love our neighbor we will not have any bitterness, grudge, enmity, spirit of 
 unforgiveness or bitterness.)

De 7:7             The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of  all people. 
(God's motivation for loving us is not in our numbers, quality or any valid reason, but  
  His love for us is his very nature and intrinsic quality which embodied in him and is 
  inseparable and irremovable.) 

De 13:             Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  
(When it comes to the question of whether you love God, with all your  heart and with 
 all your soul, no one needs to discern, confirm, vouch or cerity, because God can 
 discern and detect, and he knows.)

Jud 16:15       And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.   
(When we love God, our heart, mind and soul will be intricately intertwined and be 
  lingering with him.)

1Ki 11:2          Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them,     neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.   
(A person who truly loves God or any one will never turn their hearts away from them, 
 will just cleave or become inseparable from them.)

Pr 4:6      Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.  
(We have been instructed in the Word of God to love wisdom and to forsake it, because if we do, we will be the losers and not beneficiaries of wisdom.)

Pr 9:8         Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.  
(Loving the rebuke, admonition or exhortation of a wise or a Godly man, is the proof of  
 ones wisdom. )

Pr 20:13  Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.  
(Loving sleep is forbidden by the word of God, because it implies both laziness and 
 ignorance.)

Eze 33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hearthy        words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after    their covetousness.  
(If one truly loves God, he will obey and do what God says .)

Mt 5:46   For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  
(The standard of God's love is way above the standard of this world. The world may love 
  those who love them, but we should love those that hate us, do evil to us and are 
  strangers. )

Mt 6:5     And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the      synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  
(Our attitudes and acts of love should not be displayed in order to be appreciated and 
  admired by the people around us)

Lu 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
(While we keep the law of love it is important to obey all the other laws of  God 
  including Tithes, without neglecting them.)

Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. (Jesus expressed his sadness over the fact that many did not have the love of God in them.)

Joh 15:19       If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 
(Because our ways, interests, values and priorities are different from that of this world, and we have been separated from the rest of the people of this world and set apart for God, we will be despised and hated by the people of this world.)

Ro 5:5       ......... the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  
(1. We have the capacity to love God and our neighbors.  
 2. If we do not love them, it is because we do not want to or care to love God others,
     willfuly or deliberately.)

Ro 13:9     ....... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  
(3. This is the greatest Law, Commandment and Desire of our God.)

1Co 2:9     ...... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath   prepared for them that love him. (Those that love God and their neighbors shall be richly reward beyond description and measure. )

1Co 16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.  
(Not loving the Lord Jesus Christ is the worst, the most cursed and the greatest offense that any one can commit. )

2Co 2:4    ........ not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.  
(The greatest truth that one should know is that God loves us more that we can even imagine or comprehend.)

2Co 8:8   .......to prove the sincerity of your love.

Ga 5:13   ....but by love serve one another.
(Loving is serving, and without serving others we can not love others. )

Col 3:19  Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.  
(Husbands love towards their wives is comparable to God's love to the church His Bride, in nature and magnitude, which does not allow any room for bitterness. )

1 Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.  
(Brotherly love is none other than Godly love or the same love with which we are supposed to love God, brother, neighbor, stranger and even our enemy.)

2 Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

2 Ti 1:7   For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  
(God has given us the spirit of Love, which has no fear, but has power and wisdom 
 which gives us the most rational and sensible mind.)

2Ti 4:8   Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall  give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.  
(The real test to find out how much or really a person loves God is to find out 
 how desperately one is looking forward to or awaiting the appearance of Christ.) 

Heb 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his       name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.  
(God will never forget all of your acts and labor of love towards him, the saints and all 
 others.) 

Jas 2:5   Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of          the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?  
(It is not important how poor one is economically speaking, but God has promised to 
 love those that are rich in faith and has inherited the kingdom of God. )

1Jo 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
(If person loves the world or the things in the world, neither can he love God nor can 
God love him. )

1Jo 3:1    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  (Since we have been transformed as the sons of God by the love that has been bestowed upon us, it is imperative that we keep the commandment of love strictly, and demonstrate it to the world. )

1Jo 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.  
(We have been assured everlasting life, and not condemned to death,  because we have 
 made a commitment to love our neighbors as ourselves, which should be kept by us at 
 any cost and with all diligence. )

1Jo 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  
(We are excepted and obligated to express our love to others in tangible ways, because 
 love is not merely an attitude or a disposition, but an act of goodness involving some 
 sacrifice. )

1Jo 4:8     He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  
(If the element of love is lacking in a person, we can be certain that he has no knowledge or relationship with God. )

1Jo 4:10  Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for       our sins.  
(It is a marvelous truth and has been declared by Jesus that God loved us first even 
 before we knew him or loved him, because the of God towards us has been   
 demonstrated to us by sending his only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins. )

1Jo 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is        not made perfect in love.  
(Those who have the True Love of God, need not worry about anything under any 
 circumstance or situation, because the love of God will cast all fears. In other words 
 where there is the spirit of love which is the presence of God, the devil, the wicked one 
 cannot touch us. 

1Jo 4:20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  
(Loving God is actually loving our neighbors. We cannot just love our neighbors without 
 loving God. God can love the people on this earth in a tangible way by doing them good 
 only through us. )

1Jo 5:3    For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.  
(The greatest commandments of God are loving God and loving our neighbors. It will not 
 hurt anyone to keep God's commandments, because it will only give us satisfaction and 
 blessings.)

2Jo 1:1    The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth.   
(Every one who has experienced and known about the love of God, is expected to love 
 every one, with sincerity and honesty.

2Jo 1:5    And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.  
(God's commandment to love him and our neighbor is an eternal and everlasting 
  commandment, and it is not something new. )

1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy       unspeakable and full of glory. 
(It is the love mingled with faith in God without seeing him that gives the greatest and 
               indescribable joy.)  

II. Summary of what is said in the Bible about "Love" ?

A. What is "Love"?

        God is love, and love is of God

        Love is God's nature, characteristic and attribute

        Love is a spiritual quality, because God is a Spiritual Being

        Love is an Act of Goodness and Sacrifice

        Love is a Commandment of God

        Love is a Universal Law of the Whole World

        Love is not just an attitude, disposition or feeling

         Love has feelings, affection and concern  

B. Why should we "Love"?

    Because it is the greatest commandment of God

    Because it is our duty and obligation

    Because it will overcome all evil

    Because it will stop battles and bring peace

    Because it will bring justice

    Because it is the answer for all the problems and questions

    Because it is the greatest weapon that we can use against the enemy

    Because it is the solution to all problems, disorders and crimes including murder and theft

    Because it will bring unity  

C. How should we "Love?

     By forgiving others

     By doing good to others

     By sacrificing for others

     By serving others

     By  being humble

     By not getting angry

     By not hating anyone

-THE END-