Where does the Bible say 'God is love'?
The statement "God is love" appears in the New Testament letter of 1 John, in chapter 4, in both verse 8 and verse 16. The author uses it not as a slogan but as part of an argument: love belongs to God's nature; therefore knowing love begins with knowing God, and anyone who…
The statement "God is love" appears in the New Testament letter of 1 John, in chapter 4, in both verse 8 and verse 16. The author uses it not as a slogan but as part of an argument: love belongs to God's nature; therefore knowing love begins with knowing God, and anyone who claims to know God should show love in how they live. In the same chapter the definition is not left abstract: "God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" — love is tied to a concrete act. This thought runs parallel to one of the Bible's best-known verses, John 3:16, where God's love for the world is shown by giving. Paul's letter to the Romans makes a similar point: the proof of God's love is that Christ died while humanity was still sinful. The word "love" in the Bible carries several layers of meaning; 1 Corinthians 13 describes love less as a feeling than as a posture and behavior: it is patient, it is kind, it does not seek its own advantage. The sentence "God is love" reads like a summary of that whole picture: love defines God's character and is held out as the measure of human love. The whole of 1 John 4 can be read on this site, and tapping any verse reference opens the text. For more verses on this theme, the site's "Verses About Love" collection gathers the related references on a single page.