What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love? Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: …” In addition, 1 John 4:8 says: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Followers of Christ are followers of a God who is love. God is the father of Love and everything from creation till date reflects his unfailing and unconditional love. By welcoming the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and handing over our lives to him, we are given the right to become children of God, the Father of Creation who rules sovereignty from Heaven. Heaven is his throne and the Earth is his footstool. If we are his children, we must reflect his nature of love, mercy, compassion, and righteousness through Christ.
Ephesians 5:2 – “Live a life of love.” Living a life of love is a Heavenly assignment from God who is the father of true love. Most Bible verses about love are in support of this divine truth. The path through Christ which leads to the father is paved with love. Everything that God desires from us is surrounded or centered around love. Even the Key Teachings of Jesus Christ are centered on the genuine love of God and your neighbor. The love of God and the love of your neighbor happen to be the two greatest commandments that Jesus Christ taught men and women. Love is what makes our sacrifices pleasing and acceptable to God. Without love, we cannot please God. Most Bible verses about love are pointing to this very truth.
What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love?
At this level, many people are asking themselves lots of questions like what is love according to the Bible? Does the Bible define love the same way as the world does? How can I live a life of love and bring glory to God’s name? What are the benefits of God’s love and how many kinds of love are mentioned in the Bible? Relax on your wheelchair and grasp your cup of coffee as you continuously unfold our writing on Bible verses about love. In the process of unfolding, you’ll pick up all the answers to the worries that you might have about love in the Bible.
What the Scriptures say about Love (Everything you need to Know)
What is Love?
In the New International Version of the Bible, the word love occurs 686 times; 261 times in the New Testament and 425 times in the Old Testament. Another word to take into consideration is “Peace”. You might ask why so? It is worth nothing that the Old Testament was originally pinned in Hebrew while the New Testament in Greek. In those languages, there exist multiple words for love probably depending on the kind of love that the author was referring to. This leads us into saying that there are many kinds of loves as revealed by the Bible. For simplification purposes, we can breakdown the different types of loves into 4 kinds.
The 4 Types of Love
1. storgē
storgē (Pronounced as STOR-jay) is the kind of love in the Bible that many people are not familiar with. This Greek word clearly points to what we can refer to as Family Love. It is the affectionate bond that naturally develops between parents and children, brothers and sisters. There are lots of Biblical examples pointing to this kind of love. To list a few, we’ll point to the mutual protection between Noah and his wife, the strong love that Martha and her sister Mary had for their brother Lazarus whom Jesus Christ resurrected from dead, and the love that Jacob had for his sons. It is in this very light that we are commanded in Romans 12:10 to be devoted to one another with brotherly affection. The word “devoted” is a compound word using storge, “philostorgos,“
2. eros
Eros (Pronounced: AIR-ohs) is a Greek word for romantic or sensual love. It is is more of a physical and romantic kind of love. This kind of love is much like what we regularly see at the end of most Hallmark movies. The Biblical book titled “Song of Songs” is filled with this type of love. Let’s get some examples by reading the following scriptures. Song of Songs 1:2 – “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- for your love is more delightful than wine.” Let’s further read Song of Songs 1:4 – “Take me away with you- let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.” The term Eros originated from the methodological Greek God of love. Such includes physical attraction and the desires that we know. Promiscuity of all type was rampant in ancient Greek in the name of Erotic Love.
3. Philos
Philos also referred to as Philia (Pronounced: FILL-ee-uh) is the love between friends. It is the type of intimate love in the Bible that Christians practice towards each other. This Greek term directly points to the powerful emotional bond that exist within true friendship. It is the most general type of love that we regularly encounter when reading the Holy Scriptures. It encompasses love for fellow humans, respect, care and compassion for those in need.
The religious concept of brotherly love that unites believers is unique to Christianity. Jesus Christ before being crucified said in his prayers that Philia love will be an identifier of his followers. Proverbs – “A friend loves at all times.” The friendship between David and Jonathan testifies this kind of love. Although Jesus Christ had thousands of disciples, he held twelve closer than the rest. Even within the twelve, three were intensely close to him. Among the three, John was his closest friend.
4. Agape
Agape (Pronounced: Uh-GAH-pay) is the highest and most important kind of love in the Bible. It is a term used to define God’s unconditional, incomparable, and immeasurable love for humankind. Such is the divine love that comes from God, the Father of Creation who rules over Heaven and Earth. Agape love is unconditional, perfect, pure and sacrificial. The way Jesus Christ lived and died is a demonstration of this kind of love to his Father. When we love with Agape, we are seeking to give of ourselves.
This is best demonstrated in the willingness of God to give-up his only son to be sacrificed for our sake. Jesus Christ in turn accepted his Father’s will and offered himself without reserve for our sake. That’s he endured suffering, persecution, and insults for our sake on the cross at Calvary. There is nothing that we have to provide God that will bring him any gain. He simply loves us without waiting for anything in return. 1 Corinthians 13:12 – “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greater of these is love.”
Love Drives Out Fear
1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (this is again the word agape). Behold, the dismissal of the fear of condemnation is one of the main functions of God’s love. The person without Christ is under judgment and has plenty to fear, but once a person is in Christ, the fear of judgment is gone. John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
As Christians, part of understanding the love of God is knowing that God’s judgment fell on Jesus at the cross so we can be spared. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus Christ is the Savior in whom anyone who believes is saved. We learn from the Scriptures that the only person who must fear judgment is the one who rejects Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches that nothing can separate the believer from the love of God in Christ. Romans 8:38-39 says, “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.”
God’s love for sinners is why Christ died on the Cross of Calvary. God’s love for those who trust in Christ is why He holds them in His hand and promises never to let them go (John 10:29).
What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …“
John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
1 John 4:8 – “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Ephesians 5:11 – “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.“
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Ecclesiastes 3:14 – “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.“
Group 1 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
Jeremiah 12:1-17 – “Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart. But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter. How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? …“
Ecclesiastes 1:13 – “And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.”
John 3:17 – “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.“
Group 2 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. …“
Job 7:1-21 – “Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand? Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn. My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh. ...”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …“
Group 3 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Philippians 1:3 – “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,”
Matthew 22:37-40 – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jeremiah 1:4-8 – Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Group 4 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
Luke 15:11-32 – And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. …”
John 17:1-26 – “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. …“
Group 5 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
2 Kings 4:8-30 – “One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.” One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. ...”
1 Corinthians 13:6 – “It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.“
Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.“
John 10:14-15 – “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.“
Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.“
Group 6 – What Does The Bible Say About A Time To Love
Romans 7:14-25 – “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. …“
Song of Solomon 1:1-17 – “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you. I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. …“
