Mathew 27:37- 40 Love is the great and foremost (most important, in first place) commandment.
John 13:34 and 35 – Love is the badge of discipleship.
Romans 13:8-10 – We are not to be indebted to anyone, but we owe all love because of God. Loving God is not mentioned because as we love each other, we are loving God.
Ephesians 3:14-21 – Notice the logical progression.
Ephesians 4:15 and 16 – We grow together in love.
In the epistle of 1John, the word “love” occurs 24 times more than in any other NT book. The understanding of love is diverse, and everyone holds his or her own view. Thus, a biblical definition is mandatory.
1John 2:2-3; John 14:14, 23, and 24 Obedience is the foundation of godly love.
1John 3:11-14 – Love is the ground, not of our passing over out of death into life, but of our knowing that we have. Love, on our part, is the evidence of our regeneration, not the cause of it.
15 – “Hates” is equivalent to “does not love” (1Jo 3:14); there is no middle area between the two. Love and hatred (like light and darkness, life and death) necessarily replace, as well as necessarily exclude one another.
John is the master of shocking statements – “Everyone who hates…murderer.”
16 – The standard of Christ
17-19 – Words only are not enough but often deceive us to think we are loving.
5:1-8 – Knowing God is connected with love. It is impossible to know God without loving.
5:9-21 – Loving each other is equivalent to loving God.
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