16 "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] *only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

8 But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 The Lord appeared to me (*Israel) from ages past, saying,

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you. [Deut 7:8]

1 *Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness. [James 5:11]

15 But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips shall praise You.

7 Beloved, let us [unselfishly] *love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience]. 8 The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

9 By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God’s requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath]. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us [in this incredible way], we also ought to love one another.

16 We have come to know [by personal observation and experience], and have believed [with deep, consistent faith] the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him.

19 We love, because *He first loved us.

1 See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

7 Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [before from us]. [John 13:34, 35] 8 On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true and realized in Christ and in you, because the darkness [of moral blindness] is clearing away and the true Light [the revelation of God in Christ] is already shining.

3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey].

4 Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

17 "The Lord your God is in your midst,

A Warrior who saves.

He will rejoice over you with joy;

He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

17 "I love those who love me;

And those who seek me early and diligently will find me. [1 Sam 2:30; Ps 91:14; John 14:21; James 1:5]

4 "Because you are precious in My sight,

You are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.

9 We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God,

In the midst of Your temple.

10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,

And Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.

20 I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

4 But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). [Rom 6:1-10]

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ.