17 Joyful Scriptures About God’s Love for Us

From a young age, I was taught in Sunday School that I was loved by God. Yet, some twenty-odd years later, I still struggle at times with accepting God’s love. For those days, I cling to these 17 joyful scriptures about God’s love for us.

I realized that I needed to get the truth of God’s love from my head to my heart. And I hope these Bible verses about God’s love for us also encourage you to receive God’s love today—and every day.

a woman drinking from a mug and reading scriptures about God's love for us

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1 Scriptures about God’s Love for Us

1.1 1 – 1 John 3:1

1.2 2 – 1 John 4:7-10

1.3 3 – 1 John 4:16-17

1.4 4 – Colossians 1:19-20

1.5 5 – Ephesians 2:4-6

1.6 6 – John 10:14-15, 27-29

1.7 7 – Isaiah 49:15-16

1.8 8 – Psalm 100:3

1.9 9 – Colossians 1:21-22

1.10 10 – John 15:9-10

1.11 11 – James 1:17

1.12 12 – Romans 5:8

1.13 13 – 1 John 3:16

1.14 14 – John 3:16-17

1.15 15 – Romans 8:38-39

1.16 16 – Jeremiah 31:3

1.17 17 – 1 John 4:18-19

2 Bible Verses about God’s Love for Us

Scriptures about God’s Love for Us

How great is God’s love for us?

In Ephesians 2:4-6, Paul makes it very clear that God’s love is great. It is unfailing, unconditional, powerful, overwhelming, and awe-inspiring. It is pure love that can only be from God.

The gospel also speaks to the greatness of God’s love for us. John 3:16 says that God’s love was so great, He gave up his one and only son, Jesus, to give us eternal life in Him.
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Whenever I’m questioning God’s love for me, I look to the gospel. There, in the good news of Jesus Christ, I see God’s love displayed for all humanity.

What Bible verse talks about Gods love for us?

The entire Bible and the gospel (the story of how Jesus redeemed us from sin and death) is God’s love revealed to us. So, it’s no wonder that The Bible is overflowing with scriptures about God’s love for us, including these 17 verses below.

1 John 3:1
1 John 4:7-10
1 John 4:16-17
Colossians 1:19-20
Ephesians 2:4-6
John 10:14-15, 27-29
Isaiah 49:15-16
Psalm 100:3
Colossians 1:21-22
John 15:9-10
James 1:17
Romans 5:8
1 John 3:16
John 3:16-17
Romans 8:38-39
Jeremiah 31:3
1 John 4:18-19

1 – 1 John 3:1

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
1 John 3:1a (ESV)
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2 – 1 John 4:7-10

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:7-10

From these bible verses on God’s love for us in 1 John, verse 7 sticks out to me. This Bible verse reminds me that God is love. Love is part of His character. In verse 10, John makes the distinction that the definition of love comes from God, not us. “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us.”

God loves us in many ways: by being our Creator, Healer, Sustainer, Counselor and bringing us peace (Colossians 1:16, Isaiah 9:6).
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Later in this chapter (see below), John emphasizes the point that God first loved us. Also, he reminds us that Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God’s love for us.

3 – 1 John 4:16-17

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.”
1 John 4:16-17 (ESV)
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4 – Colossians 1:19-20

“For in him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.“ Colossians 1:19-20

Paul concurs with John in his letter to the Colossians. God has revealed His love for us through Jesus Christ. He saved us from condemnation and made peace between us and God.

Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we were able to receive God’s mercy and grace. We didn’t receive what we truly deserved, the punishment for our sins. Instead, we’ve been called children of God.
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5 – Ephesians 2:4-6

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4-6
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Speaking of mercy and grace, I love what Paul writes in Ephesians 2. The first ten verses summarize the gospel so beautifully. Here, we focus on verses 4-6.

From these bible verses about God’s love for us, we learn that God’s love it is not something that we deserve or earned (or will earn).

It is only because of God’s rich mercy and His great love that we have been given grace through Jesus Christ. And through trust in Jesus Christ, we receive salvation and eternal life.
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This is the good news of the gospel! Not only because we have been given salvation through Jesus, but also because we don’t have to work to earn our salvation.

6 – John 10:14-15, 27-29

“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…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:14-15, 27-29 (emphasis added)

My favorite bible verses on God’s love for us come from John 10. Jesus is frequently referred to in scripture as our Shepherd who guides us, provides for us, and protects us.

You and I are loved by God in the same way as a shepherd cares for his sheep.

In John 10, Jesus mentions laying down his life for us, guiding us, keeping us safe, and providing us with eternal life. The Bible says that as a child of God, we are loved by God and being cared for by our good shepherd.

7 – Isaiah 49:15-16

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
Isaiah 49:15-16
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When sharing my faith, people often ask me: Why are we loved by God?

We are loved by God because He created us. We were created by a compassionate God and in the image of God (Genesis 1-2). After He created us, He didn’t just take off and leave us to our own devices. He sought after us, to have a relationship with us, like Father and child.

This loving relationship God desires with us is described in Isaiah 49:15-16 when God promises to never forget us.

God loves us because we are His children. We are a part of His kingdom and made to dwell with Him.
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8 – Psalm 100:3

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Psalm 100:3
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9 – Colossians 1:21-22

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” Colossians 1:21-22

From these scriptures on God’s love for us, we know that God wants to spend eternity with us because of His love for us.

Through the transformation of our hearts, we are presented as righteous before God because of Jesus’ sacrifice. This means that Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us.

So when God looks at one of his children (one of us), he doesn’t see our sin. He sees Jesus’ righteousness on us.
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Therefore, we can spend eternity with God. That is grace! This is the love that God wants us to receive from Him.

10 – John 15:9-10

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
John 15:9-10
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11 – James 1:17

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
James 1:17
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While love isn’t in this verse directly, I wanted to include it to remind us that God has blessed us. We aren’t lucky or fortunate or have earned anything. We have been blessed by Him, and in those blessings, we can see the love of God.

12 – Romans 5:8

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
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13 – 1 John 3:16

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
1 John 3:16
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In addition to these bible verses on God’s love for us, we can see God’s love for the world. We are called to show God’s love with others, too, as the end of this verse points out.

14 – John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 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.”
John 3:16-17
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Before and after salvation, we all struggle with sin (Romans 3:23). We fall short of the perfection that only Jesus could accomplish.

There’s no way we could reach God without grace. As these verses remind us, it’s because of God’s love that he has bestowed on us the gift of salvation.

In order to understand God’s love for us, we must first understand who God is, the impact and importance of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the amazing grace awarded to us through the gospel.

15 – Romans 8:38-39

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39
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Even while knowing scriptures about God’s love for us, sometimes we still struggle with accepting God’s love. Since so much of our society is merit-based–valuing hard work, sweat, and sacrifice–it’s easy to apply those same principles to our relationships with Jesus.

For those times, we must remember our identity in Christ and the truth of God’s love. These verses in Romans tell us that no one and nothing can change God’s love for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

In the same way, you and I cannot change God’s love for us by how we act. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less. There is also nothing we can do to make God love us more.
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As it says in Ephesians 2, God’s character is why we are loved by God. Not our works. This doesn’t mean we forgo God’s commandments. Instead, God’s love should incite us to serve God all the more joyfully out of love and gratitude.

Check out these Bible verses about thankfulness, which teach us what it means to have a grateful heart.

16 – Jeremiah 31:3

“The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
Jeremiah 31:3 (ESV)
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Do you know you are loved by God? Do you believe it? In addition to Jeremiah 31, there are many other scriptures about God’s love to help you take the knowledge of God’s love into your heart.

17 – 1 John 4:18-19

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:18-19
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Bible Verses about God’s Love for Us

As I’ve read more Bible verses about God’s love for us, I’ve come to see the overarching story of God’s grace. It’s a story centered around Jesus’s Christ and carried throughout the Bible. From creation to redemption, God has cared for us like the good shepherd He is.

Outside of the Bible, I’ve found God’s love in other people, too. The kindness in the hearts of my brothers and sisters in Christ astounds me. I have found God’s love in how others shared Christ’s love with me.

But the ultimate place I still go to experience and receive God’s love is the Bible. Packed full of scriptures about God’s love for us, the Bible reminds us that the greatest lover of our soul is Jesus Christ.

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