Love of God

Love of God can mean either love for God or love by God. Love for God (philotheia) is associated with the concepts of piety, worship, and devotions towards God.

Love by God for human beings (philanthropia) is lauded in Lamentations 3:22: "The steadfast love of God endures all the day"; Psalm 52:8: "I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever"; Romans 8:39: "Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God"; 2 Corinthians 13:14: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all"; 1 John 4:9: "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"; etc.

The Greek term theophilia means the love or favour of God, and theophilos means friend of God, originally in the sense of being loved by God or loved by the gods; but is today sometimes understood in the sense of showing love for God.

Love of God (Christianity)

The love of God is a prevalent concept both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Love is a key attribute of God in Christianity, and 1 John 4:8 states: "God is love."

The love of God has been the center of the spirituality of a number of Christian mystics such as Teresa of Avila.

Old Testament

The Old Testament uses a rich vocabulary to express the love of God, as a concept that appears in many instances. For example, the prophet Hosea saw God's love as the basis for the election of Israel (cf. Hosea 11:1). In Isaiah 38, God expresses his love for individuals as well. Many Christians see Solomon as symbolizing Christ's relation to his church. The love of God appears in a number of texts (e.g. Hosea 1-3, and then in Ezek 16 and Isa 62, etc.); however, the exegesis of the love of God in the Old Testament has presented problems for modern scholars, especially resolving the references to produce a consistent interpretation has been challenging and subject to debate.