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Love for Enemies
‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.”
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But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
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For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same?
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Concerning Prayer
‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
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Serving Two Masters
‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
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Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
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Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
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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.”
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And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”
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They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
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And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold.
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Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’
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you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”
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The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’
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and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’
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Love for Enemies
‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
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‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
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But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
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for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’
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When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?’
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Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’
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He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
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‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others.
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Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places.
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No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.’
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The Law and the Kingdom of God
The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.
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‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets.
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‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
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And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
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The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.
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The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.
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But I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
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Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.
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For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
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So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’
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Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,
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So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’
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Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
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for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.
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Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
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One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him;
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I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
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By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’
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The Promise of the Holy Spirit
‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
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They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’
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Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
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Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
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You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.
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but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.
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As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
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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.
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‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
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No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
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I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
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If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you.
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for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
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I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
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Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
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I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
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When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’
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So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’
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That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake.
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Jesus and Peter
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
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A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’
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He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
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Jesus and the Beloved Disciple
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?’
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and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
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But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
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We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
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God’s Love in Christ Jesus
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
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Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
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No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
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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.
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As it is written, ‘I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.’
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Marks of the True Christian
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
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love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour.
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Love for One Another
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
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The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
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Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
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If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.
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I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf,
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But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’—
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What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
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Food Offered to Idols
Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
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but anyone who loves God is known by him.
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The Gift of Love
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
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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 do not have love, I am nothing.
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If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant
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Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
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And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
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Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues
Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.
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Let all that you do be done in love.
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Let anyone be accursed who has no love for the Lord. Our Lord, come!
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My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.
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For I wrote to you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
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So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
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For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.
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by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love,
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Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
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I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.
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Therefore, openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.
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Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
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I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?
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Final Greetings and Benediction
Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
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and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
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For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
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For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
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The Fruit of the Spirit
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
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just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
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Paul’s Prayer
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason
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But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us
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and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
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and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
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with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
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But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
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from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
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and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
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In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
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Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.
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Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
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And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight
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These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defence of the gospel;
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Imitating Christ’s Humility
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy,
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make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
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Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
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for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
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and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
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I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself,
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Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
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Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
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remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Timothy’s Encouraging Report
But Timothy has just now come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love. He has told us also that you always remember us kindly and long to see us—just as we long to see you.
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And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.
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Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another;
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and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more,
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But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
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esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.
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Thanksgiving
We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
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and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
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Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
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May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
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But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.
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and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.
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not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money.
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Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
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The Good Fight of Faith
But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.
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for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
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Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
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Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
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For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
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treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
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Paul’s Charge to Timothy
Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,
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for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
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but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.
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Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.
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so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
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All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.
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Philemon’s Love and Faith
When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God
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because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus.
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I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
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yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
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You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.’
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For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.
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And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,
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for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.’
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Service Well-Pleasing to God
Let mutual love continue.
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Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’
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Trial and Temptation
Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
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Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
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You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
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Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
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Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.
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Honour everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honour the emperor.
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Suffering for Doing Right
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
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Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.
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Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
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and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
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They have left the straight road and have gone astray, following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of doing wrong,
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but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him:
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Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling.
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Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;
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See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
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The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
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Love One Another
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
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We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death.
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We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
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How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
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Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
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And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
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God Is Love
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
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Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
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God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
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In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
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Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
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No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
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So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
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Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world.
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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
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We love because he first loved us.
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Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
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The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
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Faith Conquers the World
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.
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By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
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For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,
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Salutation
The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth,
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Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
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Truth and Love
I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father.
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But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning, let us love one another.
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And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.
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Salutation
The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
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they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on in a manner worthy of God;
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May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
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These are blemishes on your love-feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves. They are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted;
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keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
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and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood,
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But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
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‘I know your works—your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first.
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I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.
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I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
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Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.
