Every Love
Every place Scripture says God or Christ loved. Hebrew ahav (H0157), Greek agapao (G0025) and agape (G0026) on the Textus Receptus: 467 occurrences in 402 verses, from which 65 rows have God or Christ as the one loving. Every row names the object of the love.
This is the table behind the “beloved” exhibit in There Is No Calvinist Election in the Bible, and the companion to Every Election.
Method
The three lemmas were extracted whole from STEPBible TAHOT and TAGNT (CC BY 4.0), Greek counted on the Textus Receptus, English throughout the King James Version. From that pool the rows below are the ones where God or Christ is the grammatical subject of the loving; rows where a human is the lover, including the whole “love the LORD thy God” command stream in Deuteronomy, are excluded by design and are not counted here.
One question was asked of every row: is the love ever said to be for the salvation of a sorted set, with no wider object anywhere in the passage?
The 65 rows are curated from a 467-occurrence pool by reading; the pool itself is machine-extracted and complete for the three lemmas. Rows where a human is the lover (the large majority, including the whole "love the LORD thy God" command stream in Deuteronomy) are excluded by design.
Titus 3:4 is philanthropia G5363, not agape. It is listed because the essay cites it, and it is flagged as outside the two lemmas.
Hosea 14:4, "I will love them freely," did not come back in the H0157 extraction and is not counted here. If it is wanted, it needs its own lemma check.
Ezekiel 16 is a love passage by content but its vocabulary is not ahav in the rows that matter, so it contributes no H0157 divine-subject row.
The Septuagint layer was not run for this census. The Hebrew and Greek stand on their own; an LXX pass would only add rendering evidence, not new rows.
Counts
| Rows | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew ahav H0157, God as subject | 26 |
| Greek agapao G0025 / agape G0026, God or Christ as subject | 39 |
| Total divine-love rows | 65 |
| (extraction pool: 467 occurrences in 402 verses across the three lemmas) |
Object classes, all of them: the world (1) | mankind (1) | sinners (1) | nation (11, counting the line and the idolatrous-nation row) | the church (14, of which 3 pair beloved with elect) | the disciples (4) | Christ (5) | named persons (7) | described persons (5) | the stranger, an outsider (1) | Gentiles brought in (1) | a congregation (1) | things (6) | a place (1) | loved conditionally, in response (3).
Table A. Hebrew, ahav H0157, God as subject
| Ref | Object | Class | Stated purpose or result | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 4:37 | thy fathers | persons | therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out | And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; |
| Deuteronomy 7:8 | you (Israel) | nation | hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you | But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, |
| Deuteronomy 7:13 | thee (Israel) | nation | and bless thee, and multiply thee | And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the |
| Deuteronomy 10:15 | thy fathers | persons | and he chose their seed after them | Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. |
| Deuteronomy 10:18 | the stranger | outsider | in giving him food and raiment | He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. |
| Deuteronomy 23:5 | thee (Israel) | nation | turned the curse into a blessing unto thee | Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. |
| 1 Kings 10:9 | Israel | nation | therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice | Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. |
| 2 Chronicles 9:8 | Israel | nation | to establish them for ever | Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king o |
| 2 Samuel 12:24 | Solomon | named person | none stated | And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. |
| Nehemiah 13:26 | Solomon (beloved of his God) | named person | God made him king over all Israel | Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outl |
| Psalms 11:7 | righteousness | thing | none stated | For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. |
| Psalms 33:5 | righteousness and judgment | thing | none stated | He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. |
| Psalms 37:28 | judgment | thing | none stated | For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. |
| Psalms 45:7 | righteousness | thing | none stated | Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. |
| Psalms 87:2 | the gates of Zion | place | none stated | The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. |
| Psalms 146:8 | the righteous | described people | none stated | The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: |
| Proverbs 3:12 | whom the LORD loveth | described person | he correcteth | For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. |
| Proverbs 15:9 | him that followeth after righteousness | described person | none stated | The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. |
| Isaiah 43:4 | thee (Israel) | nation | will I give men for thee, and people for thy life | Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. |
| Isaiah 48:14 | him (Cyrus) | named person | he will do his pleasure on Babylon | All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. |
| Isaiah 61:8 | judgment | thing | I will make an everlasting covenant with them | For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. |
| Jeremiah 31:3 | thee (Israel) | nation | therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee | The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. |
| Hosea 3:1 | the children of Israel, who look to other gods | nation, while idolatrous | none stated | Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of |
| Hosea 11:1 | Israel | nation | and called my son out of Egypt | When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. |
| Malachi 1:2 | you / Jacob | nation and line | none stated | I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, |
| Malachi 2:11 | the holiness of the LORD | thing | none stated | Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange |
Table B. Greek, agapao G0025 and agape G0026, God or Christ as subject
| Ref | Object | Class | Stated purpose or result | KJV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark 10:21 | the rich young ruler | named person | 'One thing thou lackest' -- and 10:22 he went away grieved | Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up th |
| John 3:16 | THE WORLD (kosmos) | the world | that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life | For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. |
| John 3:35 | the Son | Christ | hath given all things into his hand | The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. |
| John 10:17 | me (Christ) | Christ | because I lay down my life, that I might take it again | Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. |
| John 11:5 | Martha, her sister, and Lazarus | named persons | none stated | Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. |
| John 13:1 | his own which were in the world | the disciples | he loved them unto the end | Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto t |
| John 13:23 / 19:26 / 21:7 / 21:20 | the disciple whom Jesus loved | named person | none stated | Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. |
| John 13:34 | you (the disciples) | the disciples | that ye also love one another | A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. |
| John 14:21 | he that loveth me | CONDITIONAL: loved in response | I will love him, and will manifest myself to him | He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. |
| John 14:23 | if a man love me | CONDITIONAL: loved in response | we will come unto him, and make our abode with him | Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. |
| John 15:9 | you (the disciples) | the disciples | continue ye in my love | As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. |
| John 16:27 | you | CONDITIONAL: because ye have loved me, and have believed | none stated | For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. |
| John 17:23 | them (the disciples) | the disciples | that the world may know that thou hast sent me | I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. |
| John 17:24 | me (Christ), before the foundation of the world | Christ | none stated | Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. |
| John 17:26 | me (Christ) | Christ | that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them | And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. |
| Romans 5:8 | us, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS | sinners | Christ died for us | But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. |
| Romans 9:13 | Jacob | line / nation | none stated (Mal 1:2-3, whose next clause is Edom's mountains) | As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. |
| Romans 9:25 | her beloved, which was not beloved | Gentiles brought in | I will call them my people, which were not my people | As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. |
| Romans 11:28 | they (Israel), beloved for the fathers' sakes | nation | none stated; the same people are 'enemies' in the same verse | As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. |
| 2 Corinthians 9:7 | a cheerful giver | described person | none stated | Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. |
| Galatians 2:20 | me (Paul) | named person | and gave himself for me | I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself fo |
| Ephesians 1:6 | the beloved (Christ) | Christ | wherein he hath made us accepted | To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. |
| Ephesians 2:4 | us | the church | quickened us together with Christ (2:5) | But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, |
| Ephesians 5:2 | us | the church | and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice | And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. |
| Ephesians 5:25 | THE CHURCH | the church | 5:26-27 that he might sanctify and cleanse it; that he might present it to himself a glorious church | Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; |
| Colossians 3:12 | the elect of God, holy and BELOVED | the church (elect+beloved paired) | ground of an imperative: put on bowels of mercies | Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; |
| 1 Thessalonians 1:4 | brethren BELOVED, your election of God | the church (elect+beloved paired) | none stated | Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:13 | brethren BELOVED of the Lord | the church (elect+beloved paired) | chosen to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth | But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the t |
| 2 Thessalonians 2:16 | us | the church | and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace | Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, |
| Titus 3:4 | toward MAN (mankind) | mankind | none stated | But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, |
| Hebrews 12:6 | whom the Lord loveth | described person | he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth | For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. |
| 1 John 3:1 | us | the church | that we should be called the sons of God | Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. |
| 1 John 4:9 | us | the church | that we might live through him | In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. |
| 1 John 4:10 | us | the church | and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (2:2: not for ours only, but for the whole world) | Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. |
| 1 John 4:11 | us | the church | we ought also to love one another | Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. |
| 1 John 4:16 | us | the church | God is love | And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. |
| 1 John 4:19 | us, HE FIRST loved us | the church | we love him | We love him, because he first loved us. |
| Revelation 1:5 | us | the church | and washed us from our sins in his own blood | And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, |
| Revelation 3:9 | thee (the church at Philadelphia) | a congregation | that they may know that I have loved thee | Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. |
Findings
1.THE D-QUESTION: NO.
In no row is the love said to be for the salvation of a sorted set with no wider object anywhere in the passage. Every candidate fails for a stated reason:
John 3:16 is the one row where salvation IS the stated purpose of the loving. Its object is the world, the widest object available, and the benefit is fenced with a condition, "whosoever believeth." Love to salvation, yes; sorted set, no. - Ephesians 5:25 has the narrowest object, the church. But its stated purposes, in the next two verses, are sanctify, cleanse, and present her glorious. Not "save a fixed list." - 1 John 4:9-10 has the Son sent "that we might live through him" and as "the propitiation for our sins" -- and 1 John 2:2 widens it in the same letter: "not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." - Romans 5:8 fixes the object at the moment of loving: "while we were yet SINNERS." - Deuteronomy 10:18 has God loving the stranger, the outsider to the covenant people. - Mark 10:21 is decisive on its own: "Jesus beholding him LOVED him" -- and 10:22, "he went away grieved." Divine love whose object is not saved. If love named a sorted set, this verse could not stand.
2.The love is conditional in three rows, and reciprocal in them.
John 14:21 ("he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father"), John 14:23 ("if a man love me... my Father will love him"), and John 16:27 ("the Father himself loveth you, BECAUSE ye have loved me, and have believed"). The Father's love in these rows follows the man's response, in the text's own order.
3.Beloved paired with elect: four places, and in every one it is a title, not a sorting.
Colossians 3:12 "the elect of God, holy and beloved"; 1 Thessalonians 1:4 "brethren beloved, your election of God"; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "brethren beloved of the Lord"; Romans 11:28 "as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes." In Romans 11:28 the same people are called "enemies" as concerning the gospel in the same sentence, which no roster reading survives.
4.The Old Testament's divine love takes a nation far more often than a person
, and it takes things and a place as readily as either: righteousness, judgment, the gates of Zion, the holiness of the LORD. The same shape the election census found.
5.The hardest OT row for a corporate reading is Malachi 1:2 / Romans 9:13
, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Malachi's own next clause is territorial, "laid his mountains and his heritage waste," and Romans 9:12 quotes Genesis 25:23, "Two nations are in thy womb."
6.Deuteronomy 7:7-8 states the basis of the love and it is not merit and not a decree
: "not because ye were more in number... but because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath." Love, and an oath. And 7:9-12 attach the covenant to "them that love him and keep his commandments" and to "if ye hearken."
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Hebrew and Greek forms from STEPBible TAHOT and TAGNT (CC BY 4.0); Greek counted on the Textus Receptus. The classification of each row and every conclusion drawn from it are the author's, and are argued in There Is No Calvinist Election in the Bible.