God is love. Love is conformity to the nature of God, the living expression of what He is, the acting and feeling according to His likeness.
Divine love is the motive for the believer's actions toward others. Its source is within and its strength is independent of the objects before it. Love is sustained in difficulties through communion. This love is not self-seeking, but of the same manner as Christ's love when He sought us. One occupied with this love avoids evil and forgets all in order to do good.
Following are qualities, the first are of a passive character. In the first group of eight, self is renounced, in the next three we see joy in good which sets the heart free. In the final four positive energy is seen.
Love presumes good when evil is not seen, bears with evil when seen, long-suffering covers it.
Love is divine in a nature that never ceases or changes; it abides ever.
The knowledge of divine things here below is only attained in part, although we have the whole.
We lay hold of different truths singly. All that is past will pass away in that day and we shall understand the truth as a whole, in its unity. "We shall know even as we are known."
Love is more excellent than what is in the capacity of human nature, because it is the nature of God. We are to seek love and follow it, desiring gifts for edification to others.