Heavenly Father, thank You that You loved the world so much that You gave Your unique and incomparable Son, as the substitute for my sin, and for the sin of the world. their love is natural and essential: God loves all his creatures The First Epistle of John, often referred to as First John and written 1 John or I John, is the first of the Johannine epistles of the New Testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles.There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the Johannine works.The author of the First Epistle is termed John the Evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as John the Apostle. I. BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER." 1 John 4:8, KJV: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." He has many other attributes. (1 John 4:4) "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. God's love flows to us exclusively from Him .. and then it flows through us - to others. 1 John 4:10–12. Loving others God’s way is a witness and provides evidence of 2 very wonderful truths. The necessity of love to God and one another shown, from God's love to us, 1 John 4:7-11. To get what 1 John 4:8 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity. I pray that I may walk in spirit and truth, and show forth Your love in my life, for the benefit of others. God is love - An infinite fountain of benevolence and beneficence to every human being. This chapter in John's first epistle, is a beautiful exposition of love, similar to the famous 'love' chapter in 1 Corinthians 13. (1 John 4:7-8) "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Love must be defined by its context, and when we are talking of divine love - it is a love that cannot be produced by man, nor whipped up by human emotions. see ( 1 John 1-john 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Readers usually take a glimpse of it then move on, wondering about its meaning. 1 John 4:8, NASB: "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." So we all need to examine our own lives by this supreme standard. God is the source of all love, and herein is love - not that we loved Him but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It is not possible to reverse “God is love” to “love is God.”. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." 3 him, he does not know, so as to love God, the Father of them; for The followers of God have been enabled to discern and overcome them, 1 John 4:4-6. Those who deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh have the spirit of antichrist, 1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:3. another; that they might be like their heavenly Father, by whom 1 John 4:8, NLT: "But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." If God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is eternal (Micah 5:2), we understand that love in isolation is meaningless. But remember 1 John 4:4. Article Images Copyright © 2021 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. We must test spiritual experiences and spiritual phenomenon to see if they are in fact from God.i. Human affection, sexual love, emotional love and cultural love, which emanates from the natural realm, must never be confused with divinely imputed love, which has it singular source in God, and is exclusively given from God.. to those that are His children. … Chuck Smith :: Sermon Notes for 1 John 4:7, 8 ← Back to Chuck Smith's Bio & Resources "LOVE ONE ANOTHER." The apostle John knew Christ well. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” This verse summarizes 3:24-4:16 — intimate fellowship with God is impossible without love for fellow Christians. else but love. By way of introduction, note that while love is the inevitable result of being born of God, it is not the automatic result. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. So the Shekinah is, by the Cabalistic Jews What amazing love!! He who knows not God does not love. 1 John 4:8 says, God is love and love (God) defined himself as a commandment. Wiersbe paraphrases 1Jn 4:8 - "“The person who does not have this divine kind of love has never entered into a personal, experiential knowledge of God. Discussion for 1 John 4:8 . they are; seeing he is love itself, and in his breast is nothing 4:7 ) . The absence of divine love is an established, biblical fact, in the life of an unregenerate man or the unsaved woman.. although they may be well able to exhibit, human affection through parental love, sexual love, inter-relational love or cultural love - it can never correspond with divine love, which is a spiritual fruit from the Spirit of God - that is manifested in a child of God. He cannot hate, because he is love. This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version, and Test the *spirits to see if they are true (1 John 4:1-6) v1 My friends, do not believe every *spirit. Love is something true of God, but it is not all of God. 1 John 4:8. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. - how can it be, that Christ my God would die for me? If a man loves not the children of God, those that are born of By Divine love demands that we do what is best for other people, in the light of eternity - no matter what may be the cost to us - for divine love is an action that flows from an attitude that seeks to consider what is best for another, to the honour of God - as prompted by the Spirit of God. Psalm 86:15. 1 John 4:8. The law of God is love; and … In verses 1 and 4, we learn that the one who received this revelation and wrote this book is John. 1-john 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8(NASB) Verse Thoughts What a beautiful truth it is.. to know that God is love, and that the love that we are called to manifest in our lives, has its source in the divine love of God. he loves himself; there is an entire love between the three following verses, and is a reason why the saints should love one John states (4:7), “Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” and not love those who are begotten by him, and are visible Salem Media Group. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. bears an everlasting, unchangeable, and invariable love to his However, to reverse the sentence from 'God is Love' to say that 'Love is God', as some have chosen to do, is emphatically wrong. Love may be one aspect of God's character and attributes - but to say that love is synchronous with God is false. It is a spiritual fruit that is expressed in the life of a spiritual Christian. The greater one in us who keeps us safe from Antichrist and false teachers is the same one in us who enables us to love another. What he knows is in his head, but it has never gotten into his heart.” Notice John's loving terms: beloved, my little children. Copyright © 2021, Bible Study Tools. is transposed in the Syriac version, which reads the text thus, This brief sentence imparted to John, even during the mere time which he took in writing it, more delight than the whole world can impart. they are begotten, and of whom they are born, and whose children Commentary on 1 John 4:7-13 (Read 1 John 4:7-13) The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. 1 John 4:15-17. In I John 4, John makes a rather startling statement regarding our union with Christ. The seventh verse, therefore, with the sixth, 1 John 5:7,6 contains a recapitulation of the whole economy of Christ, from his baptism to pentecost; the eighth, 1 John 5:8 the sum of the divine economy, from the time of his exaltation. A great model for what he preached. divine Persons, who are in the strictest, and in the most This phrase affirms a condition about the nature of God; all that God does is love. Read Introduction to 1 John “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. Just as God manifested His love through His action, we too are to demonstrate the love that we have received from above, by the things that we do for others, and the way that we act towards them. Love needs an object, and since there was a time before anything was created, there was a time when the only love in the universe was between the members of … (1 John 4:10) Godly love should be a reciprocal love that passes between believers, where each considers the need of the others, before their own. It differentiates between happiness, which is temporary and fleeting, and true joy, which 1 John tells us how to achieve. 1 John 4:8 The words " God is love" mean that love is an essential attribute of God. It is puzzling in that its practical application is vague to us because we are unfamiliar with the possibilities. 1 month ago. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with … Οὐκ ἔγνω, knoweth not) Is not born of God, and knoweth not God.— ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστὶν, God is love) ἀγάπη, without the article, as in 1 John 4:16. For it is God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness. 4:20 ) . The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. It is an unbiblical interpretation and should be vehemently opposed. Love is a product of the Holy Spirit in the life of a man or woman that is walking in spirit and truth. There is a distinct word for the type of love that God displays. the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; by the "Spirit" is not meant the human Spirit or soul of Christ; for however that may be a witness of the truth of his human nature, yet not of his divine sonship: and moreover cannot be said to be a witness in earth; rather the Gospel, called the Spirit, which is a testimony of Christ's person, office, and graces and is preached by men on earth; or else the gifts of the Spirit … elect in Christ Jesus; of which an instance is given in the So love is a commandment not a feeling, and commandment must be done whether you feel like it or not. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another . All rights reserved. Dr. Joel Beeke writes in his Epistles of John that “the great motivation for practical, Christlike living is the doctrine of the cross; hence, every failure to love can be traced back to a failure to understand the cross. John Gill on 1 John 4:8 KJV "God is Love" "He that loveth not, knoweth not God" If a man loves not the children of God, those that are born of him, he does not know, so as to love God, the Father of them; for to pretend love to God, the begetter of them, whom he sees not, and not love those who are begotten by him, and are visible objects of respect, is a contradiction, and cannot be … 1 John 4:8. It is unbiblical, totally untrue and denies the plain truth of God's word, which clearly states that GOD IS LOVE, but never that love is God!. Last Night (Easter Reflections - (intro). 1 John 4:1-21—Read the Bible online or download free. Do not believe every spirit: John warned against believing every spirit; that is, we are never to assume every spiritual experience or every demonstration of spiritual power is from God. We need to enjoin ourselves to that love! 1 John 4:8. 1 John 4:7, ESV: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." When the cross of Christ grips us, everything in our world changes” (p. 161). The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is published by Jehovah’s Witnesses. The love of God cannot be humanly produced, and those that exhibit this uniquely divine love, are a living testimony, that they have been born-again - for the one that does not love as God loves, does not know God - for God is love. If we take the words written by John and we apply them to our daily lives, the true love, commitment, fellowship, and joy we long for will be ours. People's Bible Notes for 1 John 4:8. as such, nor does he hate any of them, as so considered; and he So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. Love is not the outworking of our human emotions, although emotion may accompany biblical love. Biblical Commentary (Bible Study) Revelation 1:4-8 EXEGESIS: THE CONTEXT: This book opens with the Greek words, Apokalypsis Iesou Christou (The revelation of Jesus Christ). 1. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. which reading, the following reason stands in close connection What a beautiful truth it is.. to know that God is love, and that the love that we are called to manifest in our lives, has its source in the divine love of God. inconceivable and inexpressible manner affected to each other; Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. with ( 1 John 1Jo 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God. A. Commanded to love. 1 John 4:7 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] 1 John 4:7, NIV: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." If a man loves not the children of God, those that are born of him, he does not know, so as to love God, the Father of them; for to pretend love to God, the begetter of them, whom he sees not, and not love those who are begotten by him, and are visible objects of respect, is a contradiction, and cannot be reconciled: see ( 1 John 4:20 ) . Not in word or tongue. Loving one another, heart of New Testament message. Question: "What does ‘perfect love casts out fear’ mean?" to pretend love to God, the begetter of them, whom he sees not, "for God, is love, and whoever loveth not, knoweth not God". He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8 Meaning and Translation from other Bible Versions from NIV, KJV, ESV, NST, and many more. 1-john 4:9 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. It has its roots in Christ, and is only expressed in a regenerate life, which is in fellowship with the Father. Answer: The Bible says that “love is of God” and “God is love” (1 John 4:7–8); in other words, love is a fundamental characteristic of who God is. John goes so far as to say that if you do not love others, you do not know God (4:8). If He provides, He provides in love; if He judges, He judges in love. a. He that loveth not - As already described, knoweth not God - has no experimental knowledge of him. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.a. The Bible reminds us that God is manifested through a concrete act - the gift of Christ as our sin-substitute. 1 John 4:16. Get 1 John 4:8 Bible Quote Images for you to share. God so loved the world that He gave His unique and incomparable Son, so that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Proud member objects of respect, is a contradiction, and cannot be reconciled: And we who have become part of His family by faith, are obligated to love as Christ loved us.. and to give our lives in sacrificial service.. for the benefit of others and to the glory of God. How amazing to realise the outpouring of His unique love.. flows through us, to others, because we have become his children. 3. He that loveth not, knoweth not God. Everything God does is impelled and influenced by His love. 2. 1 JOHN 4:8 “God is love” KING JAMES VERSION (KJV) TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT. The first word, Apokalypsis (revelation), gives this book its title. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. I pray that I may decrease and that You may increase in every areas of my life, until I become a transparent conduit through whom Your divine love flows to others - to Your praise and glory, in Jesus name I pray, AMEN. Since God loved us in this way, His children are morally obligated to love one another - to love as Christ loved. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. F20, called (hbha) , "love". Fernando on 1 John 4:8. Love is inherent in the nature of God; it is at the heart of all God is. He that loveth not, knoweth not God He hates no thing that he has made. For God is love; enoc overcame this world and so shall we if … of He that does not love the image of God in his people, has no saving knowledge of God. An unbiblical interpretation and should be vehemently opposed reminds us that God has for us 's character and -... 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