Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
What does 1 John 4:7 mean?
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He that does not love the image of God in his people, has no saving knowledge of God.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 1 John 4:7-8 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another - This verse introduces a new topic, the consideration of which occupies the remainder of the chapter. See the Analysis. The subject is one on which John dwells more than on any other - that of love. His own character especially inclined him to the exercise of love; and the remarkable affection which the Lord Jesus had shown for him, seems to have had the effect to give this grace a special prominence in his views of what constituted true religion. Compare John 13:23 . On the duty here enjoined, see the John 13:34-35 notes, and 1 John 3:11 , 1 John 3:23 notes.
Key words
- Beloved
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Beloved, let its love one another,.
- another
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Beloved, let its love one another,.
Context in 1 John 4
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1 John 4 belongs to the late movement of the book, especially the section often described as assurance and final warning. First John is a profound epistle of light, truth, love, assurance, obedience, and confession of the incarnate Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of love, truth, and assurance in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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A guided collection of passages on God’s love, neighbor-love, steadfast covenant love, and the shape of love in Christian life.
Verses on the fear of the Lord, wise speech, practical judgment, teachability, and the difference between biblical wisdom and mere cleverness.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.