He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
What does 1 John 4:8 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
Read with
Keep this verse inside 1 John 4:7-8 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 1 John 4:8
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. He that loveth not, knoweth not God - Has no true acquaintance with God; has no just views of him, and no right feelings toward him. The reason for this is implied in what is immediately stated, that "God is love," and of course if they have no love reigning in their hearts, they cannot pretend to be like him. For God is love - He is not merely benevolent, he is benevolence itself. Compare the notes at 2 Corinthians 13:11 . Never was a more important declaration made than this; never was more meaning crowded into a few words than in this short sentence - "God is love.
Key words
- loveth
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This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version, and is transposed in the Syriac version, which reads the text thus, "for God, is love, and whoever loveth not, knoweth not God".
- knoweth
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This clause is left out in the Ethiopic version, and is transposed in the Syriac version, which reads the text thus, "for God, is love, and whoever loveth not, knoweth not God".
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.
Who quoted 1 John 4:8?
Find out who used 1 John 4:8 in their speeches and writings. Which famous people quoted 1 John 4:8?
Jimmy Carter used 1 John 4:8 in Visit of Pope John Paul II Remarks at a White House Reception..
APP: Visit of Pope John Paul II Remarks at a White House Reception. »
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. used 1 John 4:8 in Pool Reports of September 22, 2021.
Quotes found on Wikiquote (match for «God is love»):
A History of Western Philosophy · Apostles · April 20 · Bill Hicks · Carl Jung · Charles Hartshorne · Christian anarchism · Confusion · Dinah Craik · Dogma · Doom · Edmund Burke · Epitaphs · February 14 · First Epistle of John · Gene Wolfe · Godhead · Halford E. Luccock · Jacques Ellul · James Hamilton (1814–1871) · January 15 · John the Evangelist · Jon Sobrino · June 1 · June 5 · Kingdom of God · Leo Tolstoy · Love of God · Martin Luther King Jr. · Mary Baker Eddy · Meister Eckhart · Michael (archangel) · Monism · Now · October 3 · Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. · Power · Preaching · Rainbows · Religious views on love · September 9 · Søren Kierkegaard · T. H. White · Thomas Merton · Thomas Wolfe · W. H. Auden · William Sloane Coffin