1 John 4:16
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Summing up his teaching on love, John ties together knowing God's love, the truth that God is love, and the promise of mutual abiding for those who live in love.
What Does 1 John 4:16 Mean?
John brings together knowing, believing, and living in God's love. Believers "have known and believed" the love God has for them -- love that is both experienced and trusted. He repeats the central truth, "God is love," and then states a remarkable promise: "he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." To live continually in love is to abide in God and to have God abide in us. The word "dwelleth" (or abides) suggests a settled, ongoing home, not a passing visit. So love is not just an emotion God has toward us; it becomes the very place where we live in fellowship with him. The verse links three things tightly: God's nature as love, our trusting reception of that love, and a life that remains in love toward God and others. Where these come together, there is mutual indwelling -- we in God and God in us. This is the heart of John's vision of the Christian life: love received, love believed, love lived, all binding us to the God who is love. To remain in love is to remain in God.
In the Original Language
The Greek menon ("dwelleth, abides") describes a settled, continuing presence, and the repeated agape underscores love as the sphere of fellowship with God.
Cross References
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.”
- John 15:9
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
- 1 John 4:8
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
- John 15:4
Application
Make love your dwelling place -- trusting God's love for you and living it out -- and you will find yourself at home in God.