1 John 4:7
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
King James Version (KJV)
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John opens his great meditation on love, urging mutual love among believers and presenting such love as the mark of those who are born of God and know him.
What Does 1 John 4:7 Mean?
John appeals to believers as "beloved" and calls them to love one another, grounding the command in the nature of God: "love is of God." Because love originates in God, loving others is evidence of a real connection to him. John makes two claims about "every one that loveth": such a person "is born of God" and "knoweth God." Love is not merely something God commands from the outside; it flows from being born of him and knowing him. The address "beloved" itself models the point -- John writes from love to call others to love. This is not sentimentality but the costly, self-giving love described throughout the letter. The logic runs from source to evidence: God is the wellspring of love, so where genuine love appears, it reveals God's life at work in a person. The reverse is implied -- a life empty of love casts doubt on any claim to know God. John keeps tying together right belief, right relationship with God, and active love for others; they belong together. To love is to show the family resemblance of those born of God.
In the Original Language
The Greek agape ("love") here names self-giving love that has its source in God, and gegennetai ("is born") points to a new birth from God.
Cross References
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
- John 13:34
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
- 1 John 4:8
“And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
- Romans 5:5
Application
Treat love for fellow believers not as optional but as the evidence and overflow of truly knowing God.