God’s Word Translation
1 John 4:16
16We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Context of 1 John 4:16
14We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them. 17God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him ⌞with regard to love⌟. 18No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.
Read all of 1 John 41 John 4:16 word by word
καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐγνώκαμεν καὶ πεπιστεύκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχει ὁ θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν. ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, καὶ ὁ μένων ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μένει, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- have knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- believedπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
- the loveὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
- thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
- toἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- he that dwellethμένωmenō · to stayG3306
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
Cross-references for 1 John 4:16
- 1 John 4:9God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him.
- 1 John 3:1Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God’s dear children. And that’s what we are. For this reason the world doesn’t recognize us, and it didn’t recognize him either.
- Psalms 18:1I love you, O Lord, my strength.
- Psalms 31:19Your kindness is so great! You reserve it for those who fear you. Adam’s descendants watch as you show it to those who take refuge in you.
- Psalms 36:7Your mercy is so precious, O God, that Adam’s descendants take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
- Isaiah 64:4No one has ever heard, no one has paid attention, and no one has seen any god except you. You help those who wait for you.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9But as Scripture says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”
- 1 John 4:8The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.
- 1 John 4:12No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- 1 John 3:24Those who obey Christ’s commandments live in God, and God lives in them. We know that he lives in us because he has given us the Spirit.
Commentaries on 1 John 4:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16God is love - See on 1 John 4:8; (note). He that dwelleth in love - he who is full of love to God and man is full of God, for God is love; and where such love is, there is God, for he is the fountain and maintainer of it.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16And we have known and believed - We all have assurance that God has loved us, and the fullest belief in the great fact of redemption by which he has manifested his love to us. God is love - Notes, 1 John 4:8. It is not uncommon for John to repeat an important truth. He delights to dwell on such a truth as that which is here expressed; and who should not? What truth is there on which the mind can dwell with more pleasure; what is there that is better…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 The Father sent the Son, he willed his coming into this world. The apostle attests this. And whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. This confession includes faith in the heart as the foundation; makes acknowledgment with the mouth to the glory of God and Christ, and profession in the life and conduct, against the flatteries and frowns of the world. There must be a day of universal judgment…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-21John explains where a Christian’s love comes from and how it is shown in daily life.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. And we--John and his readers (not as 1Jo 4:14, the apostles only). known and believed--True faith, according to John, is a faith of knowledge and experience: true knowledge is a knowledge of faith [Luecke]. to us--Greek, "in our case" (see on 1Jo 4:9). dwelleth--Greek, "abideth." Compare with this verse, 1Jo 4:7.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 4:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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