1 John 4:8

1 John 4:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
• New International Version (NIV)Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Context of 1 John 4:8

6But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. 7Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 John 4:8 word by word

ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν οὐκ ἔγνω τὸν θεόν, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He that lovethἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• notμήmē · notG3361
• knowethγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• notοὐou · noG3756
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26

Cross-references for 1 John 4:8

• 1 John 2:4If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
• 1 John 3:6Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
• John 8:54Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’
• 1 John 1:5This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
• Exodus 34:6The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
• Psalms 86:5O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
• 2 Corinthians 13:11Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
• Ephesians 2:4But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
• Hebrews 12:29For our God is a devouring fire.

Commentaries on 1 John 4:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8He that loveth not - As already described, knoweth not God - has no experimental knowledge of him. God is love - An infinite fountain of benevolence and beneficence to every human being. He hates no thing that he has made. He cannot hate, because he is love. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the just and the unjust. He has made no human being for perdition, nor ever rendered it impossible, by any necessitating…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8He 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 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. For it is God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness. The law of God is love; and all would have been perfectly happy, had all obeyed it. The provision of the gospel, for the forgiveness of sin, and the salvation of sinners, consistently with God's glory and justice, shows that God is love. Mystery and darkness…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8God is love: God is the source of all love and shows what true love is. This truth, together with the truth that “God is light”(1:5), forms the foundation for John’s message in this letter.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. knoweth not--Greek aorist: not only knoweth not now, but never knew, has not once for all known God. God is love--There is no Greek article to love, but to God; therefore we cannot translate, Love is God. God is fundamentally and essentially LOVE: not merely is loving, for then John's argument would not stand; for the conclusion from the premises then would be this, This man is not loving: God is loving; therefore he knoweth not God IN SO FAR AS God is…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 4:8

• Blindness
• Commandments
• Fellowship
• God
• God Continued...
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Benevolence
• Fear
• Goodness of God
• Love
• Perfect
• Adam in the Old Testament
• Brotherly Kindness; Brotherly Love
• Johannine Theology

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