⁷ Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed in our case, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us (1Jn4:7-12)

It is interesting that the disciple whom Jesus reportedly most loved, wrote (proportionately speaking) the most about love, deeming  it to be the most important and godlike of qualities. That must be the case if the Creator does not just possess love, is loving by nature, but according to John is love personified (v8). Paul had written much about faith, but even he when comparing faith, hope and love affirmed that “the greatest of these is love” (1Cor13:13).

Defining love (ἀγάπη)

It should therefore not be quite such a surprise that John opens this passage by declaring that everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. As is usually the case in Scripture, “love” (Greek: ἀγάπη) pertains to kindly affection, good will, benevolence and compassion. Those “who love” as John categorizes them, must possess and demonstrate in thought, will and deed, all of the above – albeit in measure, rarely to perfection. As with faith, the reason anyone possesses love at all is because it is a gift of God. That is, it is a consequence of how we (i.e. our spirits) are made and by Whom.

 And as should be evident to all, it is a quality that is not restricted to the Christian, albeit the Christian has the potential to be perfected in love:  “Whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected” (1Jn2:5). And “If we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us” (1Jn4:12). And “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment” (1Jn4:17).

Love and assurance

It is notable from that last quotation that love is the key to assurance of final salvation. For sure, saving faith is also necessary but is less easy to define. Luther, for example described it as “a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it”. This is the same man who declared whilst admittedly employing some hyperbole “if men only believe enough in Christ they can commit adultery and murder a thousand times a day without periling their salvation”. I am not sure John would agree – I certainly do not.

Altogether now…

Love on the other hand is more clearly discernible and demonstrable – to God, others and oneself, as was the case with the M25 “sheep”. “All you need is love”, affirmed John (the apostle that is). “Love is all you need”, echoes Paul (likewise) – and  that is to fulfil God’s law, no less:  “the one who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the Law. For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the Law (Rom13:8-10).

Likewise in terms of demonstrability and personal assurance, anyone can claim to love God, and may genuinely do so if one believes He has personally been gracious and generous to oneself. But as John points out – “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. But no one has ever seen God, whereas if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us” (v11-12).

As Paul wrote: “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through  love” [πίστις δι’ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη](Gal5:6). I expanded upon this subject in my book, like John making reference to Christ’s atoning sacrifice (v10), but placing that atonement, faith and love in the  context of the broader benign providence I have been setting out, a short extract from which I conclude:  

“At the greatest personal cost God has provided a means by which our inevitable failures and misconduct might be pardoned through reference to an atoning Sacrifice; and in terms of allowance He is prepared to accept someone as justified on the basis of their exercising faith by responding positively or “faithfully” to the divine light that He has provided to them. A common faith or faithfulness (same word in Biblical Greek) is shown to be present when love (agape) is exercised, being a genuine concern and care for another person, which is the heart of God’s law. Since love is the efflux of faith, faith must be present for that love to flow out from it; love and faith being quite inseparable, faith being the agent of love and love being the product of faith.

A person is justified within the Universal Covenant by responding positively to God’s witness to them through creed or conscience regardless of the degree of accomplishment. Providing the person demonstrates agape they are accepted by God, for He knows that agape was derived from Him, being His Own nature. This aligns with Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 concerning the sheep and goats. In serving the weakest of humanity through any act of compassion, the “sheep” are regarded as serving Christ Himself even though they have no personal knowledge of Him”. [Extract from The Little Book of Providence ch.3].

It is in the context of the above that everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

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