The verse 1 John 4:7 states, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” This verse teaches us several important truths about love:
1. Love originates from God
1 John 4:7 explains that “love is from God.” As the source of love, God sets the perfect example of what true love looks like. God’s love is unconditional, sacrificial, and eternal. When we love others, we reflect the very nature and character of God. Our love finds its origin, model, and fuel in God’s love for us.
2. Loving others is a mark of a Christian
John calls fellow believers “beloved” and exhorts them to “love one another.” Love is a primary identifying mark of a genuine follower of Christ. Jesus said his disciples would be recognized by their Christ-like love (John 13:35). When Christians love one another sincerely and sacrificially, they show evidence of being born again as children of God.
3. Loving others requires intentional effort
John doesn’t merely state that Christians will love others as a natural response. He gives an imperative command: “let us love one another.” As followers of Christ, we must make deliberate, continual efforts to love our fellow believers. Christian love requires selflessness and at times sacrifice. It is not just a passive feeling but an active commitment.
4. Loving others proves our relationship with God
John teaches that whoever “loves has been born of God and knows God.” Our love for others validates our intimate relationship with God as our Father. If we claim to know and love God but do not tangibly love other believers, we deceive ourselves. Genuine love flows out of a genuine connection to God.
5. We cannot love others without God’s help
Since love originates from God, we rely on Him to love through us. Left to ourselves, our love is flawed, inconsistent, and conditional. We need the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to be able to love others with God-like, selfless love. As we abide in Christ, His perfect love flows through us to touch others.
In 9 verses, John provides a mini-treatise on the centrality of love in the Christian life. Love for one another glorifies God, testifies to Jesus, builds up the church, and draws unbelievers to the Savior. May 1 John 4:7 motivate us to “let us love one another” to the glory of God.
Here are some key discussion points on 1 John 4:7:
The Importance of Love
1. God is the source and definition of love. His nature is love. When we love, we display God’s heart to the world (1 John 4:8).
2. Love is central to Christianity. Loving God and others sums up the entire law (Matt 22:37-40). Love identifies us as followers of Jesus (John 13:35).
3. Our love is intended to mimic Christ’s love. His love is sacrificial, serving, merciful, grace-filled, unconditional, and eternal (Rom 5:8, John 13:1).
4. Love should extend to all people, not just those who love us back. We must love our enemies as well (Luke 6:27, 35).
Expressing Genuine Love
1. Love is an action, not just a feeling. It requires making intentional efforts to serve, encourage, honor, forgive, and care for others.
2. Our love must be sincere, not hypocritical. We cannot claim to love without backing it up with tangible expressions (Rom 12:9, 1 Pet 1:22).
3. Loving others brings tremendous blessings. However, real love requires sacrifice, serving others’ interests before our own (Phil 2:1-4).
4. We reflect God’s love most fully when we love the unlovable, just as God loved us in our sin (1 John 4:10).
Developing a Lifestyle of Love
1. We cannot manufacture divine love in our own strength. We must stay connected to Christ through prayer, study, and obedience (John 15:1-5).
2. The Holy Spirit produces His fruit of love in us as we submit to Him each day (Galatians 5:22).
3. Our human love is faulty. We must continually examine our hearts and motives in how we love others (1 Cor 13:4-8a).
4. We grow in gracious love through practicing patience, kindness, forgiveness, and putting others’ needs first.
Love in Action
Here are some everyday ways we can act on 1 John 4:7 and love one another:
– Speak words of encouragement, affirmation, comfort to others
– Listen attentively and validate others’ feelings/experiences
– Serve willingly and meet practical needs of others
– Give generously to bless and care for fellow believers
– Include and welcome others, making them feel valued
– Advocate for and defend those who are mistreated
– Forgive quickly and extend mercy to those who wrong you
– Pray regularly for others, interceding on their behalf
– Commit to conflict resolution and reconciliation
– Demonstrate patience, grace, empathy in relationships
– Share biblical truth and spiritual guidance with humility
Overcoming Barriers to Love
We all face obstacles that can hinder our efforts to love others well. Here are some ways to overcome them:
– Repent of any sinful prejudice, bitterness, animosity towards others
– Rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you to love in ways that come unnaturally
– Remember how God has loved and forgiven you, motivating you to extend love to others
– Look to Christ’s sacrificial example of servant love that put others first
– Pray for God’s love for difficult people, asking Him to change your heart
– Commit to renewing your mind to align your thoughts with God’s truth about love
– Extend grace since others, like you, are still growing in learning to love like Jesus
Benefits of Loving One Another
Here are some blessings that come from obeying 1 John 4:7’s command to love fellow believers:
– It brings glory to God and displays His divine nature
– It testifies to the watching world of our Christian faith
– It contributes to the unity, growth, and health of the church
– It encourages other believers and stimulates their love in return
– It fosters intimate fellowship between believers
– It advances the spread of the gospel and draws unbelievers to Christ
– It defeats evil, instead of being overcome by evil
– It fulfills the second greatest commandment to love our neighbor
– It results in our joy and reward when we see Jesus face to face
Applying 1 John 4:7 to Various Relationships
We can reflect God’s love in all our relationships by applying 1 John 4:7. Here are some examples:
Family: Serve, honor, encourage, and pray for family members. Seek forgiveness for past wounds. Offer hospitality and care.
Church: Welcome newcomers. Share meals. Visit the sick. Teach those younger in the faith. Support ministry needs.
Neighbors: Watch each others’ homes. Share goods and skills. Offer childcare. Pray together. Organize community events.
Co-workers: Speak with respect. Listen without judgment. Share workloads. Avoid gossip. Look out for each others’ welfare.
Enemies: Bless and pray for them. Forgive past wrongs. Initiate reconciliation if possible. Leave justice and revenge to God.
Poor/Marginalized: Give generously to meet material needs. Advocate for justice/rights. Provide mentorship/discipleship.
In all these contexts, we must depend on the Holy Spirit to love with 1 Corinthians 13 type of patient, kind, selfless, enduring love.
Biblical Examples of Loving One Another
Scripture gives us excellent role models of loving one another. For example:
– Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, providing the perfect model of humble, servant love (John 13:1-17).
– The Good Samaritan exemplified neighbor love by caring for the man beaten and robbed (Luke 10:25-37).
– Ruth’s commitment to Naomi demonstrated selfless love and loyalty (Ruth 1:16-17).
– Mary anointed Jesus with expensive perfume out of deep devotion, not caring what others thought (John 12:1-8).
– Abraham loved and trusted God enough to be willing to sacrifice his promised son Isaac (Genesis 22).
– Joseph forgave and reconciled with his brothers who betrayed him (Genesis 50:15-21).
– The early Jerusalem church shared selflessly to meet each others’ needs (Acts 2:44-45).
– Paul told Philemon to treat the runaway slave Onesimus as a brother in Christ (Philemon 1:15-17).
We must follow the biblical pattern of selfless, sacrificial love for one another in practical action.
1 John 4:7 in Context of 1 John
Looking at 1 John 4:7 in its broader context provides greater insight into John’s emphasis on love.
1. Love characterizes true believers and proves their faith is real (1 John 3:14-18). Hatred indicates spiritual death.
2. Loving God requires loving His children too. Claiming otherwise is a lie (1 John 4:20-21).
3. God’s love was shown through sending Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).
4. We love because God first loved us. We follow His loving example. (1 John 4:19).
5. God’s love is made complete in us as we obey His commands (1 John 2:5).
6. Love for fellow believers guards our hearts against sin’s deception (1 John 3:7-9).
7. Keeping God’s commands, especially loving one another, brings great joy (1 John 5:1-3).
For John, love ties everything together – obedience to God, treatment of others, spiritual life and growth, and even our eternal destiny.
1 John 4:7 in the Context of the Bible
The rest of Scripture also highlights love as an essential command for God’s people.
– The 2 greatest commands are to love God and love others (Matt 22:37-39).
– Loving your neighbor fulfills the law (Rom 13:8, Gal 5:14).
– Love is the perfect bond of unity between believers (Col 3:14).
– Love sums up all other virtues like patience, kindness, humility (1 Cor 13; 2 Pet 1:5-7).
– Love must be sincere, not hypocritical (Rom 12:9, 1 Pet 4:8).
– Love serves others sacrificially, following Christ’s example (Eph 5:1-2).
– Love should motivate all we do, or else our actions are useless (1 Cor 13:1-3).
– Love fulfills Old Testament laws, like caring for the vulnerable (Matt 22:39-40).
Truly, all of Scripture confirms the command in 1 John 4:7 to demonstrate Christ-like love to fellow believers.
Common Questions about 1 John 4:7
Here are some frequent questions about this verse:
– Does “let us love one another” only apply to other Christians?
While this verse addresses fellow believers specifically, we are called to love all people, even enemies (Luke 6:27, 35). But loving fellow Christians is uniquely important.
– What does it mean to “love one another” practically?
It involves serving others selflessly, honoring them, meeting felt needs, speaking truth gently, forgiving quickly, giving generously, and laying down your own interests.
– Is love just a feeling?
No, biblical love is primarily actions that put others’ interests first. But these actions should flow from heartfelt care and compassion for others.
– Why make love a “command” rather than letting it flow naturally?
Our human love is imperfect and inconsistent. We need God’s direction so we can love others even when it’s challenging.
– What enables us to love like this?
We must stay connected to God (John 15:5), be filled with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), and follow Christ’s model of servant love (John 13:15).
1 John 4:7 gives vital direction on our most important calling as followers of Jesus – to tangibly love one another and so reveal God’s heart to the world.