1 John 4:19–5:4
Chapter 4
19
We love because he first loved us.
20
If you say, ‘I love God,’ but hate your brother or sister, you are lying. How can you love God, whom you haven’t seen, if you do not love your brother or sister, whom you see?
21
We received this command from him: those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.
Chapter 5
1
Conclusion
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.
2
How can we know that we love God’s children? If we love God and obey his commandments,
3
because God’s love requires us to keep his commandments. In fact, his commandments are not burdensome
4
because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And our victory that overcomes the world is our faith.
Commentaries
God Is Love.
The statement “God is love” (8.16) is not meant to be an abstract definition of the divine essence but rather a revelation of how God has made himself known throughout history. This has been through works and words filled with love, which now, in the fullness of time, reach their peak in Jesus. The presence of love in the believer is a sign that he “has been born of God and is a child of God.” God remains present and active within him. It can be said that he is truly begotten in God, for through this love he “has known God” (7f). John teaches that love has a divine origin and that humans cannot achieve it on their own. True love always comes from God. We must stay in a state of receiving God’s love. In John’s words, this is called faith. Those who do not welcome love cannot give love. We must accept being loved.
Conclusion.
John’s letter highlights the core of Christian revelation. Through faith, which is the work of the Holy Spirit, we Christians experience the joy of knowing we are loved infinitely and tenderly. We recognize that all love comes from God the Father, who revealed himself through Jesus. We believe and understand that love is the beginning and the end of everything. Now, one remains in love only by “living as he lived” (2:6). Jesus is the model and source of our love. With the help of his Spirit, he empowers us to love our brothers and sisters as he loved us, through service and selfless love even unto death.