1 John 4:7

Contextual Overview

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁷ Beloued, let vs loue one another; for loue is of God: and euery one that loueth, is borne of God and knoweth God. ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁷ Beloved, let's love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.⁷ Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God's child and knows God. ⁷My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. ⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.⁷Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.⁷ My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

let: 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21, 1 John 2:10, 1 John 3:10-23, 1 John 5:1

love is: 1 John 4:8, Deuteronomy 30:6, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Peter 1:22

every: 1 John 4:12, 1 John 2:29, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 5:1

and knoweth: John 17:3, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Galatians 4:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:8 - brethren Psalms 26:3 - For Psalms 34:8 - Lord Psalms 52:1 - goodness Matthew 22:40 - General Matthew 25:40 - Inasmuch Mark 12:31 - Thou Luke 6:35 - and ye John 1:13 - were John 13:34 - That ye love John 15:13 - General 1 Corinthians 5:10 - of this 1 Corinthians 13:13 - charity 1 Corinthians 16:14 - General Philippians 2:1 - if any comfort Colossians 3:14 - the 1 Thessalonians 3:12 - love 1 Timothy 1:5 - the end Hebrews 13:1 - General 1 Peter 1:3 - hath 1 John 3:9 - born 1 John 3:11 - that we 1 John 3:24 - dwelleth 2 John 1:5 - that we

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Genesis 3:16
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bear children. And to your husband shall be your desire. And he shall rule over you."

Genesis 3:16
Then God said to the woman, "I will cause you to have much trouble when you are pregnant, and when you give birth to children, you will have great pain. You will greatly desire your husband, but he will rule over you."

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you."

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth; In pain you will give birth to children; Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband, And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you."

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

Genesis 3:16
Vnto the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy sorowes, and thy conceptions. In sorowe shalt thou bring foorth children, and thy desire shalbe subiect to thine husbande, and he shall rule ouer thee.

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said,"I will greatly multiplyYour pain and conception,In pain you will bear children;Your desire will be for your husband,And he will rule over you."

Genesis 3:16
Then the Lord said to the woman, "You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Beloved, let its love one another,.... The apostle having finished what he proposed to say concerning the trying of spirits, returns to his former exhortation to brotherly love, and which comes with fresh force and strength; for since worldly men follow, hear, embrace, and cleave to the false teachers; such as are of God, and on the side of truth, should love one another, and their faithful ministers, and stand fast in one spirit by the truths of the Gospel, in opposition to every error:

for love is of God: to love one another is the command of God, it is his revealed will, and is well pleasing in his sight; it comes from him, is a gift of his grace, and a fruit of his Spirit, and which he teaches regenerate ones to exercise:

and everyone that loveth God, as the Alexandrian copy reads, or Christ, and the saints, who seem to be particularly meant:

is born of God; for love to the brethren is an evidence of regeneration; :-;

and knoweth God; he knows God in Christ, and therefore loves those who have the grace of God in them, and the image of Christ upon them; he knows the mind and will of God, being taught of God to love the brethren; and he knows the love of God, and has had an experience of the grace of God, which influences him to love the saints.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Beloved, let us love one another - This verse introduces a new topic, the consideration of which occupies the remainder of the chapter. See the Analysis. The subject is one on which John dwells more than on any other - that of love. His own character especially inclined him to the exercise of love; and the remarkable affection which the Lord Jesus had shown for him, seems to have had the effect to give this grace a special prominence in his views of what constituted true religion. Compare John 13:23. On the duty here enjoined, see the John 13:34-35 notes, and 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23 notes.

For love is of God -

1. All true love has its origin in God.

(2)Real love shows that we have his Spirit, and that we belong to him.

(3)It assimilates us to God, or makes us more and more like him.

What is here said by the apostle is based on the truth of what he elsewhere affirms, 1 John 4:8, that God is love. Hatred, envy, wrath, malice, all have their source in something else than God. He neither originates them, commends them, nor approves them.

And everyone that loveth, is born of God - Is a regenerated man. That is, everyone who has true love to Christians as such, or true brotherly love, is a true Christian. This cannot mean that everyone that loves his wife and children, his classmate, his partner in business, or his friend - his house, or his farms, or his horses, or his hounds, is a child of God; it must be understood as referring to the point under discussion. A man may have a great deal of natural affection toward his kindred; a great deal of benevolence in his character toward the poor and needy, and still he may have none of the love to which John refers. He may have no real love to God, to the Saviour, or to the children of God as such; and it would be absurd for such a one to argue because he loves his wife and children that therefore he loves God, or is born again.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another — And ever be ready to promote each other's welfare, both spiritual and temporal.

For love is of God — And ever acts like him; he loves man, and daily loads him with his benefits. He that loveth most has most of God in him; and he that loveth God and his neighbour, as before described and commanded, is born of God, εκτουθεουγεγεννηται, is begotten of God-is a true child of his heavenly Father, for he is made a partaker of the Divine nature; and this his love to God and man proves.