Passage

1 John 4.7-21

Book: 1 John · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"5. They are of the world: therefore speak they as of the world, and the world heareth them. 6. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

"7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9. Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: 13. hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14. And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God. 16. And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. 17. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19. We love, because he first loved us. 20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen. 21. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:5-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"5. They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. 6. We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

"7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God. 8. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. 9. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. 12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. 13. By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16. We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17. In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love. 19. We love him, because he first loved us. 20. If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21. This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother." (1 John 4:5-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"5. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

"7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. ^{our love: Gr. love with us} 18. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19. We love him, because he first loved us. 20. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21. And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:5-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"5. They, of the world they are; because of this from the world they speak, and the world doth hear them; 6. we, of God we are; he who is knowing God doth hear us; he who is not of God, doth not hear us; from this we know the spirit of the truth, and the spirit of the error."

"7. Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he hath been begotten, and doth know God; 8. he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love. 9. In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son, the only begotten, hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him; 10. in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love; 12. God no one hath ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us doth remain, and His love is having been perfected in us; 13. in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us. 14. And we, we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son, Saviour of the world; 15. whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him doth remain, and he in God; 16. and we, we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him. 17. In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we, we also are in this world; 18. fear is not in the love, but the perfect love doth cast out the fear, because the fear hath punishment, and he who is fearing hath not been made perfect in the love; 19. we, we love him, because He, He first loved us; 20. if any one may say, 'I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he hath seen, God, whom he hath not seen, how is he able to love? 21. and this [is] the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother." (1 John 4:5-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: the author of 1 John (traditionally John the Apostle; the elder community-leader writing pastorally)
Audience: the Johannine community / churches addressed in 1 John; a doctrinal-pastoral letter responding to proto-Gnostic / docetic teachers who had broken away
Location: Asia Minor, traditionally Ephesus
Time period: c. AD 85-95

Theological reading

1 John 4:7-21 is the densest love-passage in the NT and the locus classicus for the statement "God is love" (ho theos agapē estin, vv. 8, 16). The passage works the ontology-and-ethics relation: God's being is love (v. 8), which has been manifested in the sending of the Son as propitiation (vv. 9-10), which grounds and enables the love of believers for one another (vv. 11, 19), which functions as the test of authentic God-knowing (vv. 7-8, 20-21). The structural sequence is critical: love does not originate in believers' affection or volition but in God's prior act (v. 19, "we love, because He first loved us"); love-of-neighbor is the necessary visible expression of love-of-God (v. 20, the "liar" verdict on the loveless professor); and love-of-God-and-neighbor are one commandment (v. 21). The passage is also load-bearing for Christological doctrine, "God is love" is read by some moderns (process theology, certain liberal traditions) as relativizing other divine attributes; the historic-orthodox reading holds love as predicated of the Trinitarian-Personal God who is simple, holy, just, and loving without contradiction, and reads "God is love" as descriptive of the Father-Son-Spirit relations and the redemptive economy, not as a sentimental cipher that erases divine wrath or judgment (note v. 10's propitiation and v. 17's day of judgment).

Key words

G0025 - agapao, agapaō (to love), the verb structuring the entire pericope
G0026 - agapē (pending), agapē (love, noun), the noun; "God is love"
G2434 - hilasmos (pending), hilasmos (propitiation), v. 10; the cross as love's manifestation
G3306 - menō (pending), menō (to abide), vv. 12-16; mutual-indwelling vocabulary

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.