1 John 4:7
What does 1 John 4:7 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 John 4:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 John 4:7 means
John turns to love, addressing his readers tenderly and calling them to mutual affection. Love originates in God; it is His gift and character. Therefore, those who love show that they have been begotten of God and truly know Him. This love is not mere sentiment but active goodwill patterned after God’s own giving. It is family resemblance: children bear their Father’s likeness. The command flows from identity, not from mere duty. When Christians love one another, they participate in God’s life and reveal His work among them. Such love builds assurance, strengthens fellowship, and testifies to the reality of the new birth.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Beloved, 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;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Dearly beloved, let us love one another: for charity is of God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Beloved, let us love one another; because love is ofGod, and every one that loves has been begotten ofGod, and knowsGod.
Context
Having drawn sharp lines between truth and error (vv. 1–6), John now describes the positive life of those who are “of God.” Verse 7 opens the love section, grounding the command to love in God’s nature and new birth. It anticipates verse 8’s climactic statement about God’s identity and prepares for verses 9–10, which display love’s supreme manifestation in the sending of the Son. The movement shifts from discernment to demonstration.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Timothy 1:7
For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.
- 1 John 2:10
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him.
- 1 Peter 1:22
Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently:
- Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- 1 John 4:20
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.
- Galatians 4:9
but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again?
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