GOD ABIDES IN US - 1 JOHN 4:12-13

Verses 12-13: No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

No one has seen God. John’s purpose for placing this phrase at the beginning of verse 12 and in the middle of this passage (4:7-21) can be reasonably explained. This phrase is nearly identical with John 1:18, with the difference being that in John’s gospel it is Jesus Christ, the only begotten One who has made God known1 and described His love for mankind (John 3:16). And now in this verse, John declares that the “burden is on the believers”2 to describe and demonstrate His divine love to others, as the rest of the verse reveals.

 But first note, that the Greek word for seen is where the English word theater originated. A theater is where spectators view dramatic presentations, watching “with interest and for a purpose, usually indicating the careful observation of details.”3 Hence, John uses this particular word to describe viewing something of immense importance. He places great emphasis on the fact that no one has ever been able to carefully view the details of God’s divine being, because God is invisible (Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:27). When the Apostle Paul’s asserted that “no man has seen or can see” God (1 Timothy 5:16) he was obviously referring to Exodus 33:20 where the Lord told Moses: “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”  No one includes all members of the human race.

But how is it that Scripture does mention that some have seen God? This however is not a contradiction as Ryrie explains:

Since God is Spirit (John 4:24), no man has ever seen God in His essence, His Spirit-being. Yet He assumed visible form, which men saw in Old Testament times (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 24:9–10; Judges 13:22; Isaiah 6:1; Daniel 7:9), and in Jesus men could see God (John 14:8–9).4

Therefore, even though we have never seen God, we can still perceive Him through our abiding fellowship with Him, provided that we obey His command to love one another (John 13:34–35).

If We Love

The remainder of this verse presents a conditional statement, one that is uncertain of its fulfillment and yet probable5 depending upon whether believers choose to love one another. The condition could be stated like this: if we love one another, then God abides in us; if we do not love one another, God does not abide in us. The word abiding refers to the continual fellowship relationship with God, where we take up residence with God and demonstrate godliness, being motivated by our love for God the Father. This is characterized as walking in the Light (1:7). This concept refers back to the very beginning of John’s epistle where he demonstrated that sin, walking in darkness, breaks our abiding fellowship with God and portraying us accordingly, that we lie and do not practice the truth (1:6); the truth is not in us (1:8); His word is not in us (1:10).   

Furthermore, John states that there is an amazing development resulting from our obedience to the command to love one another (4:11): His love is perfected in us. There are two vitally important points to consider about this phrase. First, what does His love refer to?  Dr. Marvin Vincent clarifies that it is “Not our love to Him, nor His love to us, but the love which is peculiarly His.”6  God’s love is not merely an articulated, emotional or romantic love. His love is a virtue love that is unselfish, established upon “an absolute standard and a power greater than man himself.”7 The absolute standard is based upon the Word of God. This type of love is best described as a “mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another no matter what the cost to us.”8 For the love that God demonstrated towards us came at a very high cost to Him: the sacrificial death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Second, His love has the potential of being perfected in us. The Greek tense of the verb perfected describes the prevailing results or the “finished product”9 of our obedience to His command to love one another (4:11) and His directive to walk in the light (1 John 1:7). This resultant status is not a trophy like the one that athletes win, only to place it on the mantle upon returning home. His love perfected in us is a status that we actively maintain; it is an ever present reality and is exhibited by a consistent and continuous outpouring of His love towards fellow believers and also to our neighbors (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 10:27).

The Gift of His Spirit

Notice that John’s summary in verse 13 is a restatement of 1 John 3:24. Both verses substantiate the truth that our abiding fellowship with God is owing to the fact that He has given us of His Spirit. A.T. Robertson affirms that “this gift of God is proof of our fellowship with God;”10 the truth of the intimate relationship we share with God. The Holy Spirit is our eternal gift and teacher of “all things” (John 14:16, 26), by whom we “were sealed” (Ephesians 4:30) for all eternity. The Holy Spirit provides a variety of gifts to believers (1 Corinthians 12:4), but there is one common attribute that every believer should derive from the Spirit: love for his brother in Christ. We should never forget that this love is the first fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), for it is the Holy Spirit that provides us with the enabling power to demonstrate God’s type of love. 

By endeavoring to produce the fruit of the Spirit, we prove that we abide in Him and he in us. This ideal of abiding in Him is what Paul meant when he wrote: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).

---

[1] Made known (ESV) is translated explained (NASB) and revealed (NAB).

[2] Van Ryn, August (1948). The Epistles of John, New York, NY: Loizeaux Brothers, p. 134.

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.60.

[4] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 1680 note.

[5] Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, p. 696.

[6] Vincent, M. R. (n/d). Word Studies in the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2.358.

[7] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 284.

[8] McCalley, Chester. http://wordoftruthkc.org/sites/default/files/file/I%20Corinthians%20Commentary.pdf, p. 96. [Retrieved August 14, 2025]

[9] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 202.

[10] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1 John 4:13.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi 

 

THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD - 1 JOHN 4:10-11

Verse 10-11: In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

John begins again, as in the previous verse, with in this (by this in the Greek) referring to the truth he is about to illustrate. He first clarifies that the essence of love he is about to expound upon is not that we loved God. This is an emphatic statement with the addition of the personal pronoun we in the Greek. We includes John, his readers and all members of the human race. John is declaring an absolute truth, that no one has ever loved God in a permanent and abiding manner so that God would respond to mankind’s love and provide them with eternal life. This is substantiated by the Apostle Paul who asserted that our disposition towards God prior to salvation is in no way a demonstration of love:

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds (Colossians 1:21).

Even David declared in Psalm 14:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there are any who understand,

Who seek after God.

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1–3) 

 

This Is Love

This verse asserts the criterion and absolute characteristic of God’s love for us. But let us set the stage for what comes next. For the Apostle Paul provided the basis for God’s Divine love: He sent His Son.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6–8)

All of us were ungodly and unlovely in God’s estimation and yet, not willing that any of His creatures should suffer eternal damnation (1 Timothy 2:4), He secured salvation from His wrath through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Romans 5:9). Leading Paul to conclude:

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

This is true Godly love: that the name of His Son is eternally linked to the propitiation for our sins. This Greek word for propitiation literally refers to the mercy seat of the Old Testament, where the blood sacrifices were offered in order to satisfy God’s righteousness demands for the forgiveness of sins. Dr. Zodhiates states that Christ’s atoning work “was parallel to that which the [Old Testament] high priest did, but it was perfect and a far better sacrifice in that it was permanent and unrestricted”1 (cf. Hebrews 9:11-12).

It is important to recall something John declared earlier, that Our Lord is the propitiation (satisfaction) for not only our sins, “but also for those of the whole world” (2:2). God has provided for all mankind His grace provision for eternal life. But sadly many refuse to believe and to accept His free gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) for the reason the Apostle Paul states:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

We Should Love

Upon addressing his beloved readers, John asserts in verse 11: if God so loved us. There are two things to note about this phrase. First, if actually means since, indicating: since it is a fact that God indeed loved us. Second, the word so refers to the way or manner2 in which God loved us; this is what he had just described in verse 10, that He “sent His Son” for our salvation.

This phrase happens to be an exact parallel in grammar and meaning as that of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The manner of His love displayed is by having given His only begotten Son, also the same phrase in 4:9. The difference is that in John 3:16, God loved the world; and in our passage the emphasis is upon us—all Church Age believers.

Now, John presents a challenge to his readers (and to us) that since God loved us in such an amazing fashion, we ought to love one another. The key word is ought, meaning “to owe, whether of a debt or any obligation.”3 Hence, we are duty bound to love one another, just as Our Lord had commanded:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)

This is restated by the Apostles Peter (1 Peter 1:22) and Paul (Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9), therefore making it a requirement, not an option, to obey (keep) His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-4). It becomes our responsibility to persistently4 demonstrate observable love towards other believers as evidence that we love Jesus Christ (John 14:21, 23).

The Believer’s Challenge

What makes this command difficult at times to obey is that there are many different personalities that make up the Body of Christ. They range from those who are sweet, having an inner beauty, while others may be indifferent and obnoxiously insufferable. Whatever the personality, we should love one another. This love is reciprocal, meaning that each believer must participate. If one person fails then our entire witness to the world is diminished. This requires having “a relaxed and objective mental attitude toward everyone,”5 willing to accept people as they are in exactly the same manner as Peter described:

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9; cf. Colossians 3:12-14)

This was discussed in 3:14, that love for the brethren (John 13:35) and the clear demonstration of unity (John 17:21) when exhibited by faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, are essential indicators before the unbelieving world of the true mark of the Christian—the irrefutably evidence that the Father had indeed sent Jesus Christ into the world to be the propitiation for our sins.

---

[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2434.

[2] Liddell, H. G. (1996). In A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, p. 580.

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.75.

[4] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 182.

[5] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 136.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi 

 

GOD SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON - 1 JOHN 4:9

Verse 9: By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

John begins by declaring by this, the evidence he is about to present, that it is an undeniable and indispensable divine truth. The fact being, that the love of God was made clearly evident in us; but not inside us, but instead “in connection with us,” as it involves us as the recipients of God’s love.1 This must have been a revolutionary idea for the Jews of the 1^st Century, as Van Ryn explains:

Once, in the Old Testament times, the message of the law was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,” but when Christ came this was reversed and in the gospel we hear the wondrous words, “The Lord they God loves thee.”2

It’s not as if God’s lovingkindness had never been poured out upon the Jewish people. For it is a certainty that in the past, God established prophets, priests and kings as His earthly representatives. But now, He sent into the world His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. For never had a member of deity been sent to them as Christ had, coming “from the glory which He had with the Father into the world, by way of the Incarnation”3 (cf. John 1:1; John 17:5; 1 Peter 1:20).

His Commission

John uses this word sent only 3 times in this epistle, here and in 4:10 and 4:14.  It is derived from the Greek word for apostle, meaning one sent with a commission. John’s usage of this word here holds great significance, for the Greek tense asserts that Our Lord was intentionally sent by the Father for a particular commission and that His mission remains in effect permanently.4 Kenneth Wuest defined this word sent as follows:

To send on a commission as an envoy, with credentials (the miracles), to perform certain duties, here, to die for sinners, providing a salvation to be offered on the basis of justice satisfied to the one who places his faith in Him as Savior...He [God] has sent off the Son with the result that a salvation has been provided for sinful man.5

The credentials that substantiated Our Lord’s deity are the 7 miracles that John cataloged in his gospel account: ^①Turning water to wine (John 2:1-11); ^②Healing the royal official's son (John 4:46-54); ^③Healing the invalid at Bethesda (John 5:1-9); ^④The feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14); ^⑤Walking on the sea (John 6:15-21); ^⑥Sight restored (John 9:1-41); ^⑦Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44).6

His commission while on earth included His miraculous works and the securing and provision of eternal life. And presently, His commission continues as “Advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1) on our behalf. He is our High Priest forever (Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17), for “He always lives to make intercession” for those He has saved (Hebrews 7:25).

His Only Begotten Son

The phrase only begotten is one word in the Greek monogenes, meaning “what is unique in the sense of being the only one of the same kind or class—‘unique, only.’”7 It appears 9 times in the New Testament, and in 5 of those instances John uses the word with reference to the Son of God (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9) as an unmistakable indicator of His distinctiveness above all earthly and heavenly beings.8

As previously discussed in verse 2 of this chapter, the nature of the person of Jesus Christ is His hypostatic union, being both deity and human making Him the “one of a kind”9 unique person of the universe. The truth of His complex essence is substantiated by the Apostle Paul: “being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man” (Philippians 2:7b-8a), “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:19).

That We Might Live

By being both deity and man, He is qualified to be the exclusive mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) in order to fulfill His Divine commission in the world for a specific purpose: “that we might live through Him” (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6). The idea being, that since we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) we might now begin to live, by entering into a life that is eternal. Zodhiates explains that this implies “to live and prosper, be blessed…to be admitted to the bliss and privileges of the Redeemer’s kingdom.”10 This is what the Apostle Paul proclaimed:

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13)

We receive this eternal life at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. It is to be enjoyed now; it begins immediately and continues after we pass from this physical life. John emphasizes that this is made possible through Him, that is, through the agency of His empowerment. Scripture maintains that this “life in the full sense comes to us through him alone.”11 As the Apostle Peter rightly stated:

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Regardless of what the unbelieving culture might falsely profess, all the various belief systems in the world will not provide eternal life—only belief in Jesus Christ can save a person (Acts 16:31). For Our Lord Himself is the embodiment of life and He alone can provide eternal life (John 3:36; 5:24). He affirmed this during His Upper Room Discourse (John 14-17) while answering Thomas’ question, “How do we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

Not only is Jesus Christ the one and only unique person of the universe, but He is the only one God has provided through Whom we might live and exist eternally.

---

[1] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.500.

[2] Van Ryn, August (1948). The Epistles of John, New York, NY: Loizeaux Brothers, p. 133.

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.560.

[4] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1 John 4:9.

[5] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 13.164.

[6] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 1678 chart.

[7] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd ed.). New York: United Bible Societies, 1.590.

[8] Beetham, Christopher A. (Ed.) (2021). The Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, p. 586.

[9] Grudem, Wayne (1999). Bible Doctrine (Jeff Purswell, Ed.),  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, p. 113.

[10] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2198.

[11] Morris, L. L. (1994). 1 John. In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4th ed.,) (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham, Eds.). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, p. 1406.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi