1 John 4

John warns believers to test every spiritual voice, and the first test is what a teacher says about Jesus coming in the flesh. He then turns to love: God is love, He proved it by sending His Son, and those who know Him will love one another. Love casts out fear and shows itself in how we treat our brother.

1 John 4:1

Not every message that sounds spiritual comes from God. John tells his dear friends to examine what they hear rather than swallow it. Many false teachers were active, so a loving church is also a discerning one.

BSA: test (“examine, prove”): The word pictures careful examination, as metal is proved genuine, not a quick suspicious glance. Beloved (“dearly loved, cherished”): John corrects them out of tender care, not coldness.

Greek: δοκιμάζετε (dokimazete, G1381) — “put to the test, approve after testing.” It was used for testing metals or coins to see if they were genuine. The aim is to find what is true and approve it.

See also: 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Matthew 7:15.

1 John 4:2-3

Here is the test: what does the teaching say about Jesus? The true Spirit confesses that Jesus is the Messiah who really came as a human being. A spirit that denies or waters this down is not from God, however impressive it seems.

BSA: flesh (“human body, physical form”): Jesus did not merely seem human; He truly took a real body. confesses (“acknowledges, professes”): It means openly agreeing and declaring, not just privately believing.

Greek: ὁμολογεῖ (homologei, G3670) — “says the same thing, acknowledges.” It literally means to speak the same word as another. To confess Jesus is to agree with what God says about Him.

See also: 1 Corinthians 12:3.

1 John 4:4

John reassures his readers. They belong to God and have already won out over the false teachers, because God’s Spirit lives in them. He is stronger than every opposing power at work in the world.

BSA: overcome (“conquered, subdued”): The victory is already won, and not through their own strength.

See also: 1 John 5:4-5.

1 John 4:5-6

False teachers speak the language of the world, so the world welcomes them. John and the apostles speak from God, and those who truly know God receive their message. Our response to the apostolic teaching helps show truth from error.

BSA: listens (“hears and obeys, gives ear to”): Real listening means receiving and following the message, not merely hearing it.

See also: John 8:47; John 18:37.

1 John 4:7

Now John turns to love. Its source is God Himself, so Christians are urged to love one another. Real love is a sign of new birth: whoever loves shows that he shares God’s own life and has come to know Him.

BSA: born (“begotten, generated”): Love is the family likeness of those who have received new life from God.

See also: John 3:3; 1 John 3:14.

1 John 4:8

If someone has no love, he does not truly know God, because love is not merely something God does but who He is. Everything He does flows from this nature. Knowing God, then, changes how we treat people.

BSA: love (“agape, unconditional affection”): This is self-giving love that seeks another’s good at its own cost.

Greek: ἀγάπη (agapē, G26) — “self-giving love.” It is the word Christians used for love that gives itself for others. John says God is this love, not just that He has it.

1 John 4:9

God’s love was not left as an idea. He showed it by sending His only Son into the world. The purpose was that we, who were spiritually dead, might have life through Him.

BSA: one and only (“unique, begotten”): The Son is the Father’s own, one of a kind, which shows the greatness of the gift.

Greek: μονογενῆ (monogenē, G3439) — “one of a kind, only.” It stresses that Jesus is unique and deeply beloved, the Father’s only Son.

See also: John 3:16.

1 John 4:10

Love is defined not by our love for God but by His love for us. We did not start it. He sent His Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins and turns away judgment from us.

BSA: atoning sacrifice (“propitiation, reconciliation”): Christ’s death deals with sin so that the barrier between us and God is removed.

Greek: ἱλασμόν (hilasmon, G2434) — “atoning sacrifice, means of cleansing from sin.” The word comes from the language of sacrifice for sin. It shows that love paid the cost of forgiveness.

See also: Romans 5:8; 1 John 2:2.

1 John 4:11

Since God loved us at such cost, we owe the same love to one another. The argument is simple: what we have received, we pass on. God’s love becomes the pattern and the reason for ours.

BSA: ought (“are under obligation”): Love is a debt of gratitude that flows from what we have been given.

See also: John 13:34; Ephesians 5:1-2.

1 John 4:12

No one has seen God, yet He becomes visible in a way when His people love one another. Love shared among believers shows that God lives in them, and His love reaches its goal in them.

BSA: perfected (“completed, made whole”): God’s love reaches its purpose when it flows on through us to others.

See also: John 1:18.

1 John 4:13

How can we be sure that we live in God and He in us? He has given us His Spirit. The Spirit’s presence in us is God’s own assurance that the relationship is real.

BSA: remain (“stay, abide”): It describes a settled and continuing closeness with God, not a passing visit.

Greek: μένομεν (menomen, G3306) — “we remain, abide, dwell.” It means to stay and make one’s home. John uses it often for a lasting life shared with God.

See also: Romans 8:15-16.

1 John 4:14

John speaks for the apostles who saw Jesus. They testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Their witness is not guesswork but what they saw with their own eyes.

BSA: Savior (“Deliverer, Rescuer”): Jesus rescues people from sin and its penalty, and His offer reaches the whole world.

See also: John 4:42; 1 John 1:1-3.

1 John 4:15

Whoever sincerely confesses that Jesus is the Son of God is held in a shared life with God: God dwells in him, and he in God. This confession is true faith in who Jesus is, not mere words.

BSA: abides (“dwells, remains”): The relationship is a lasting home, not a passing visit.

See also: Romans 10:9.

1 John 4:16

We have come to know and trust the love God has for us. Because God is love, those who live in love live in God. Love is the atmosphere of the Christian life, and it comes from God dwelling in us.

BSA: abides (“remains and dwells”): Living in love is not an occasional act but a settled way of life.

See also: John 15:9-10.

1 John 4:17

As love grows to maturity in us, we can face the day of judgment with confidence, not dread. We are united to Christ, so in this world we belong to Him and share His standing before the Father.

BSA: confidence (“boldness, freedom from fear”): It is the open freedom of a child who can speak freely to a loving father.

Greek: παρρησίαν (parrēsian, G3954) — “boldness, freedom of speech.” It means speaking openly without shrinking back. John says we may stand before God without cowering.

See also: Hebrews 4:16.

1 John 4:18

Where God’s love is fully known, terror of Him fades. Fear of punishment belongs to those who still doubt His love. As we grow to trust how deeply He loves us, that fear loses its grip.

BSA: drives out (“casts away, expels”): Love does not merely calm fear but throws it out like an intruder. punishment (“penalty or chastisement”): The fear John means is dread of being penalized, which Christ has already borne for us.

Greek: κόλασιν (kolasin, G2851) — “punishment, penalty.” The word points to torment of expecting a penalty. That is exactly what God’s love removes.

See also: Romans 8:1; Romans 8:15.

1 John 4:19

Our love is an answer, not a starting point. God loved us first, and that love awakens ours. Everything good in us toward God and others begins with what He has already done.

BSA: first (“the Father”): God took the first step before we had any love to offer.

See also: Romans 5:8.

1 John 4:20

Claiming to love God while hating a fellow believer is a contradiction. It is easier to love someone we can see. If we fail at that, our claim to love the God we cannot see is empty.

BSA: liar (“one who intentionally spreads false information”): John speaks bluntly: this is a false claim that does not match a person’s life.

See also: 1 John 2:9; Matthew 25:40.

1 John 4:21

God’s command settles the matter: whoever loves God must also love his brother. The two loves cannot be pulled apart. Love for God is shown in love for those who belong to Him.

BSA: commandment (“instruction, order”): Loving others is not optional advice but God’s own instruction.

See also: Mark 12:30-31; John 13:34.