Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 John
Chapter 4: God Is Love
First John 4 gives the church a test for truth and a fountain of love. 'Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.' And the test is Christ: 'Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.' Then John turns to the great theme of the letter: 'let us love one another: for love is of God... He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.' Love is defined by the sending of the Son: '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... he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.' Because God so loved us, 'we ought also to love one another,' and in loving, 'God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.' Such love drives out dread: 'There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.' And the test is inescapable: 'if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar.' This chapter shows us the test of Christ, the love of God, and the love it calls forth in us.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 John chapter 4. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here John gives the test of confessing Christ come in the flesh, proclaims that God is love, defines that love by the sending of His Son, and shows that God's love in us casts out fear and overflows to our brothers. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Try the Spirits
Confess Jesus come in the flesh.
God Is Love
Love is of God; he that loves is born of God.
He Sent His Son
God sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
We love, because He first loved us.
Herein Is Love (1 John 4:1-10)
Try the spirits by their confession of Christ come in flesh; and know that God is love, proved by His sending of His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God Sent His Only Begotten Son
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 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. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 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. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Word Study
"confesseth," Greek homologeo (ὁμολογέω). The word joins homos, "same," with lego, "to say"; it means to say the same thing, to agree, to acknowledge openly, to confess. "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." To homologeo is to say the same thing God says about His Son, to openly acknowledge the truth of who Jesus is. And John makes this confession the great test of every spirit and teacher: does it confess "that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh"? This is the confession of the incarnation, that the one God truly came in real human flesh in Jesus Christ. In John's day, false teachers denied that God had genuinely become flesh, claiming Christ only seemed human, or that the divine Christ was separate from the man Jesus. John says any spirit that will not confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh "is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist." The Apostolic faith stands or falls on this confession: the invisible God "was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16) in Jesus, truly God and truly man in one person. To confess this is the mark of the Spirit of God; to deny it is the mark of the spirit of error. So homologeo calls us to say the same thing God says about Jesus, openly acknowledging that He is God come in the flesh, and to test every teaching and spirit by whether it makes that confession.
Explanation
John commands, "try the spirits whether they are of God," and gives the doctrinal test: "every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God," while every spirit that denies it "is not of God... this is that spirit of antichrist." Believers "have overcome" the false teachers, "because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." Then John rises to the summit of the letter: "God is love," and He proved it — "God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." True love is defined not by our feeling for God but by His act for us: "he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Gospel Focus
John warns against gullibility: "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." Not every religious message comes from God's Spirit; we must test them. And the test is the person of Christ: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God," while every spirit that denies it "is that spirit of antichrist." The confession of the incarnation, that the one true God came in real human flesh in Jesus, is the dividing line between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. John reassures the believers: "ye are of God... and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." The Spirit of God dwelling in us is greater than the spirit of antichrist in the world, so we need not fear the false prophets. Then John moves to the letter's great theme, and it flows straight out of the confession of Christ: "let us love one another: for love is of God." Love has its very source in God, so "every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God," while "he that loveth not knoweth not God." And John states the sublime reason: "for God is love." This is one of the highest revelations of God in all Scripture. Love is not merely something God does; it is what God is, the very essence of His nature. But John does not leave "God is love" as an abstract idea; he anchors it in history and the cross: "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." God's love was proved and displayed when He "sent his only begotten Son." And John presses the wonder of it: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." The initiative was entirely God's; we did not love Him first. He loved us while we were sinners, and sent His Son to be the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice, that turns away wrath and covers our sin. This is the definition of love: not our feeble love for God, but His costly love for us, given at the cross. So we test every spirit by its confession of Christ come in flesh, and we drink from the fountain of love that is God Himself, revealed supremely in the sending of His Son to be our propitiation.
Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear (1 John 4:11-21)
Because God so loved us, we love one another; His love dwelling in us casts out fear and cannot coexist with hatred of our brother.
We Love Him, Because He First Loved Us
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 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. 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. 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. We love him, because he first loved us. 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? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."
Word Study
"casteth out," Greek ballo (βάλλω), in "casteth out" exo ballei. The verb ballo means to throw, to cast, to hurl; joined with exo, "outside," it means to throw out, to expel forcibly. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear." The image is forceful: love does not gently coax fear away but throws it out, expels it, drives it from the house of the heart. The fear John means is the dread of judgment, the terror of standing condemned before God; and such fear "hath torment," it torments the soul. But when God's love is "made perfect", brought to maturity and fullness in us, it drives that torment out, for the one who knows he is loved by God, and whose sins are covered by the propitiation, need not dread the day of judgment. Instead he has "boldness in the day of judgment." Notice John does not say we cast out our own fear by working up our courage; rather, "perfect love casteth out fear", it is God's love, received and made complete in us, that expels the dread. As love grows and fills the heart, fear is pushed out, the two cannot fully coexist. So ballo pictures love as an active, expelling power: the more we know and rest in God's perfect love for us, proved at the cross, the more the tormenting fear of condemnation is thrown out, and we stand before God not as cowering criminals but as beloved children, with boldness.
Explanation
John draws the obligation: "if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." The invisible God is made visible in His people's love — "if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." That indwelling is confirmed by the Spirit and by the confession "that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." Perfected love yields "boldness in the day of judgment," for "perfect love casteth out fear." And John closes the circle with a test no one can dodge: "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable.
Gospel Focus
John draws the necessary conclusion from God's love: "if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." God's love for us obligates and enables our love for each other. And he adds a striking thought: "No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." The invisible God becomes visible, in a sense, through the love of His people; when we love one another, God's own love reaches its goal and full expression in us, and He dwells among us. The evidence that we dwell in God and He in us is twofold: the gift of His Spirit, "because he hath given us of his Spirit," and the confession of Christ, "whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him." John testifies that "the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world", the one God, as Father, sent forth the Son, His own manifestation in flesh, to save the world. Then he returns to the great truth, "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." To live in love is to live in God. And this love, "made perfect" in us, produces confidence rather than dread: "that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." As we are conformed to Christ, we can face judgment without terror. This leads to one of the most freeing statements in Scripture: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment." The dread of condemnation is expelled by God's perfect love; the more we grasp how deeply He loves us, the more our fear of Him is driven out. And John reminds us where it all begins: "We love him, because he first loved us." Our love is only a response to His prior love; He loved first, and our love is the echo. Finally, John presses the inescapable test once more: "if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." Love for God that does not overflow in love for our visible brother is a lie, "for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" The two are bound together by God's own command: "he who loveth God love his brother also." So the love of God, received and made perfect in us, casts out our fear, assures us before the Judge, and flows out irresistibly in love for the brothers we can see.
Chapter 4 in Review
First John 4 gives the test of truth and the fountain of love. "Try the spirits whether they are of God," for the test is Christ: "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." Then John proclaims the letter's heart: "God is love," proved by the sending of His Son, "God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him... and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Because "God so loved us, we ought also to love one another," and in loving, "God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." Such love expels dread: "perfect love casteth out fear." And the test is inescapable: "if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar," for "he who loveth God love his brother also."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter joins sound doctrine to deep love. Its test guards the faith: every teaching and spirit is measured by its confession of "Jesus Christ come in the flesh," the incarnation of the one God, and any spirit that denies it is antichrist. And its revelation lifts the heart: "God is love," not merely loving, but love in His very being, displayed not in words but in the cross, where God "sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." This love was entirely His initiative, "not that we loved God, but that he loved us." Received and made perfect in us, it does two things: it casts out the tormenting fear of judgment, giving us boldness before God, and it overflows into love for our brothers, without which any claim to love God is a lie. So we test every spirit by its confession of Christ, we rest in the God who is love and who loved us first, we let His perfect love drive out our fear, and we love one another, for he that loveth God must love his brother also.
- "Try the spirits": the test is confessing "Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" (4:1-3).
- "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (4:4).
- "God is love"; every one that loveth is born of God (4:7-8).
- God's love was shown when He "sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (4:10).
- "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear" (4:18).
- "We love him, because he first loved us"; love God, love your brother (4:19-21).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you test what you hear by its confession of "Jesus Christ come in the flesh"?
- Has the truth that "God is love," proved at the cross, gripped your heart?
- Is the tormenting fear of judgment being cast out by God's perfect love for you?
- Does your love for God overflow into real love for your brother?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Trying the spirits; confessing Christ come in flesh: 1 John 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 12:3. God is love; the sending of the Son as propitiation: 1 John 4:7-10; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 2:2. God dwelling in us; the Father sent the Son the Saviour: 1 John 4:11-16; John 14:23; John 4:42; Romans 8:9. Perfect love casts out fear; love God and brother: 1 John 4:17-21; Romans 8:15; John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:17. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Try the spirits; confess Jesus Christ come in the flesh: 1 John 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 3:16.
- God is love; He sent His Son to be the propitiation: 1 John 4:7-10; John 3:16; Romans 5:8.
- God dwells in us; the Father sent the Son the Saviour: 1 John 4:11-16; John 4:42.
- Perfect love casts out fear; love God and your brother: 1 John 4:17-21; John 13:34-35.