God lives in us

1 John 4:12 - Through our Christian love, we can make God’s love known to others

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“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The First Epistle of John is thought to have been written between 95 and 110 AD, although it’s uncertain if it was actually written by the apostle John or simply based on his teachings. Regardless of the actual author or when it was written, 1 John is a letter to all Christians focusing on love and fellowship with God.

Wikipedia provides this insight into the content of the epistle:

The author describes various tests by which readers may ascertain whether or not their communion with God is genuine, and teaches that the proof of spiritual regeneration is a life of active righteousness.^[8] It also distinguishes between the world (which is full of evil and under the dominion of Satan) and the children of God (who are set apart from the world).

This verse begins with the bold statement that “No one has ever seen God.” David Guzik of Enduring Word explains:

a. No one has seen God at any time: John relates a basic principle about God the Father – that no one, no one, has seen God at any time. Anyone claiming to have seen God the Father is speaking – at best – from their own imagination, because as John plainly states, no one has seen God at any time.

i. In speaking of God the Father, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:17: Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible. Jesus declared of God the Father, God is Spirit, (John 4:24) meaning that God the Father has no tangible body which may be seen.

ii. Knowing God the Father is invisible should make us more humble in our relationship with Him. God the Father is not completely knowable by us; we can’t completely figure out God, or know all His secrets. He is beyond us.

iii. Of course, no one has seen God the Holy Spirit at any time either, though He has represented Himself in various ways. And just as certainly, God the Son, Jesus Christ, has been seen – John himself testified to this in 1 John 1:1-3. But of God the Father, it can truly be said, no one has seen God at any time.

iv. “The Old Testament theophanies, including the apparently contradictory statement in Exodus 24:10, did not involve the full revelation of God as He is in Himself but only a suggestion of what He is in form that a human being could understand.” (Boice)¹

We will never be able to see God, at least not in our present human form. The rest of the verse explains that actually seeing God isn’t important, “but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” What is even more important is that through our Christian love, we can make God’s love known to others.

Retired pastor Steven Cole wrote a beautiful commentary on the latter part of this verse, as found on Precept Austin:

What does he mean? He means that the unseen God, Who was historically revealed in the incarnation of the Son, is now revealed by the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit in His people when they love one another. It’s an amazing thought! People do not see God and they may not read the Bible, but they do see and read the lives of Christians. They read your Christian home. They read this church. They read you as you interact with others at work or at school. If they see a remarkable, other-worldly love in those places—especially if they see love when they would expect retaliation—they see God abiding in you. If they see anger, bitterness, verbal attacks, and hatred, then we are failing to “testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1Jn 4:14+). A writer named Caecilius (ca. A.D. 210) said of the Christians, “They know one another by secret marks and signs, and they love one another almost before they know one another.” The Greek writer, Lucian (ca. A.D. 120-200) said of the early church, “It is incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator [Jesus] has put it into their heads that they are all brethren.” The church father, Tertullian, said, “It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. ‘Look,’ they say, ‘How they love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another!’” I wonder how often outsiders would describe modern Christians like that? John’s point (in 1Jn 4:12) is that if we see God’s love surfacing in our relationships with others, then we have evidence of God’s abiding in us. This is especially true in situations where, if we were acting in the flesh, we would be indifferent at best or antagonistic or hateful at worst. When our knee-jerk reaction is to lash out at someone who has wronged us, but instead we feel an inner check and we speak in kindness, it is evidence that God is abiding in us. Although we cannot see God, who is spirit, we can see the evidence of His abiding in us when we love one another.²

I personally found Cole’s statement about that “inner check” to be very reassuring! It’s good to know that when I have the urge to yell at someone — but don’t — or respond to an irritating social media post with my opinion — and just scroll on by — that it is evidence that God is abiding in me.

What does it mean that “his love is made complete in us” (some translations use “his love is perfected in us”)? Once again, David Guzik of Enduring Word explains:

c. His love has been perfected in us: Perfected uses the Greek word teleioo, which doesn’t mean “perfect” as much as “mature” and “complete.” If we love one another, then the love of God is “mature” and “complete” in us.

i. John comes back to the familiar idea: if we really walk in God’s love towards us, it will be evident in our love for one another.

ii. The mature Christian will be marked by love. Again, the true measure of maturity is not the image of power, or popularity, or passionate feelings – but the abiding presence of God’s love in our lives, given out to others.

Something you do, whether it be helping another person selflessly or just saying a kind, truthful word when it is needed, can make God’s love a tangible presence every day.

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Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Heavenly Father, help me to love others as You love us, so that Your love may be made complete in me. May I reflect Your presence through my actions and be a channel of Your love to those around me. AMEN

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Precept Austin was accessed on April 1, 2026 for commentary on 1 John 4:12

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com

1. Boice, James Montgomery “The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1979)

2. Cole, Steven The Assurance of Abiding, Bible.org, 2013