Love comes from God
1 John 4:7-8 - Our rebirth in God’s Spirit gives us the love of God for His people as well.
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8 NIV
This is such a beautiful statement by the apostle John. In the original Koine Greek, it begins with the alliterative ἀγαπητοί ἀγαπῶμεν (agapētos agapaō) — more properly translated as “beloved, let us love”.
We are beloved of God and live in His light, so we love others who are the people of God. Since love comes from God, then we who claim to be “born of God” and “know God” must love others in the body of Christ — the Church.
John’s implication here is that when we are born of God (born again in Christ), our lives are blessed with a love we did not have before. Our belief in the risen Christ doesn’t just imbue us with forgiveness; our rebirth in God’s Spirit gives us the love of God for His people as well.
That love comes to the person who “knows God”. The Greek word for knows is γινώσκω (ginōskō), defined as knowledge gained by experience. So John is telling us that when we have really experienced God, it is manifested by our love for each other.
Do we all have a perfect love for those in (and outside of) the body of Christ? Speaking for myself, I’d say no. But it is there, and it is growing. The only place and time this love will be perfected is in eternity. John goes on to say “Whoever does not love does not know God,” meaning that if you don’t feel love for God’s people, then you honestly don’t know God. If there’s even an inkling of love in your heart for God’s people, you know God.
God is love. We’ve all heard those words, and we know from studying God’s Word that this isn’t a romantic love. God’s love is self-giving, self-sacrificing, given without expecting or demanding anything in return. As Christians, we gain this kind of love through our relationship with God. David Guzik notes that “If we want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God.” He explains:
ii. Every human relationship is like a triangle. The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. As the two people draw closer to the top of the triangle, closer to God, they will also draw closer to one another. Weak relationships are made strong when both people draw close to the Lord!
Let’s bring this full circle: How do you build a stronger relationship with God? GotQuestions.org has a lengthy, but very helpful answer that is summarized here:
So, through confession, Bible study, prayer, regular church attendance, and obedience, we can develop a closer relationship with God. It seems rather simple, if not simplistic. But consider this: how do we develop a closer relationship with other human beings? We spend time with them in conversation, opening our hearts to them and listening to them at the same time. We acknowledge when we’ve done wrong and seek forgiveness. We seek to treat them well and sacrifice our own needs to fulfill theirs. It’s not really that different with our relationship to our Heavenly Father.
Work on your relationship with God and your relationships with other people will be strengthened as well!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord God, Fill our hearts with Your love, for You are love itself. Teach us to love one another as You have loved us, so that our lives reflect Your grace and truth. Make us vessels of Your compassion today. AMEN.