Usccb 1 John 4 (2024)

FAQs

What are the main points of 1 John 4? ›

Chapter 4 includes two major ideas. The first is that believers ought to "test the spirits" to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1–6). The second theme is that God both loves us and "God is love" (1 John 4:7–21), leading believers to love one another.

By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God [has God for its source]; And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has ...

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. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

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.

God desires for His children to freely, boldly, and passionately worship Him in spirit and truth. John 4 reveals that almighty God possesses an unceasing desire for true worshipers.

Context Summary

John references Jesus' eternal existence, and His identical nature to God the Father. John also makes a claim to eyewitness testimony: he has personally seen these things he is teaching others about. Mutual fellowship, between Christians, and in Christ, is also mentioned here.

By "every spirit" he means, either every doctrine that is pretended to come from the Spirit of God, or every teacher, who professes to be qualified and sent by him, and to have his light, knowledge, and doctrine from him.

I am humbled by the truth that Your presence is with me always, that You dwell within me, and that Your love is my constant companion. As I rise from my bed, I ask for Your guidance and strength to carry out the message: “And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

A second test John gives is related to confessing Christ as Lord. If a person confesses Jesus as Lord, he or she has publicly professed becoming a Christian (Romans 10:9). If a person refuses to confess Jesus is the Christ, that person cannot be a true believer.

The love mentioned in 1 John 4:15-21 fourteen times (!) is a love that needs no apology but is determined at all times to sacrifice for the other. It is a love not based on emotions but resolve. It is a love that does not fade with time but is eternally dependable. The love we are talking about is “agape” love.

Why does God let us suffer if he loves us? ›

God allows suffering because He is loving, powerful and wise. People suffer because it is the path that we chose. God provided us the freedom to choose and that includes choosing rightly and wrongly. Every time we choose wrongly, there is some form of pain and suffering.

ESV If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. NIV Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.

1 John 4 is a chapter about believing in God, loving each other, and preparing ourselves for the time when Jesus returns to Earth. We should believe in God because we are from Him, and He lives in us, but we must be careful of who we trust.

Most likely written around the same time as the Gospel of John and the letters 2 and 3 John; between AD 80–95. Overview: The focus of 1 John is “fellowship,” which stands against false teachings and stands firm in the faith.

For as 1 John 4:19 tells us, “we love because he first loved us.” It is the effectual love of God that first changes our hearts in order to make us capable of love, and it is His example of love that reminds us again and again of our need to love other people.

Main idea: Jesus is a gift from God as living water for eternal life. In our passage he offers relationship with the woman at the well, who represents someone the culture would have viewed as undeserving. Her response to the gospel not only changes her life but also brings the town to a place of believing in Jesus.

(1-4) Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria. Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.

By "every spirit" he means, either every doctrine that is pretended to come from the Spirit of God, or every teacher, who professes to be qualified and sent by him, and to have his light, knowledge, and doctrine from him.

ESV Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.