1 John 4:16

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 4:16

And we have come to know and believe. Both perfects are virtually presents, expressing the present continuance of a condition begun in the past: "We know and continue to believe." Experience and faith are intimately connected; and sometimes the one precedes, sometimes the other ( John 6:69 ). As in 1 John 4:9 ἐν ἡμῖν should be rendered in us, not "to us" or "toward us;" and here also the interpretation, "in our case," is certainly possible, and perhaps safer. But the meaning may be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 4:16

The love of God. "God is Love." "God is." To this almost all peoples assent. The belief in a Supreme Being is nearly coextensive with the human race. Very different are the attributes ascribed to him and the names applied to him; but as to the fact of his existence well-nigh all are agreed. But what is God? Many and various are the answers to this inquiry. To some he is unintelligent and irresistible Fate. To others, Nature. To others, the beautiful Order and stupendous Forces of nature.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 4:16

And we have known and believed ... - We all have assurance that God has loved us, and the fullest belief in the great fact of redemption by which he has manifested his love to us.God is love - Notes, 1 John 4:8. It is not uncommon for John to repeat an important truth. He delights to dwell on such a truth as that which is here expressed; and who should not? What truth is there on which the mind can dwell with more pleasure; what is there that is better fitted to win the heart to holiness; what... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 4:15-17

1 John 4:15-17. Whosoever shall From a principle of loving faith, openly confess In the face of all opposition and danger, maintaining this profession with resolution and zeal, and acting in conformity to it; that Jesus is the Son of God The Christ, the Saviour of the world; God abideth in him, and he in God There is a blessed union between God and his soul, so that it is, in the language of Scripture, the habitation of God; who, as it were, lives and walks in him, Eph 2:22 ; 1... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 John 4:7-21

The character of Christian love (4:7-5:5)It is God’s nature to love. Love in human nature has been spoiled by sin, but when people are born again by the work of God, they learn to love as God loves (7-8). The character of God’s love is seen in his act of giving his Son to die for those who have rebelled against him. They are worthy of death, but Jesus died to bear the judgment of sin on their behalf. As a result they can now have life (9-10). People cannot see God, but they can see that he... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 John 4:16

believed = have believed. App-150 . to = in. App-104 . Compare 1 John 4:9 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 John 4:16

And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him.Know and have believed the love which God hath in us ... As Morris declared, "Believing and knowing the love is certainly a very unusual expression."[43] It is perhaps John's way of referring to one's knowing and believing the whole thesis and system of Christianity, which might be summed up, really, as "knowing and believing the love of God." What a... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 John 4:16

16. And we—John and his readers (not as 1 John 4:14, the apostles only). known and believed—True faith, according to John, is a faith of knowledge and experience: true knowledge is a knowledge of faith [LUECKE]. to us—Greek, "in our case" (see on 1 John 4:9). dwelleth—Greek, "abideth." Compare with this verse, 1 John 4:9- :. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 4:7-16

3. God’s Indwelling Recognized 4:7-16John now left behind his warning about false spirits that his readers might mistake as the Holy Spirit, spirits that lure believers onto worldly paths. He returned to one of his central themes, namely, love for the brethren. As 1 Corinthians 13 contains Paul’s great statement on God’s love, so 1 John 4:7-16 contains John’s.". . . the present section spells out precisely the nature of the love which is demanded from every believer, and may thus be viewed as... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 4:11-16

The inspiration of love 4:11-16 read more

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