1 John 4:7-12 “God Is Love” Prayer

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love….

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

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Does God hate?

Here is Malachi 1:2-3: “’I have loved you,’” says the Lord. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' ‘Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ the Lord says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’”

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Here is a baffling statement in John’s gospel:

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God…

God appears to many in the Old Testament.

The gospel writer “John” (we don’t know his real name) seems unaware of ancient scripture.

For example, God visits the parents of Samson:

Judges 13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

Genesis 18:1-15: The Lord appears to Abraham and calls attention to Sarah telling a fib: Sarah denied laughing, saying, "I did not laugh”
...The Lord said, "No, but you did laugh."

Here are some people who saw God

Enoch
Abraham & Sarah
Isaac
Jacob
Moses & 73 others
Solomon
Job
Elijah
Isaiah
Daniel
Parents of Samson

The statement in John’s gospel that no one has seen God is repeated in the First Letter of John (4:12).

It’s a contradiction. Twice the New Testament says clearly no one has seen God, but the Old Testament tells of many humans seeing God.

Many more hear God’s voice.

The New Testament may be saying twice that stories in ancient scripture about God appearing to humans are mere stories--don’t take them literally and don’t expect to see God in your lifetime.




1 John 4:7-12 “God Is Love” prayer = "God is love" in Bible (vs. God hates in Malachi 1:2-3)