"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16

1
It is an abstract point but worth seeing, that
faith and the unseen aspects of faith will NEVER
have anything to do with the common sight world
in which we live. Faith is not of this world,
and that is why having our eyes on Gods Kingdom
rather than on the distracting things of this
world, is necessary to experiencing and growing
in Gods Kingdom.
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him." 1 John 416
Why do you suppose John added believing to
knowing the love that God has for us?
It is the same as though he had said, We have
known by believing for such knowledge is not
attained but by faith. But we hence learn how
different, is an uncertain or doubtful opinion
from faith. Calvin
2
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him." 1 John 416
We have an enormous need to experience and to
believe the love that God has for us!!!
You should also remember that when the verbs are
clustered like that, it is for emphasis and we
should pay particular attention to the point that
is being emphasized.
What is the point that is being emphasized?
3
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him." 1 John 416
I have to tell you that in the Greek the line
God has for us actually reads God has IN us.
4
Love is invisible and arguably useless, and
certainly not satisfied until it meets its object
and YOU are the object of Gods infinite,
uncontainable, unrelenting, inescapable love!
This is the same ?? ?µ?? that was found in verse
9. It does not mean to us (A. V.), in us (R.
V.), in our case (R. V. margin), the German an
uns, etc. but in connection with us, ?? being
used in its original meaning, the connection
being the one which the context indicates, here
the fact that Gods love succeeded in connecting
itself with us. For that reason, too, John says
the love which God has in connection with us
while in the next breath he repeats from verse 8
God is love. Lenski
Pay very close attention to the prepositions and
the associations that are stated in the
prepositions in our next verse.
5
"By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the
world so that we might live through Him." 1John
49
This is the word d?? which means by way of,
by means of, as a consequence of Him.
Do you see why literally everything that we do,
think and say is to come as a result of the
function of Gods love doing what it does best in
you?
That is actually how Jesus lived on earth as a
man.
God released His love inside of us and through us
to others around us so that we can actually LIVE
every aspect of life THROUGH Him.
6
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and
the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you
I do not speak on My own initiative, but the
Father abiding in Me does His works. " John 1410
So Jesus lived His human life by allowing the
Father to accomplish His work through Jesus
mortal body, which is exactly what Paul said that
he did.
"For this purpose also I labor, striving
according to His power, which mightily works
within me." Colossians 129
7
It is also precisely how we are to live in all
the things we do from minute to minute.
"Above all, keep fervent in your love for one
another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
As each one has received a special gift, employ
it in serving one another as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do
so as one who is speaking the utterances of God
whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving
by the strength which God supplies so that in
all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen." 1Peter 48-11
8
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for (in) us. God is love, and the
one who abides in love abides in God, and God
abides in him." 1 John 416
So our first preposition here tells us that we
know by experience and believe the love that God
has placed IN us by connecting Himself to us,
that is, there is an association, a union between
us as individuals and God, and the God who is
love now resides inside of us. Somehow that
love, the God who is love living in us, changes
everything about US.
9
God IS LOVE! The one who remains in God, will
find God always abiding in him, always living out
His life, thinking and choosing in our mortal
bodies.
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him." 1 John 416
Our second preposition talks about us abiding in
love. Our third preposition tells us that the
one abiding in love does in fact abide in God.
So what does this description begin to reinforce?
10
To this point we need to see that there is a
critical and intimate relationship between
CHOOSING to love, especially when it is not easy,
Gods love abiding in us, and remaining in that
love so that Gods love can be completed in is.
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides
in him." 1 John 416
It is really simple when you think about it.
If you dont choose to remain in Gods agape
love, in what are you choosing to remain?
SELF-LOVE!
Do you know why it is critical for us to CHOOSE
to remain in love?
And self-love always brings self-destruction and
torture with it. God is pretty smart in the
things that He tells us.
Our last preposition tells us that if we remain
in love, we will remain in God and God will
remain in us does that sound like association?
11
That process doesnt happen over night. It is
often time consuming and painful, but necessary.
And if you will follow the Holy Spirit through
that process, you will end up dying to yourself
and living that love from God that frees us to
live properly with others.
You can shut it down any time you like and go
back to loving yourself with obvious
consequences and forfeitures.
Lets make sure we understand this.
Let look at the verse again.
There is a process in which we may participate,
which if we choose to remain beyond introductory
stages and stay the course, God will purify us of
our tendencies to self-awareness and self-love,
to the discovery of Kingdom satisfaction and life!
12
"We have come to know and have believed the love
which God has for (in) us. God is love, and the
one who abides in love abides in God, and God
abides in him." 1 John 416
Doesnt that make the most amazing sense now?