Christmas · Christmas Eve · Year B
1 John 4:7-16
God’s Love and Ours
December 24, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God.” (1 John 4:7)
There is little agreement among those who have made a serious study of 1 John as to how to divide 1 John 4:7–5:4, but most have understood 4:7–12 to center around God’s love for us and, in response, our love for one another. It is likely that the opponents of the Elder had stressed their love for God (cf. 4:10, 20), their devotion, piety, and mystical spirituality (cf. 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9; 3:18; 4:1). But the Elder thinks that it is God’s love for human beings which is foundational. It is the basis of love for one another and of any claim to love for God.
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Commentary
1 John 4 Commentary: Abiding in God and His Love Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse by verse commentary on abiding in the God who is love.
1 John 4:7-21 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed reading of God as the fountain and source of the love we show one another.
1 John 4:7 Commentary | Precept Austin Precept Austin
Verse by verse study notes and word studies beginning at 1 John 4:7.
1 John 4:7 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic and modern commentaries compiled side by side for 1 John 4:7.
Background & Word Study
Books of 1-3 John - Enter the Bible Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary background on the setting and themes of the Letters of John.
Books of 1-3 John Overview BibleProject
Animated overview video tracing the message and design of 1, 2, and 3 John.
1 John 4:7 Interlinear Bible BibleHub
Greek text of 1 John 4:7 with parsing, transliteration, and Strong's numbers for word study.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What does it mean that God is love?
God showed his love by sending his only Son so that we might live through him; because he first loved us, those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them.
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