Trinity/After Pentecost · The First Sunday after Trinity
1 John 4:16-21
God’s Love and Ours
June 7, 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 Enduring Word · David Guzik
Verse by verse study of God as love and love made perfect.
1 John 4:16 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentators gathered on abiding in the love of God.
1 John Commentaries & Sermons Precept Austin
A deep collection of study links and sermons covering 1 John 4.
Barnes' Notes: 1 John 4 StudyLight
A historic verse by verse commentary on the passage.
Background & Word Study
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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