God is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Read on BibleGatewayGod Is Love
Key Verse 12: No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
V7-8
What do verses 7-8 teach us about love? How is this different from the world’s view of love? Why do you think there is such a large gap between the Bible’s definition of love and the world’s?
Why should we love one another according to V7? Can someone who doesn't love know God? Why/why not?
V9-10.
What does it mean that the love of God was made manifest? How was God's love manifested among us? What does it mean that Jesus is the “propitiation” for our sins?
Why do you think this order is emphasized: not that we loved God, but that God loved us?
V11-12.
What should we do if we acknowledge that God so loved us? (11) How can God be seen in our lives? (12)