1 John 4:9-19

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ¹God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

10 In this is love, ²not that we have loved God ³but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ⁴the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12 ⁵No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ⁶his love is perfected in us.

13 ⁷By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

14 And ⁸we have seen and testify that ⁹the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ¹⁰the world.

15 ¹¹Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16 So ¹²we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ¹³God is love, and ¹⁴whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

17 By this ¹⁵is love perfected with us, so that ¹⁶we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ¹⁷as he is so also are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love, but ¹⁸perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ¹⁹been perfected in love.

19 ²⁰We love because he first loved us.