1 John 4:16

16 And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him.

1 John 4:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 4:16

And we have known and believed
Or have a full assurance and knowledge of, and faith in,

the love that God hath to us;
shown as in many instances, so more especially in sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, to be the Saviour of us, and that we might live through him.

God is love; (See Gill on 1 John 4:8):

and he that dwelleth in love;
who dwells by faith upon the love of God as displayed in Christ, and abides in the exercise of love to God and to the saints:

dwelleth in God, and God in him; (See Gill on 1 John 4:13); the last clause, "and God in him", is left out in the Syriac version.

1 John 4:16 In-Context

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [to be the] Savior of the world.

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

16 And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him.

17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as that one is, [so] also are we in this world.

18 [There] is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear includes punishment, and the one who is afraid has not been perfected in love.