1 John 4:7 (WEB)

Passage

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.

1 John 4:6 We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.

1 John 4:8 He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:9 By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "beloved", "another", "everyone", "loves", "been", and "born". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "beloved" and "another", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "We are of God He who knows..." into verse 8's "He who doesn t love doesn t...", so "beloved" and "another" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "beloved" and "another" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.