1 John 4:16 (YLT)

Passage

and we--we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:14 And we--we have seen and do testify, that the Father hath sent the Son--Saviour of the world;

1 John 4:15 whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him doth remain, and he in God;

1 John 4:16 and we--we have known and believed the love, that God hath in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he doth remain, and God in him.

1 John 4:17 In this made perfect hath been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we--we also are in this world;

1 John 4:18 fear is not in the love, but the perfect love doth cast out the fear, because the fear hath punishment, and he who is fearing hath not been made perfect in the love;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "we--we", "known", "believed", "love", "hath", and "remaining". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "we--we" and "known", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "whoever may confess that Jesus is the..." into verse 17's "In this made perfect hath been the...", so "we--we" and "known" 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 "we--we" and "known" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.