1 John 4:12-16 (NKJV) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
V12 “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” Compare Isaiah 6:1, Job 42:5, and Genesis 16:13. Did they see God? What about Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). If so, is the Apostle John mistaken, ignorant, or lying? Personally, I believe that no one has seen God the Father’s face (Exodus 33:20). All other sightings are of the Lord Jesus as God or as the Angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord may be God or an angel. Context tells us the difference. In Joshua 5:13-15 and Judges 13, it is God for He is worshipped or it is stated. Jesus clarifies also in John 1:18. God’s face is not seen until the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 22:4). No human, spirit, or idol has such glory. Compare Matthew 17:1-8, where they saw a bright cloud and heard the voice. They did see Jesus.
V13 “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” Yet, we know He lives in us (Romans 8:9-11), because we have met His conditions for salvation and justification. Paul is clear that if someone is not a Christian, they do not have the Spirit (Romans 8:9-11).
V14 “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” They have seen Jesus, heard and saw all that He did and what happened. They were witnesses, for they saw and heard God’s testimony (Luke 9:28-36). Their testimony has proven true. The Father sent Messiah because of His great love and Jesus’s great love for fallen humanity (all of them) to provide salvation as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus was and is the only qualified human being to be the Savior. The word “world” refers to all humans, not just the elect.
V15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” If we confess, then we reveal that truth by the way we live. The Greek word “confess” is (G3670) ὁμολογέω homologéō, which means to say the same thing, that is, to assent. It is used in the sense of admission or confession in that we say the same thing. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God. John says Jesus is the Son of God. If we say so also genuinely, then we are confessing, saying the same thing. See Matthew 10:32, Matthew 14:7, John 1:20, and 1 John 1:9.
V16 “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” We are branches on the vine (John 15:1-5). Abiding means living the Christian faith, getting our daily food from the Bible, praying, and fellowshipping with fellow believers.
We learn:
- God is invisible
- Our sin hides us from seeing God
- God loves us
- God wants all to be saved
- God wants us to grow in faith