TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers 1 John 4:14–16. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
Since faith in Christ works love to God, and love to God must kindle love to the brethren, the apostle here confirms the prime article of the Christian faith as the foundation of such love. Here,
I.He proclaims the fundamental article of the Christian religion, which is so representative of the love of God:
And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, Jo1 4:14. We here see,
1.The Lord Jesus's relation to God; he is Son to the Father, such a Son as no one else is, and so as to be God with the Father.
2.His relation and office towards us - the Saviour of the world; he saves us by his death, example, intercession, Spirit, and power against the enemies of our salvation.
3.The ground on which he became so - by the mission of him: The Father sent the Son, he decreed and willed his coming hither, in and with the consent of the Son.
4.The apostle's assurance of this - he and his brethren had seen it; they had seen the Son of God in his human nature, in his holy converse and works, in his transfiguration on the mount, and in his death, resurrection from the dead, and royal ascent to heaven; they had so seen him as to be satisfied that he was the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
5.The apostle's attestation of this, in pursuance of such evidence: "We have seen and do testify. The weight of this truth obliges us to testify it; the salvation of the world lies upon it. The evidence of the truth warrants us to testify it; our eyes, and ears, and hands, have been witnesses of it." Thereupon,
II.The apostle states the excellency, or the excellent privilege attending the due acknowledgment of this truth:
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God, Jo1 4:15. This confession seems to include faith in the heart as the foundation of it, acknowledgment with the mouth to the glory of God and Christ, and profession in the life and conduct, in opposition to the flatteries or frowns of the world. Thus no man says that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost, by the external attestation and internal operation of the Holy Ghost, Co1 12:3. And so he who thus confesses Christ, and God in him, is enriched with or possessed by the Spirit of God, and has a complacential knowledge of God and much holy enjoyment of him. Then,
III.The apostle applies this in order to the excitation of holy love.
God's love is thus seen and exerted in Christ Jesus; and thus have we known and believed the love that God hath to us, Jo1 4:16. The Christian revelation is, what should endear it to us, the revelation of the divine love; the articles of our revealed faith are but so many articles relating to the divine love. The history of the Lord Christ is the history of God's love to us; all his transactions in and with his Son were but testifications of his love to us, and means to advance us to the love of God: God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, Co2 5:19. Hence we may learn,
1.That God is love (Jo1 4:16); he is essential boundless love; he has incomparable incomprehensible love for us of this world, which he has demonstrated in the mission and mediation of his beloved Son. It is the great objection and prejudice against the Christian revelation that the love of God should be so strange and unaccountable as to give his own eternal Son for us; it is the prejudice of many against the eternity and the deity of the Son that so great a person should be given for us. It is, I confess, mysterious and unsearchable; but there are unsearchable riches in Christ. It is a pity that the vastness of the divine love should be made a prejudice against the revelation and the belief of it. But what will not God do when he designs to demonstrate the height of any perfection of his? When he would show somewhat of his power and wisdom, he makes such a world as this; when he would show more of his grandeur and glory, he makes heaven for the ministering spirits that are before the throne. What will he not do then when he designs to demonstrate his love, and to demonstrate his highest love, or that he himself is love, or that love is one of the most bright, dear, transcendent, operative excellencies of his unbounded nature; and to demonstrate this not only to us, but to the angelic world, and to the principalities and powers above, and this not for our surprise for a while, but for the admiration, and praise, and adoration, and felicity, of our most exalted powers to all eternity? What will not God then do? Surely then it will look more agreeable to the design, and grandeur, and pregnancy of his love (if I may so call it) to give an eternal Son for us, than to make a Son on purpose for our relief. In such a dispensation as that of giving a natural, essential, eternal Son for us and to us, he will commend his love to us indeed; and what will not the God of love do when he designs to commend his love, and to commend it in the view of heaven, and earth, and hell, and when he will commend himself and recommend himself to us, and to our highest conviction, and also affection, as love itself? And what if it should appear at last (which I shall only offer to the consideration of the judicious) that the divine love, and particularly God's love in Christ, should be the foundation of the glories of heaven, in the present enjoyment of those ministering spirits that comported with it, and of the salvation of this world, and of the torments of hell? This last will seem most strange. But what if therein it should appear not only that God is love to himself, in vindicating his own law, and government, and love, and glory, but that the damned ones are made so, or are so punished,
(1.)Because they despised the love of God already manifested and exhibited.
(2.)Because they refused to be beloved in what was further proposed and promised.
(3.)Because they made themselves unmeet to be the objects of divine complacency and delight? If the conscience of the damned should accuse them of these things, and especially of rejecting the highest instance of divine love, and if the far greatest part of the intelligent creation should be everlastingly blessed through the highest instance of the divine love, then may it well be inscribed upon the whole creation of God, God is love.
2.That hereupon he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him, Jo1 4:16. There is great communion between the God of love and the loving soul; that is, him who loves the creation of God, according to its different relation to God, and reception from him and interest in him. He that dwells in sacred love has the love God shed abroad upon his heart, has the impress of God upon his spirit, the Spirit of God sanctifying and sealing him, lives in the meditation, views, and tastes of the divine love, and will ere long go to dwell with God for ever.
Historical interpretation
Six Centuries of Reception
3 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
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"And we have seen, and are witnesses, that God hath sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world." Set your minds at rest, ye that are sick: such a Physician is come, and do ye despair? Great were the diseases, incurable were the wounds, desperate was the sickness. Dost thou note the greatness of thine ill, and not note the omnipotence of the Physician? Thou art desperate, but He is omnipotent; Whose witnesses are these that first were healed, and that announce the Physician: yet even they are made whole in hope rather than in the reality. For so saith the apostle: "For by hope we are saved." We have begun therefore to be made whole in faith: but our wholeness shall be perfected "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality." This is hope, not the reality. But he that rejoiceth in hope shall hold the reality also: whereas he that hath not the hope, shall not be able to attain unto the reality.
And we have seen and testify, etc. Let no one despair of salvation, because although the diseases of crimes that weigh one down are great, the omnipotent physician has come to save. Yet let each remember that the same Son of God who came gently to save, will come sternly to judge.
No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son as the Savior of the world.
We have also said before that it is customary for this blessed man to repeat the same things about them, and to wish to instill the habits of what is said in those who are being taught, and to lead the discourse to what is clearer and more perfect. For by approaching in one way and another from those things that are seen in reality, and as if fulfilling what is lacking in the discourse, John makes a most perfect demonstration of what is said. According to this instruction, even now using discourse, he says:
"No one has ever seen God." For in making a discourse about love for the brethren, he had brought forth God as an example, who gave His only begotten Son to death, because of the love He had for us: it was therefore fitting that someone would say: And how or in what way do you say this about invisible and incomprehensible things, and you confirm to us what no one has ever known? Therefore, responding to those who would speak thus, John himself says: Indeed, no one has ever seen God, and I also assert: but from mutual love for us, we know that God is in us. And he speaks rightly. For we certainly perceive many things that are invisible to us through actions. Indeed, just as no one has seen the soul, yet we discern its existence through actions and movements within us: in the same way, we recognize God's love for us, as if through a certain motion and operation. If this is not absurd, then this man also shows God to be present in us through actions beyond dignity. And what is this operation? Pure and sincere love for one's neighbor.
For this is effective and has no defect, when it is pure. This is the sign that we abide in Him and He in us, which He has also given us through His Spirit. For He who is pure grants us purity and is perfect from all filth. Therefore, since we communicate with Him through pure love, we also, He says, who have seen Him according to the flesh, have known Him, and we testify that the Father sent Him as the Savior of the world. But besides our own knowledge, He also instructed us, leading us more perfectly into this understanding, when He said: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world." (Jn. 16:28) This pertains to the fact that He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world for our love. Again, He made it clearer to others: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish.” (Jn. 3:16) And: “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (Jn. 12:47) Therefore, we have, from our own sight, He says, and from the teaching of the Only Begotten who is in the bosom of the Father (Jn. 1:18), as it is said in the Gospels, and from the operation through mutual love, that God is in us, and He has given us of His Spirit, and we participate with Him.
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Summary
First John 4:14 serves as a profound apostolic declaration, asserting the eyewitness testimony of the apostles regarding God's ultimate act of love: sending His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. This verse encapsulates the core of the Christian gospel, affirming Christ's divine origin and His universal mission as the promised Deliverer and Redeemer for all humanity, thereby providing a foundational truth for discerning genuine faith from false teaching.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is strategically placed within a crucial section of John's first epistle that emphasizes the necessity of discerning truth from error, particularly concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Prior to 1 John 4:14, John urges believers to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) to identify those that confess "that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2), distinguishing them from antichrist spirits. The passage then transitions to highlight the source of true love and truth: God Himself. John declares that "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and demonstrates this love by sending His Son as "the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Verse 14, therefore, acts as a climactic eyewitness affirmation of this divine act, solidifying the theological basis for the love and truth John has been expounding.
Historical & Cultural Context
First John was likely written in Ephesus towards the end of the first century, a period marked by the rise of proto-Gnostic teachings. These nascent heresies often denied the true humanity of Jesus, asserting that He only seemed to have a physical body (Docetism) or that the divine Christ descended upon the human Jesus at His baptism and departed before His crucifixion. Such beliefs undermined the efficacy of Christ's atoning sacrifice. John's epistle, including 1 John 4, directly counters these errors by stressing the tangible reality of Jesus' incarnation ("come in the flesh") and the historical fact of His mission. The emphasis on "we have seen and do testify" grounds the Christian message in verifiable historical experience, countering the abstract, spiritualized claims of the false teachers.
Key Themes
1 John 4:14 powerfully contributes to several overarching themes in the epistle. Firstly, it reinforces the theme of Apostolic Witness and Authority, grounding the Christian message not in speculation but in the direct experience of those who walked with Jesus. Secondly, it underscores God's Initiating Love, emphasizing that salvation is not a human endeavor but a divine gift, flowing from God's own nature as love, as seen in 1 John 4:9-10. Thirdly, the verse highlights the Incarnation and Atonement of Christ, affirming Jesus' unique identity as "the Son" sent by the Father for the specific purpose of being "the Saviour of the world," a truth central to the gospel message articulated throughout the New Testament, such as in John 3:16. Finally, it strongly asserts the Universal Scope of Salvation, declaring that Christ's saving work extends to the entire "world," demonstrating God's boundless grace and redemptive plan for all humanity.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This verb denotes a close, careful, and often prolonged looking, implying a deep perception and observation rather than a casual glance. When used by the apostles, it signifies their direct, personal, and verifiable experience of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection, providing an authoritative basis for their testimony.
This term means "to send out" with a specific commission, purpose, or authority. It is not merely a physical dispatch but implies a divine appointment and delegation of a crucial mission. Here, it underscores the Father's sovereign initiative and intentionality in sending the Son, emphasizing Christ's divine authority and the specific redemptive purpose of His coming.
Derived from the verb "to save" (sōzō), this noun refers to a deliverer, preserver, or rescuer. In the context of the New Testament, it signifies Jesus' unique role as the one who brings spiritual deliverance from sin, death, and God's wrath, offering reconciliation and eternal life. It encapsulates the entirety of His redemptive work for humanity.
Verse Breakdown
"And we have seen and do testify"
This opening clause establishes the authoritative foundation of the apostolic message. The "we" refers to John and his fellow apostles, who were eyewitnesses to the life, miracles, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Their testimony is not based on hearsay or speculation but on direct, personal observation and experience. The present tense "do testify" indicates a continuing, active proclamation of this truth.
"that the Father sent the Son"
This phrase reveals the divine origin and initiative of salvation. It highlights the pre-existence of the Son and His unique relationship with the Father. The Father's act of "sending" implies a deliberate, purposeful commission, underscoring the divine plan for humanity's redemption and the Son's obedience to that plan.
"[to be] the Saviour of the world"
This final clause specifies the precise purpose and universal scope of the Son's mission. Jesus was sent not merely as a teacher or prophet, but as the ultimate "Saviour," the one who delivers humanity from the bondage and consequences of sin. The phrase "of the world" emphasizes the boundless reach of God's redemptive love, extending beyond any national or ethnic boundaries to encompass all of fallen humanity.
Literary Devices
The verse employs several powerful literary devices. Eyewitness Testimony is central, as the phrase "we have seen and do testify" grounds the theological assertion in verifiable, historical experience, lending undeniable authority and credibility to the apostles' message. This is further reinforced by the nature of the statement as a Confession of Faith or Declaration, a concise, unambiguous articulation of a core Christian belief. The use of Divine Commissioning through "the Father sent the Son" highlights God's sovereign agency and intentionality in the plan of salvation, emphasizing that this is a divine initiative, not a human one. Finally, the phrase "Saviour of the world" utilizes Universalism or Global Scope, broadening the redemptive message beyond a specific group to encompass all of humanity, underscoring the expansive nature of God's love and Christ's saving work.
Theological and Thematic Connections
First John 4:14 encapsulates a profound theological truth: God's active, self-giving love is the driving force behind human salvation, manifested supremely in the sending of His Son. This verse connects the historical reality of Jesus' incarnation with His divine mission, affirming both His true humanity (as seen by the apostles) and His unique deity (as the Son sent by the Father). It underscores that salvation is not earned but received as a gift, initiated by God's sovereign will and designed to address the universal plight of sin. The apostolic testimony serves as the reliable foundation upon which believers can confidently place their faith, knowing that the message of Christ as the world's Saviour is rooted in verifiable truth and divine purpose.
Reflection and Application
The profound declaration in 1 John 4:14 offers immense assurance and a clear call to action for every believer. It reminds us that the bedrock of our faith is not a philosophical construct or a human invention, but a divine reality rooted in God's eternal love and executed through the historical person of Jesus Christ. Understanding that the Father Himself "sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" should fill us with unwavering confidence in our salvation, knowing it rests on God's perfect plan and not our imperfect efforts. This truth compels us to live lives of gratitude, worship, and humble obedience. Furthermore, as recipients of this glorious salvation, we are called to echo the apostles' testimony, sharing the good news of Christ with a world desperately in need of His saving grace, recognizing the universal scope of His redemptive work. Our lives, transformed by His love, become a living witness to the truth we have embraced.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean that "we have seen and do testify"?
This phrase emphasizes the eyewitness testimony of the apostles, particularly John, who personally observed Jesus' life, ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection. It means their proclamation about Jesus is not based on hearsay, speculation, or myth, but on direct, verifiable experience. This lends immense authority and credibility to their message, affirming that the Christian faith is grounded in historical facts. The "do testify" indicates their ongoing commitment to proclaiming this truth.
Why is it significant that "the Father sent the Son"?
This is profoundly significant because it highlights the divine initiative in salvation. It means that humanity's redemption was not a human invention or a response to human effort, but a deliberate act of God's sovereign will and love. It also affirms the pre-existence of the Son and His unique, eternal relationship with the Father. The Father's act of "sending" implies a specific divine commission for the Son to accomplish the work of salvation. This concept is foundational to understanding God's active role in reconciling humanity to Himself, as seen in passages like John 3:17.
What is the meaning of "Saviour of the world"?
"Saviour of the world" means that Jesus Christ's redemptive work is comprehensive and universal in its scope. He is the deliverer, rescuer, and preserver not just for a select group or nation, but for all of fallen humanity. This phrase underscores God's boundless love and His desire for all people to be saved, as expressed in 1 Timothy 2:4. It signifies that His atoning sacrifice and resurrection provide the means of salvation for anyone, anywhere, who believes in Him, offering deliverance from sin, death, and separation from God.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
1 John 4:14 finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the very person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the "Son" eternally begotten of the Father, who, in an unparalleled act of divine love, was "sent" into the world. This "sending" is the Incarnation itself, where the pre-existent Word became flesh (John 1:14) to dwell among us, fulfilling prophecies like Isaiah 7:14. Jesus' entire earthly ministry, culminating in His sacrificial death on the cross and triumphant resurrection, was the embodiment of His mission "to be the Saviour of the world." He perfectly fulfilled the Father's will, offering Himself as the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2), thereby delivering humanity from the bondage of sin and death. His universal saving work, extended to "the world," demonstrates that His redemptive power knows no bounds, making salvation available to all who believe, a truth echoed in Romans 10:9-13. Thus, 1 John 4:14 is not merely a historical statement but a living testament to Christ's divine identity, redemptive purpose, and universal reign as the Lord and Saviour of all.