1 John 4
Test the Spirits 1–6
God Is Love 7–12
Assurance Through the Spirit 13–16
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear 17–18
The Basis and Proof of Love 19–21
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Study Notes for 1 John 4
Verse 1
try the spirits — Dokimazo is to test and then approve, as gold is 'tried with fire' (1 Pet 1:7); Paul uses the same verb in 'Prove all things' (1 Thess 5:21). The need was foretold: 'many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many' (Matt 24:11). The test follows in vv.2–3.
Verse 2
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh — Homologeo is to acknowledge openly, as in 'if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus' (Rom 10:9). 'In the flesh' (sarx) points to the Word who 'was made flesh' (John 1:14), and the confession is the mark of the Spirit of God.
Verse 3
spirit of antichrist — Antichristos occurs only in John's letters, five times in four verses (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). 'Ye have heard' looks back to 2:18, and the mark is the same as in 2:22: denying Jesus as the Christ. John says it is not only to come but 'even now already is it in the world'.
Verse 4
greater is he that is in you — 'Have overcome' (nikao) is in the perfect tense: the victory stands as done. It follows Christ's own word, 'I have overcome the world' (John 16:33), and 5:4 gives the means, 'our faith'. 'Little children' is teknion, John's tender form of address. The one in them is God, who 'hath given us' his Spirit (3:24).
Verse 6
the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error — 'Spirit of truth' is Christ's name for the Holy Spirit (John 14:17; 15:26); 'error' is plane, a leading astray. 'We' are the apostles, whose message is 'which we have heard' (1 John 1:1), and hearing them marks those who know God, as Christ's sheep 'hear my voice' (John 10:27).
Verse 7
love is of God — From here the verb agapao and the noun agape run through to v.21. 'Born of God' (gennao) is the new birth of 5:1, 'Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God'. The doctrinal test of vv.1–3 is joined to the test of love: whoever loves 'knoweth God'.
Verse 8
God is love — One of John's three plain statements of what God is, with 'God is light' (1 John 1:5) and 'God is a Spirit' (John 4:24). It is given as the reason for v.7, and is repeated in v.16. The one who does not love has not come to know God, because love belongs to his own being.
Verse 9
his only begotten Son — Monogenes, 'only-born', is used of Christ in John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18 and here, and of an only child in Luke 7:12; 8:42; 9:38, and of Isaac in Heb 11:17. 'Manifested' (phaneroo) is the word of 1:2, 'the life was manifested'. The purpose of the sending is 'that we might live through him'.
Verse 10
the propitiation for our sins — Hilasmos is the offering that turns away wrath and covers sin; it occurs only here and in 1 John 2:2. The related hilasterion is 'propitiation' in Rom 3:25 and the 'mercyseat' in Heb 9:5. Love is defined by where it began: 'not that we loved God, but that he loved us'.
Verse 11
we ought also to love — Opheilo is to owe, the word for a debt (Rom 13:8, 'Owe no man any thing, but to love one another'). John uses it again in 3:16, 'we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren'. The obligation rests on the measure of God's love: 'if God so loved us'.
Verse 12
No man hath seen God at any time — The words of John 1:18, where the Son 'hath declared him'; cf. 1 Tim 6:16. God is not seen, but his love is 'perfected' (teleioo, brought to its end) in believers who love one another, and 'dwelleth' (meno, abides) is the verb John uses of the mutual indwelling in vv.13, 15, 16.
Verse 13
he hath given us of his Spirit — The same assurance as in 3:24, 'by the Spirit which he hath given us'. 'Hath given' is in the perfect tense, a gift that remains. The mutual dwelling (meno, abide) is the language of vv.12, 15 and 16, and the gift of the Spirit is the evidence that it is so.
Verse 14
the Saviour of the world — 'We have seen and do testify' takes up the apostles' witness of 1:1–3, and 'testify' is martyreo, to bear witness. 'Sent the Son' repeats vv.9–10. 'Saviour of the world' is the title the Samaritans gave Christ after hearing him: 'this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world' (John 4:42).
Verse 16
we have known and believed — Both verbs are in the perfect tense: a settled knowledge and trust. 'God is love' restates v.8, and 'he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God' (meno, abide) takes up 3:24 and 4:13. The love is the one 'that God hath to us', shown in the sending of vv.9–10.
Verse 17
boldness in the day of judgment — Parrhesia, freedom to speak, confidence. John uses it four times in this letter: at Christ's coming (2:28), before God in the heart (3:21), here at the judgment, and in prayer (5:14). 'Made perfect' (teleioo) is the verb of v.12. The ground is Christ's own standing: 'as he is, so are we in this world'.
Verse 18
fear hath torment — 'Torment' is kolasis, punishment, which occurs elsewhere only in Matt 25:46, 'everlasting punishment'; the fear in view is of that judgment. 'Casteth out' is ballo… exo, to throw outside. Perfect love (teleios) has the confidence of v.17 and no place left for dread.
Verse 19
he first loved us — Protos, first in order. The verse sums up v.10, 'not that we loved God, but that he loved us', and Christ's word to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you' (John 15:16). The believer's love answers God's love and is not its cause.
Verse 20
he is a liar — Pseustes is a word John uses of those whose claims contradict their lives: of the one who says 'I know him' and breaks his commandments (2:4), and here. 'Hateth' (miseo) is what 3:15 calls murder. The argument runs from the brother 'whom he hath seen' to God 'whom he hath not seen'.
Verse 21
this commandment — Entole, a charge laid down by authority. It comes from Christ: 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another' (John 13:34). It also joins the two he named as the greatest, loving the Lord 'with all thy heart' and loving 'thy neighbour as thyself' (Matt 22:37–39; Lev 19:18).