No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
Parallel translations
- WEB No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
- KJV No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- 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.
- NASB No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
- NLT No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
No one has ever seen God, but when believers love one another, God lives in them and his love reaches its goal. Our love makes the unseen God visible.
Overview
Echoing John 1:18, this verse notes that God is invisible, yet his presence is made evident through the mutual love of his people. 'His love has been perfected' means God's love attains its intended purpose as it works itself out in the community of believers. Christian love thus becomes a tangible witness to a watching world of the God it cannot see.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- John 1:18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- 1 Jn 2:5But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
- 1 Jn 4:17–18In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him.
- 1 Tim 6:16He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
- 1 Jn 4:20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- 1 Jn 3:24Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
- Exod 33:20But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
- 1 Jn 4:6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
- Heb 11:27By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.
- Num 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
- Gen 32:30So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- 1 Tim 1:17Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Cor 13:13And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 4:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.