Most people are aware that God loves the world. Even people who rarely ever have a God thought have heard that God loves. They are familiar with 1 John 4:16 and John 3:16 even if they could never find these verses in a Bible. Born-again sons and daughters of God know that God is love and can quote John 3:16 easily.
1 John 4:16 NIV
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
John 3:16 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
If the knowledge that God is love and God loves us is so widespread, why do so many live as if we are not loved? Why do we question God’s love for us? Why do we wonder about God’s love for us when we miss the mark? Why are so many fearful? Why do we live under a sense of impending doom? Why do we have what has been called an “orphan spirit?” I believe it is because, although we know God loves the world, we are not completely convinced that God loves us. Yes, I know God loves the world…but does He really love me, specifically? Here is what the Amplified Bible says in 1 John 4.
1 John 4:16 AMPC
And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.
Here the word “know” is expanded to include 1) understand, 2) recognize, and 3) are conscious of by observation and experience. The word “believe” is expanded to 1) adhere to, 2) put faith in, 3) rely on. And my favorite expansion is the use of the word “cherish” in the Amplified for “has” in the NIV and other translations. Just thinking that God “cherishes” His love for me changes the entire picture.
First, let’s take a look at knowing the love of God as understanding, recognizing and being conscious by observation and experience of that love. The famous “love” passage in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives us help in understanding God’s love. Often almost trivialized, this passage is raw and gritty. It is also the nuts and bolts of living here on earth with other people. This passage describes God. If God is love and love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, these verses describe God and they depict the God kind of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 AMPC
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
If we understood these statements of truth about God and His love for us, would there be room for fear? Would we doubt His love when we sin? Would we be harassed by the orphan spirit? Understanding God’s love for me includes understanding His patience towards me. It includes knowing that God would never lose his temper with me. It includes knowing that God will be kind to me and not rude when I might rightly deserve a rude awakening. I have heard it said that you should read this passage out loud and replace the word “love” with “God.” There is a lot of power in the spoken word of God – especially when you speak it to yourself.
The Amplified version of 1 John 4:16 also includes recognizing God’s love for us. The single best way to recognize the love of God is in the life of Jesus from the last supper to the resurrection. Paul said this to the Romans.
Romans 5:8 AMPC
But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.
The most graphic and obvious demonstration of the love of God was Jesus, tortured at the whipping post, and dying by the horrific process of crucifixion. Beloved, we need to recognize the love of God in the price He paid for us. We need to esteem and honor the sacrifice that is clearly observable at the cross. We must not gloss over this or assign it to just a component of Christian doctrine. It is the moment of God’s most extreme loss and pain in all the ages of ages. It is also the moment of the exhibition of God’s greatest love for you and me. Pay attention to the cross, beloved. Don’t forget about it in all your busy life. Keep it in the forefront of your consciousness.
And then, the word “know” is expanded to “by observation and experience.” We need the experience of the love of God. Paul told the Ephesians that we could know the love of God that passes knowledge. How does that work? How do you know a thing that passes knowledge?
Ephesians 3:17-19 AMPC
17 May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, 18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; 19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
“That you may really come to know – practically and for experience for yourself – the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience…”
Just to be honest, I have been camped here for a few years. Knowing past knowledge involves an experience. According to the passage above, there is an experience or a manifestation of Presence. Love comes and hangs out for a while. I have spent my life as a Christian studying the Word for the purpose of building faith and knowing Jesus. I have sought to know Jesus in His word. I have the Word, I have truth. I believe this is right and good and I will continue to do this. But, I did not look for visions, dreams, experiences, or manifestations. I considered them inferior to just communing with Papa in His word. Until Holy Spirit showed me this verse and the knowing beyond knowing by experience and manifestation, I was not convinced that I could enjoy an experience of being flooded by Presence to solidify my knowledge of the love of God. Now it appears to me from verse 19 that experience is superior to lack of experience.
Let’s move on to believing the love that God has for us, because that is also important.
1 John 4:16 AMPC
And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.
So, I am convinced now that experiences with Love are awesome, but faith is also a part of knowing God loves me.
In the Amplified version, believe is expanded to “adhere.” Adhere means to stick to something. John is saying that we should stick to the knowledge of God’s love. Since we a sticking to something much larger and stronger than us (Papa God), adhering can also be leaning on. I believe you could use the word “cling” and not lose the true meaning here. As the parenthetical phase goes on “rely on” is included. This reminds of Jesus’ words as recorded by Matthew in his gospel.
Matthew 11:28-30 ERV
28 Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. 29 Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. 30 Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”
I believe Jesus helps us believe. I believe He wants us to rely on Him for everything, including believing (see Hebrews 12:1 -2). I believe we are never alone and never on our own (see Hebrews 13:5b). Having trouble knowing and believing God loves us? Struggling against that nasty orphan spirit? Run to Jesus and rely on Him.
The last word I want to focus on from 1 John 4:16 is the word “cherish.” A while back, I was in church worshiping Jesus with my brothers and sisters in Christ when Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly. It was not an audible voice, but it was clear. He said, “there is someone here today who thinks that they are hard for Me to love. They think I love them, but it is hard for Me. Tell them that is a lie. Tell them they are easy to love.” I went to my pastor and told him I believed I had a word for someone, and he graciously gave me the microphone. I just told the congregation what I heard from Holy Spirit. Later in the day, it was confirmed to me that there was, in fact, someone in the congregation who received that as a word from God. I still tear up when I think of a precious child of God actually thinking that they are “hard to love.” That is a lie from the pit of hell. The scripture says here that God “cherishes” the love that He has for us. You and I are not hard to love! God does not labor over loving us! We are easy to love. God loves the love He has for us! At this point, I want to present John 3:16 in the Amplified version. It is so precious and really drives the point home.
John 3:16 AMPC
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
Imagine God prizing the love He has for the world. He prizes and cherishes the love that He has for us. Yes, He loves the world. But He loves each person in the world. He loves me. He loves you. I encourage you to read and reread 1 John 4:16 in the Amplified version. Pray over it. Meditate over it. Ask Holy Spirit to enliven and enlighten you to the truths of God’s love for you, individually. Ask Him for those experiences and manifestations of His love and His presence. Reject the orphan spirit. Reject fear, threat, and dread. Receive the love God cherishes for you.
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