1 John 4:8
King James Version
28 Jul 2026
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
ἀγαπάω
Love, to love deeply.
Agapaō.
John declares that whoever does not love has not known God, grounding knowledge of God in the practice of love itself. The absence of love is not merely a moral failure but evidence of not knowing him.
You cannot claim to know God while withholding love.
θεός
God
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θεός
Source, nature, origin. Theos.
John does not say God has love, but that God is love — love is not one of his attributes but his very essence. To not know love is to not know him at all.
You cannot separate knowing God from loving.
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γινώσκω
Know
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γινώσκω
Perceived, understood, come to know. Ginōskō. John makes a stark claim: whoever does not love has not known God, because God is love. Knowing here is not intellectual agreement but lived reality proven by love. You cannot possess what you do not practice.
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εἰμί
is.
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εἰμί
Being, existence, essence.
Estin.
John does not say God acts lovingly or commands love — he says God is love, making love inseparable from God's nature. The one who does not love has not known this God.
What you know of God will show in how you love.
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