1 John 4:12 12No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love has been perfected in us.
This verse addresses two key issues that plague humanity today: the existence of God and the tension and struggle between humans. John joins these two together in this one verse. On the one hand, God is beyond human comprehension. The verb seen (tetheatai) is a strong word that can mean behold or look intently at. God is holy and beyond human comprehension. God’s holiness makes God unapproachable except through grace. On the other hand, evidence of God’s existence comes by experiencing God’s love through loving relationships with others.
These points have two implications. First, on the negative side, we deny God’s existence if we do not show love to our brothers and sisters (plural one another), and even to non-believers (our “neighbor” or our “enemy”). If anything is wrong in relationships that hinder or block love, then we are denying God’s presence and existence to those around us. Sadly, people have rejected God because of the behavior of Christians. Our greatest witness to being a follower of Jesus is how we love (John 13:35). Second, on the positive side, our testimony through loving relationships powerfully shows that there is a God who loves us and offers us eternal life through his Son. God’s presence in our lives flows out into how we live and interact with others.
Two results happen in us (en hymin) when we show love to one another. First, God dwells in us. John gives no further description of this here, but remaining, abiding, and living (menei) in the presence of God is a key theme in this letter and is repeated numerous times. God dwells within us through the Holy Spirit, who speaks, guides, and convicts us of the path of light. Second, by loving one another, God’s love is perfected (teteleiōmenē) in us. The verb is in the perfect tense, showing both the crisis (momentary) and the process (continuous) aspects of sanctification. The perfecting of God’s love is another way of saying the fulfilling of God’s purpose for us on earth: to know God’s love and experience it in relationships with others. Adam and Eve had this in the Garden of Eden, but lost it when they rejected God’s love in exchange for the fruit of self-glorification. The love of self that supersedes love for God and others is a dangerous path that finally leads to self-destruction. The love of God empowers us to follow God’s intended path for us of loving relationships with others.