1 John 4:16 16And we ourselves have come to know and believe the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God and God remains in him.
John uses two significant perfect-tense verbs in this verse to indicate that he and others came to know and believe in God’s love at some point in the past, and that they have remained so. The stress in these verbs is more on the present continuation of that decision. Love was the primary characteristic of the eyewitnesses, who fulfilled Jesus’ command to them (John 13:35). John shared this command with the readers because it should also be their defining trait. The type of knowledge to which John refers here is not only intellectual, although this is important in many ways, but also experiential and relational. We can learn about God, but that learning must be expressed in faith and obedience. We can study about love, read many books, even the Bible, yet not really know deeply within our inner person what love is. Likewise, we can say we experience love but lack a firm foundation for knowing God, particularly through God’s self-revelation in the Bible. Experiential knowledge and active faith go together to lead to Christian maturity.
The love they had was not human-sourced but from God. As we come to know and experience God’s love, we find that it is fathomless and endless. We can always learn more about God’s ways and experience more of the love God has for us. The challenge is what it means to remain, dwell, or abide in love. Love is the highest form of obedience and the primary and highest command from God. When we love, we come to know the nature of God more. God loves all people. However, it is up to each person to receive and come to know about that love. God loves the whole world—every person—because God is love. But God will not force his love upon us because love is always a freewill decision. Obedience indicates our love for God. Our obedience is also only faith in action.