1 John 4:16 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

¹⁶ And we have known [with certainty] and have believed [with assurance] that God has truly loved us. God’s [very nature] is love and the person who [continually] loves [Him and others] lives in [fellowship with] God [continually], and God [continually] lives in that person’s heart.

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁶ 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.

American Standard Version (1901)

¹⁶ And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him.

Common English Bible

¹⁶ We have known and have believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them.

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him.

Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version

¹⁶ And we have known, and have believed the charity, which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:16 Cross References

John 6:69

And we apostles have believed [in you] and know that you are God’s Holy One.”

John 9:3

Jesus answered, “[It was] neither his sin nor his parents’ [sin], but [it happened] so that the deeds of God could be seen in his life.

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written [Isa. 64:4], “The things which no eye saw or ear heard, and which did not [even] enter the mind of men, is what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 John 3:1

Look at how much love the Father has shown to us [Christians], that we should be called His children! But, that is what we [really] are! The reason the people of the world do not know who we are is because they do not know who God [really] is.

1 John 3:16

Here is how we can know what [God’s] genuine love really is: It was [demonstrated by] Jesus laying down His life [on the cross] for us. And [because of that] we [too] should [be willing to] lay down our lives for [the sake of helping] our brothers [and sisters].

1 John 3:24

And God lives in the heart of the person who [continually] obeys His commands, and he lives in [fellowship with] God. And here is [another] way we know that God lives in our hearts: It is by [means of] the Holy Spirit, whom God gave to us. [See Rom. 8:9, 11; James 4:5; I Cor. 6:19].

1 John 4:7

Loved ones, we should have love for one another, because love comes from [the very nature of] God, and every person who [continually] loves [others] has been [spiritually] conceived by God [See 2:29; 3:9], and knows [he is in fellowship with] God.