There are three traps a lot of people fall into when they read this verse:
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. 1 John 4:16 NIV (emphasis added)
- Trap 1: We can take our modern definition of love and evaluate God against it.
- Trap 2: We can believe love is God’s only attribute.
- Trap 3 (For the Bible nerds among us): We can over-spiritualize the original languages.
We’ll explore each of these traps below and how they get in the way of what “God is love” actually means.
When the Bible says God is love, it’s saying that when we see God’s actions, we learn what love actually is. And we see God’s actions most clearly through Jesus.
Trap 1: We Let Our Culture Define Love Instead of God
The most common mistake we can make when we read “God is love” is assuming we already know what love means.
We pick up our definition of love from our family, experiences, culture, and stories we consume. Then we use our definition of love to evaluate God, which can get us into trouble.
- If we define love as unconditional acceptance, we wonder if He’s loving when we’re called to repentance.
- If we define love as working to make us happy, we wonder how He could love us when we suffer.
- If we define love as a feeling, we struggle to understand a God whose love remains faithful even when our feelings change.
John, the biblical author of this verse, doesn’t start by defining love and comparing God to it. He starts with God and lets God define love. That’s why, right after saying “God is love,” John points to Jesus. If we want to know what love looks like, we look at what God actually does.
And what do we find?
A love that:
- Welcomes people and tells them the truth.
- Forgives and calls people to change.
- Serves, sacrifices, and suffers for others.
Instead of asking whether God measures up to our idea of love, we begin asking whether our idea of love measures up to what we see in Jesus.
This helps us read “God is love” differently. Or at least it helps us redefine love, with Jesus as the centerpiece. Instead of asking whether God measures up to our idea of love, we begin asking whether our idea of love measures up to what we see in Jesus.
Trap 2: They Believe Love Is God’s Only Attribute
Another mistake we can make is treating “God is love” as if it’s the only thing the Bible says about God.
But earlier in the book, John also says “God is light.” So love is central to who God is, but it isn’t the whole picture. The Bible also describes God as holy, just, righteous, faithful, and merciful. None of those qualities compete with or contradict His love.
For example, God’s justice isn’t the opposite of His love. If God truly loves people, then evil, injustice, and the way we treat one another matter.
When we focus on only one attribute, we can end up creating a version of God that reflects our preferences more than the God revealed in Scripture.
The good news is that God doesn’t ask us to choose between His love and His other attributes. They all can work together perfectly.
We see that most clearly in Jesus. He welcomed “sinners,” showed compassion to the hurting, and forgave people who didn’t deserve it. He also confronted hypocrisy, spoke honestly about sin, and called people to follow Him.
The more we get to know the whole character of God, the more we understand what His love is actually like.
Trap 3 (For the Bible Nerds Among Us): They Over-Spiritualize the Original Languages
If you’ve spent much time in Bible studies, you’ve probably heard someone explain that the Greek word for love in this passage is agapē.
That can be helpful. The Bible wasn’t written in English, and understanding the original languages can add valuable context. The problem comes when we expect a single Greek word to carry the entire meaning of a passage.
You might hear that agapé is a special kind of divine love that is completely different from every other Greek word translated as “love.” While there are differences between these words, most biblical scholars would say the distinctions are often overstated.
The New Testament’s understanding of love comes from how its authors describe God’s actions, not from a secret meaning within a Greek word.
The meaning of a word comes from how people use it, not just from a dictionary entry. The New Testament’s understanding of love comes from how its authors describe God’s actions, not from a secret meaning within a Greek word.
Why does this matter? Because it means you don’t need a seminary degree or a Greek dictionary to understand what John is saying. John’s goal isn’t to turn us into language experts. It’s to point us to Jesus. If you want to understand God’s unconditional love, start there.
Start Here
If you want to understand what it means that “God is love,” spend some time with Jesus. Here are a few places where you’ll see God’s love in action:
- God’s love pursues people who seem beyond saving: In the story of Zacchaeus, Jesus chooses to spend time with a man everyone else had written off.
- God’s love cares about people’s needs: In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sees a hungry crowd and responds with compassion rather than acting inconvenienced.
- God’s love tells the truth without walking away: In the story of the woman at the well, Jesus knows the details of a woman’s complicated past and still invites her into a relationship with Him.
As you read, pay attention to what Jesus does. Notice who He spends time with, what He cares about, and how He treats people. If God is love, then Jesus shows us what that love looks like.