God is love.

1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. This verse answers a question. Is it possible for someone to know God and not be transformed by His love? No, it isn’t possible that someone knows God and doesn’t express that love to others. The reason it’s impossible is that knowing God isn’t simply having knowledge (which by the way was the belief of the gnostics who were causing the problems in the church at that time). One knows God only by the indwelling presence and power of the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said that He came to give eternal life to all the Father gave to Him and “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Jesus gives eternal life by indwelling those born of God. The Son is born in them, therefore they know God the Father and the Son. The divine nature of God that comes to live in believers is love. The spirit of error operating in John’s day still operates today. There are those who twist this verse and say that “love is god.” Their god is not one that is transformative, it leaves one to do what one feels is love without making any changes. John’s point was that God’s presence and love is transformative. If God bestows His love on a person, the person knows He is known by God. By the love which the person receives, he knows God. The response to knowing God is to love Him as the Son loves Him because the Son has come to live in him. To love Him is to love with Him just like Jesus loved with His Father. Those who don’t love with God’s kind of love, don’t know God, for God is love. What a wonderful encouragement to live to love with Jesus. We who have been loved by God and know God want to love with Jesus. We want to live our lives for His glory because we have the nature of God dwelling in our mortal bodies, filling our hearts with love, and satisfied in the fullness of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, God’s son.