1 John 4:16-19

God Is Love

¹⁶ So _x we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. _y God is love, and _z whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this _a is love perfected with us, so that _b we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because _c as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but _d perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not _a been perfected in love. ¹⁹ _e We love because he first loved us.

1. Cross References
   John 6:69
   And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
   
2. Cross References
   1 John 4:8
   Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
   
3. Cross References
   1 John 4:12
   No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
   1 John 3:24
   Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
   
4. Cross References
   1 John 2:5
   But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
   
5. Cross References
   1 John 2:28
   And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
   1 John 3:21
   Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.
   
6. Cross References
   1 John 3:1
   See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
   
7. Cross References
   John 3:18
   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
   Romans 8:15
   For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!
   
8. Cross References
   1 John 4:17
   By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
   
9. Cross References
   1 John 4:10
   In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.