1 John 4:7-18 Dearly beloved, let us practice loving one another, because love originates with God, and everyone who practices loving is a child of God and knows God by experience.

Williams⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁷ Dearly beloved, let us practice loving one another, because love originates with God, and everyone who practices loving is a child of God and knows God by experience. ⁸ Whoever does not love has never come to know God by experience, because God is love. ⁹ This is the way God's love for us has been shown, namely, God has sent His only Son into the world that we through Him might have life. ¹⁰ In this way is seen the true love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dearly beloved, if God has loved us so, we ought to love one another too. ¹² No one has ever seen God; yet if we practice loving one another, God remains in union with us, and our love for Him attains perfection in our hearts, ¹³ By the fact that He has given us a portion of His Spirit we can be sure that we remain in union with Him and He in union with us. ¹⁴ We have seen and now testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever owns that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in union with him and he in union with God. ¹⁶ So we know by experience and trust the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever continues to love continues in union with God and God in union with him. ¹⁷ Our love attains perfection through our having perfect confidence about the day of judgment, because here in this world we are living as He did. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, and perfect love drives out fear, because fear pertains to punishment, and no one who is subject to fear has attained perfection in love.