1 John 4:16-21

New Century Version

¹⁶ And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made perfect in us: that we can be without fear on the day God judges us, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸ Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.

¹⁹ We love because God first loved us. ²⁰ If people say, “I love God,” but hate their brothers or sisters, they are liars. Those who do not love their brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have never seen. ²¹ And God gave us this command: Those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.