A Closer Look at 1 John 4:7-16

Read 1 John 4:7-12.
Do you have any questions? Is anything not clear?
If so, do a word study or use cross-references to learn more.

Read 1 John 4:13-16.
Get out your "What We Know/How We Know It" chart.
What does verse 13 say that we know?
How do we know it?
Add those things to your chart.

What does verse 12 tell us about beholding or seeing God?
Although we haven't had the experience of seeing God, how do we experience God?
What does verse 14 tell us that we have beheld or seen? What did the Father do?
Who is the Savior of the world?
From just verses 12-14, what do we have from the Father?
What makes it possible for believers to love one another?
What is the source of that love?
Although a person can't directly see or behold God, how would God be evident in believers' lives?

Read 1 John 4:14-16.
If someone abides in God and God abides in him, what would he confess?
And what did verse 14 tell us about this Son of God?
In another blog, we talked about the opposite of "confess."
What is the opposite of "confess"?
In 1 John 2:22-23, who did John tell us denies the Father and the Son?
What does John tell us in 2:23 about those who confess the Son?
In verses 12-16, what do you notice about abiding?
How can we have this two-way abiding, where we abide in God and God abides in us?

If you have time, read John 15:1-17 to read John's report of what Jesus said about abiding.
How is your abiding?