1 John 4:16: We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
As I was reading in 1 John two words in verse 16 drew my interest—they are: know and believe. John is emphatic when he says that we know and believe the love that God has for us. I asked myself, do we? Do we really know and believe that love?
*Know: ginosko (ghin-oce’-ko); to “know” (absolutely).
*Believe: pisteuo (pist-yoo’-o); to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ)
Wow. John uses a word that means to know absolutely. Absolutely says we know God’s love without even a hint of doubt. And because we know absolutely, we can entrust our spiritual well-being to Christ Jesus.
I watch news shows such as Dateline and 20/20 on occasion. What I see so often is the trouble that happens when people become so eager to be loved that they entrust their well-being to the wrong ones. This yearning to be loved often overpowers good sense. It places people in desperate situations and at times even leads to death.
But to know absolutely the love that God has for us, to entrust our spiritual well-being to Christ Jesus, always leads to life, eternal life. God loves me! God loves you! Do you know absolutely and believe that love?
*(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
