1 John 5:2

My Notes

What Does 1 John 5:2 Mean?

1 John 5:2 reverses an equation most people would instinctively reverse — and in doing so, it reveals how love for God and love for people actually relate.

"By this we know that we love the children of God" — the Greek en toutō ginōskomen hoti agapōmen ta tekna tou theou (by this we know that we love the children of God) sets up a test. How do you know your love for fellow believers is genuine? Not by examining your feelings toward them. By examining something else.

"When we love God, and keep his commandments" — the Greek hotan ton theon agapōmen kai tas entolas autou poiōmen (whenever we love God and do/keep his commandments) provides the unexpected answer. You know you love God's children when you love God and keep His commandments.

This seems backwards. Most people would say: you know you love God by how you treat His children. John has already made that argument (4:20 — "he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"). But here he adds the reverse: love for God authenticates love for people, just as love for people authenticates love for God. The two flow in both directions.

The logic works because God's commandments include loving His children (3:23: "that we should... love one another, as he gave us commandment"). When you love God and keep His commandments, you are — by definition — loving His children, because that's what He commanded. The commandment-keeping isn't a separate track from the people-loving. The people-loving is inside the commandment-keeping.

John is preventing a subtle error: the person who claims to love people but has no relationship with God, and the person who claims to love God but has no care for people. Both are incomplete. Genuine love for God produces obedience. Genuine obedience includes love for God's children. You can't separate the vertical (love for God) from the horizontal (love for people). They're one circuit.

Reflection Questions

• 1.John says love for God authenticates love for people. How does your relationship with God specifically shape the way you love others — rather than general kindness?
• 2.He also said the reverse (4:20): love for people proves love for God. How do these two directions work together in your experience?
• 3.Loving God 'and keeping his commandments' includes the command to love one another. Where might you be keeping some commandments while neglecting the one about loving God's children?
• 4.Can you love people genuinely without loving God? Can you love God genuinely without loving people? What does John's insistence on the circuit tell you about incomplete versions of either?

Devotional

How do you know your love for other believers is real? John's answer is the one you wouldn't expect: by whether you love God and keep His commandments.

Wait — shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't loving people prove you love God? John already said that too (4:20). But here he flips it: loving God proves you love people. Both directions matter. Both directions test each other. It's a circuit, not a one-way street.

The logic becomes clear when you remember what God's commandments include. First John 3:23: "This is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another." Loving one another is inside the commandment. So when you keep God's commandments, you're keeping the command to love His children. The two aren't separate tracks. They're the same track.

This prevents two errors. The first: loving people without loving God. You can be kind, generous, and empathetic without any relationship with God — but John says that's not the same as loving the children of God. The love he's describing is rooted in the relationship with the Father. Without that root, the love — however real it looks — is missing its source.

The second error: loving God without loving people. You can have intense private devotion, rigorous obedience to religious practices, and deep theological commitment — and still not care about the actual humans God calls His children. John says that's not love for God either. The commandments you claim to keep include the one about loving His kids.

You can't have one without the other. Love for God that doesn't flow to His children is incomplete. Love for His children that isn't rooted in love for God is rootless. Both directions. One circuit.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture