1 John 4:12 - Exposition

No one hath ever yet beheld God. θεόν stands first for emphasis. and without the article, as meaning the Divine Being rather than the Father in particular: "With regard to God—no one hath ever yet beheld him" τεθεάται , stronger than ἑώρακεν . Why does St. John introduce this statement here? Not, of course, as implying that to love an invisible Being is impossible; but that the only security for genuine and lasting love in such a case is to love that which visibly represents him. Seeing that God is invisible, his abiding in us can be shown only by his essential characteristic being exhibited in us, i.e., by our showing similar self-sacrificing love ἡ ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ can scarcely mean God's love for us; for how can our loving one another make his love perfect? Nor yet vaguely, "the relation of love between us and God;" but, as in 1 John 2:5 , our love for him. Our love towards God is perfected and brought to maturity by the exercise of love towards our brethren in him.