Having made clear how the body of Christians are united by the indwelling Spirit, John now exhorts believers to manifest God’s love to his brothers. He begins with a paragraph (4:7–10) that opens and concludes with the same phrase, “dear friends” or “beloved ones” (4:7, 11).87 John explains that God embodies love as a divine character quality or attribute (4:8). The believer, His child, is to manifest love almost like a spiritual genetic component
1 John 4:7–16