1 JOHN 4:12 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us — the divine invisibility (oudepoté) is paradoxically resolved through visible love. The abiding (menō) of God becomes apparent through fraternal love. Love's perfection (teleioo) emerges from mutual, visible affection.
Church Fathers on 1 John 4:12
“No man has seen God at any time:” 1 John 4:12 He is a thing invisible; not with the eye but with the heart must He be sought. But just as if we wished to see the sun, we should purge the eye of the body; wishing to see God, let us purge the eye by which God can be seen. Where is this eye? Hear the Gospel: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 But let no man imagine God to himself according to the lust of his eyes. For so he makes unto himself…
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