¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,^[a] is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

⁵ But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.

¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

¹⁸ Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

²⁰ If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,^[a] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

²⁷ It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.