³⁵ And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him:^{(A) 36} “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

³⁷ He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.^{[a](B) 38} This is the greatest and most important^[b] command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.^{[c](C) 40} All the Law and the Prophets depend^[d] on these two commands.”^(D)

²⁷ Don’t work for the food that perishes^(A) but for the food that lasts for eternal life,^(B) which the Son of Man^(C) will give you, because God the Father^(D) has set his seal of approval on him.”

²⁸ “What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

²⁹ Jesus replied, “This is the work^(E) of God—that you believe in the one he has sent.”^(F)

Knowing God through Love

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God^(A) and knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ God’s love was revealed among us^[a] in this way: God sent^(B) his one and only Son^(C) into the world so that we might live^(D) through him. ¹⁰ Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us^(E) and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice^[b](F) for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.^{(G) 12} No one has ever seen God.^(H) If we love one another, God remains in^[c] us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³ This is how we know that we remain in him^(I) and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.^{(J) 14} And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son^(K) as the world’s Savior. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses^(L) that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. ¹⁶ And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment,^(M) because as he is, so also are we in this world.^{(N) 18} There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear,^(O) because fear involves punishment.^[d] So the one who fears is not complete in love.^{(P) 19} We love^[e] because he first loved us.^(Q)