1 John 4:16 (ESV) So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides (lives) in love abides (lives) in God, and God abides (lives) in him. Previous verses 13-15 rehearse that we are true believers through Jesus Christ and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God is Love and our salvation is evidence that HE loves us. God does love us, but it is important that we are convinced that God loves us. Thus, in verse 16, it is stated that we have come to know this and have come to rely on this over time and by experience. Love from other sources may prove undependable; even brothers and sisters from one’s own community can turn in hatred and rejection, but God’s love can reassure us. God’s love is not turned on and off, present one day but gone the next, because God is love. Love is God’s essential nature.