<p>4:8- see on Jn. 3:3.</p><p><em>He that does not love, does not know God. For God is love</em>- As noted on :8, to know God in the Hebraic sense of having a relationship with Him will issue in love- His unique, self-sacrificial love which led to the events of the cross as their acme. To 'see' or&nbsp; 'know' both the Father and Son is to become like them; beholding their glory results in the glory of their person and Name shining off from our faces (see on 2 Cor. 3:18). So a litmus test of false brethren is whether or not they have love. And so often those who appear the most conservative in their teaching totally fail the <em>agape</em> test.</p><p>To experience God is to know Him. So often the Hebrew prophets speak of &lsquo;knowing God&rsquo; as meaning &lsquo;to experience God&rsquo;. Because God is love, to love is to know God. Quite simply, how deeply we have loved and I am speaking of &lsquo;love&rsquo; in its Biblical sense is how deeply we have known God- and vice versa. And that love is worked out in the very earthliness and worldliness of human life in practice.</p>