In 1 John 4:8, Are All the Beloved Born Again?

Summary

Grace in Focus Podcast Summary

Episode: In 1 John 4:8, Are All the Beloved Born Again?
Date: November 13, 2025
Guests: Bob Wilkin (C), Sam Moore (B)

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Main Theme

This episode centers on the theological meaning of “beloved” in 1 John 4:7-8. The hosts analyze whether John’s address to the “beloved” includes only born again believers and if loving others is proof of salvation or of fellowship with God. The discussion draws practical application for assurance of salvation, Christian growth, and love among believers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Contextual Reading of 1 John 4:7-8

[01:03–01:58]

• Sam Moore reads 1 John 4:7-8 aloud, highlighting the phrases “born of God” and “knows God.”
• Bob Wilkin contextualizes these verses by referencing earlier passages, clarifying that John’s audience is “of God,” i.e., born again believers, specifically those in fellowship and overcoming false teachings.

2. Distinguishing Being “Born of God” from “Knowing God”

[02:00–07:10]

• Bob emphasizes a distinction in John’s writing: Being born again is not the same as “knowing God” in one's daily experience.
  • Quote [04:49]:

    “Born of God and knowing God may be seen by many as the same thing, but they're not seen as the same thing here by John.” — Bob Wilkin

• Illustrates this point using Jesus’ words to Philip (John 14), showing how one can be in a relationship yet not know the other deeply.
• Humorous Interlude
  Bob shares a golf joke to illustrate how close relationships don't guarantee true knowledge or intimacy (relevant to a believer’s experiential knowledge of God).

3. Detailed Exegesis: Verse 8 Omission

[06:41–07:10]

• Bob notes a significant detail:
  • Verse 7 says, “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
  • Verse 8 only says, “does not know God,” omitting “is not born of God.”
  • Quote [07:10]:

    “He’s clearly suggesting that a born of God person may not know him.” — Bob Wilkin

• The omission implies that a believer (born of God) can fail to truly know God if not loving others.

4. Are “Beloved” Always Born Again?

[08:12–08:40]

• Bob’s answer: Absolutely, “beloved” refers to born again believers, and even more so, specifically to “overcoming” believers who are in active fellowship with God.
  • Quote [08:12]:

    “Are all the beloved born again? Is absolutely yes. ... the people he's writing about are overcoming believers in fellowship with God.” — Bob Wilkin

5. Parallel with James 2 and Practical Application

[08:40–10:30]

• Sam reads James 2:15-16, and Bob connects it to 1 John 3:17-18, underlining that love is demonstrated through action, not mere words.
• Bob clarifies that the responsibility to love fellow believers goes beyond sentiment—it means meeting tangible needs within the church.
• Reiterates that the passage addresses “one of you,” reinforcing intra-church accountability rather than general charity.
• Points out that even within Christian families and relationships, love does not always happen automatically.

6. Assurance of Salvation vs. Loving Others

[11:59–12:52]

• Bob warns against basing assurance of salvation on one’s expression of love or good works.
  • Quote [12:02]:

    “If you look at your works, you're always going to see that you fall short of the glory of God. None of us is perfect. ... We base our assurance on the promise that whoever believes in him will not perish, but has everlasting life.” — Bob Wilkin

• Loving others is seen as crucial to Christian maturity (“overcomers”), but not a requirement for securing assurance of salvation.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the distinction of knowing God:

  "Born of God and knowing God may be seen by many as the same thing, but they're not seen as the same thing here by John." — Bob Wilkin [04:49]

• Why verse 8 matters:

  “He’s clearly suggesting that a born of God person may not know him.” — Bob Wilkin [07:10]

• On assurance of salvation:

  “If you look at your works, you're always going to see that you fall short of the glory of God. ... We base our assurance on the promise that whoever believes in him will not perish, but has everlasting life.” — Bob Wilkin [12:02]

• Practical edge on loving in the church:

  “This is one of you. This is somebody in your local church. ... The point here is a believer is capable of not loving his fellow brothers and sisters.” — Bob Wilkin [10:05]

• On believers' imperfections:

  “Loving one another is not automatic—even in your family unit. … Many of us came out of dysfunctional families.” — Bob Wilkin [11:09]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:03–01:58] Reading and immediate question
• [02:00–04:49] Context, “of God” meaning
• [04:49–06:41] “Born of God” vs. “knows God,” golf analogy
• [06:41–07:10] The missing phrase in verse 8
• [08:12–08:40] Direct answer: “Beloved” are born again
• [08:40–10:30] James 2 and 1 John 3 parallels; practical love
• [10:30–12:02] Believers’ failures at love; implication for assurance
• [12:02–12:52] Assurance based on faith, not works

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Episode Takeaways

• “Beloved” in 1 John unmistakably refers to born again believers. John’s specific audience is even narrower: believers walking in fellowship and exhibiting overcoming faith.
• Love for others evidences fellowship with God, not the validity of one’s salvation.
• Assurance should rest on Christ’s promise, not on the believer’s performance.
• The episode offers theological insight with pastoral application, urging discernment between justification (being born again) and sanctification (experience and growth).

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For further resources or questions, visit faithalone.org.

Transcript

[A]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society. In the book of First John, when beloved are being addressed, are these beloved saved people or unsaved? How can we be sure one way or the other? We thank you friend for joining us today. This is Grace in Focus, a radio broadcast and podcast brought to you by financial supporters and the Grace Evangelical Society. Our website is faithalone.org we'd love you to go there to find out more about us and especially our upcoming national conference, May 18th through the 21st. It's going to be held at Camp Kopass in Denton, Texas. A beautiful camp on a lake. You will love the people, the teaching, the surroundings and our theme this year is believe in Christ for Life. Find out all the details, get registered [e-mail] and now with today's question and answer discussion, here is Bob Wilkin along with Sam Moore.

[B]

Well, Bob, we've got a question From Dana on First John 4, 7, 8. Her question is, do these verses imply that all of the beloved or brethren may not yet be born again?

[C]

Okay, so would you read first John 4, 7 and 8 so we can see what. And this was Dana? Yep. Okay. By the way, I went to Dana Junior High School, named after, you know, who, who was a famous author named Dana. I don't know any Richard Henry. Dana wrote Three Years before the Mass, which I read about half of it, but I haven't finished it. But it's an interesting book. Anyway, Dana's asking, are all the beloved born again? So please read it.

[B]

Yep. First John 4, 7, 8. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. And he who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

[C]

Okay, so if we go up just a few verses, John says, you are of God, little children and have overcome them. He's talking about the world and the false teachers whom he calls the Antichrist. And you have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he that is in the world. That verse alone clearly establishes we're talking about born again people because they're of God. And of God in first John doesn't simply mean they're born again, it means they're in fellowship with God. And then he says little children and have overcome them. An overcomer is a victorious believer. One who has overcome false teachers is victorious. If you go back to first John 2:12 through 15, one of the three designations is young men. And he says, you've overcome the world and you've overcome the devil. We know from Revelation 2 and 3 that the overcomers are those who are going to rule and reign with Christ. So verse four makes it clear. He's talking about believers. And then he says, because he who is in you is greater than he that is in the world. Well, the Holy Spirit is not in unbelievers. He's only in believers. And so this is clearly talking about believers. Then he says, they are of the world, meaning the false teachers, the antichrists, from verses 1 through 4. Therefore, they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. Then he says, we are of God. We, meaning believers who are in fellowship with him, overcoming believers. He who knows God hears us. That is not talking about all believers. That's talking about believers who know God in their experience. He who is not of God does not hear us. We. Well, that includes unbelievers, but it also includes believers who are out of fellowship with God and are not listening to apostolic truth. And then he says, by this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. And then he says, beloved, which is talking about the believing readers who were in fellowship with God. So this is more than believers. It's believers in fellowship with overcoming believers. Let us love one another. Well, that's a theme, as you know. You took First John with me last semester, and we translated through first, second, and Third John. And this is a theme in First John about. This is the commandment. It's an old commandment, and it's also a new commandment that we should love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. One of the things Dana, I think is missing is that notice there's two things. What are the two things it says about the person who loves? Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is two things is born.

[B]

Of God and knows God.

[C]

Yeah. So born of God and knowing God may be seen by many as the same thing, but they're not seen as the same thing here by John. Right, because you can be born again and not know God in your experience. Remember in John 14, Jesus said to Philip, have I been with you so long and yet you don't know me? Well, you can know God in one sense, but not in the other. Can I take a brief joke here? Okay. This is one of my favorite stories. I used to be a golfer. I golf from about age 12 to about age 45, and I've not golfed for decades. One of the things about golfers Is sometimes they get to the course on Saturday morning at the crack of dawn. So they can be the people who are of waking up the course. They're the people with the dew on the ground and everything else. And this guy was one of those guys and he was out there and he's on the sixth hole and he's getting ready to putt and he's with his buddies and a funeral procession is going by, you know, with the lights on and everything. And he looks, he takes his hat off, he puts it over his heart and he looks down and he doesn't putt. Well, it takes like 45 seconds for the procession to go by. And his buddies are like, bob, I can't believe. You know, normally you're not the kind of person that's gonna be sentimental like that. And he said, yeah, but she was a good wife for 40 years. You like that one? You're laughing, but I'm laughing.

[B]

I'm glad that you're not that, Bob.

[C]

Yes, I would not miss her, her memorial service. But the joke is well taken. Aren't there a lot of married couples where they really don't know each other? You can be with someone for a long period of time and not really know what makes them tick. And so it seems to me, in terms of knowing God, it's two things. But look at verse eight. Read verse eight again.

[B]

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

[C]

Do you notice something that's missing in verse 8 that was found at the end of verse 7? He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Something's missing there. What was the end of verse seven, it says, everyone who loves is two things.

[B]

Born of God and knows God.

[C]

Now verse eight, he who does not love does not know God. What's missing?

[B]

The born of God.

[C]

Yeah, it doesn't say, he who does not love is not born of God and doesn't know God, for God is love. No, he's clearly suggesting that a born of God person may not know him. By the way, we used to sing this with Campus Crusade for Christ. And I think we miss the fact that verse eight didn't say, he who does not love is not born of God and does not know him.

[A]

You are invited to subscribe to the Grace Evangelical Society's YouTube channel. You will find our Monday, Wednesday and Friday videos there enlightening and encouraging and even probably humorous at times. If you like Bob Wilkins humor indeed, you will get biblical truth about free grace themes like faith alone for eternal salvation and why the Grace evangelical society is zero point Calvinistic. We come your way three times a week at the Grace Evangelical YouTube channel. Check it out and tell a friend about the Grace Evangelical Society.

[C]

And so Dana's question is, are all the beloved born again? Is absolutely yes. There's no such. And not only are they born again, but the people he's writing about are overcoming believers in fellowship with God. And by the way, look back at chapter three on the command to love one another. Remember where he says, he who has the world's goods and doesn't present them for his brother, how does the love of God abide in him? See 3:17, 1st John 3:17. But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? And then he says, my little children, let us not love in word and tongue, but in deed and truth. Doesn't that sound a lot like James 2? Yeah, read James 2, 1516, where you get a guy saying the right things, but not loving in deed and in truth. Yeah.

[B]

James 2:15 says, if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

[C]

Yeah, well, notice they say a good thing. Be warmed. Hey, I hope you get the clothes you need, the jacket you need, whatever, and be filled. I hope you get the food you need. I'm going to even pray for you. But you don't give them what's necessary, what use is that for them or for you? Because 2:14 starts with, what does it profit my brethren? And so James 2, 15, 16 is parallel to First John 3, 17, 18. And the point is, by the way, in James 2, 15 16, how does it start again?

[B]

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, so notice.

[C]

It'S one of you, it's one of the brethren, and it's one of their spiritual brothers or sisters. And in other words, this isn't someone on the side of the road that holds up a sign and goes, need money? Or sometimes they'll be honest and say, need money for beer. Right. But that's not what this is talking about because we don't know those people. Right? They haven't been vetted. For all we know, that may be somebody who's got plenty of assets and they're just panhandling or it may be somebody who's a drug addict and is going to take the money and, and use it for drugs, or an alcoholic is going to use it for alcohol. This is one of you. This is somebody in your local church. In fact, James 2:15 and 16 flows from James 2:1 13, and that is talking about don't kowtow to the rich that come to your church, but make sure you treat everyone equally, including the poor. The point here is a believer is capable of. Of not loving his fellow brothers and sisters. And by the way, I don't know about you, Sam, but if you've looked at the statistics in our country, this is even a problem in families, right? There's a lot of divorce in our country. There's a lot of abuse of children in our country, all the countries of the world, right? These are problems. So loving one another is not even automatic in your family unit. Many of us came out of dysfunctional families. And even if our parents wanted to be very loving, they had a real hard time because they were alcoholics or because they were rage aholics or whatever. But the call for all of us is to love one another. And if you think, by the way, that all believers love one another, then guess what happens, Sam, when you find that you're snapping at your kids or snapping at your wife, what happens to your assurance of salvation?

[B]

Yeah, you start to question, am I born again?

[C]

Right. If you look at your works, you're always going to see that you fall short of the glory of God. None of us is perfect. And we don't want to base our assurance of our salvation on being a good neighbor, being a good boss, being a good husband, being a good wife, being a good parent, being a good child, etc. We base our assurance on the promise that whoever believes in him will not perish, but has everlasting life. We stand on that. Now, as far as being an overcomer, yes, we need to see that we're loving one another because that is crucial to being an overcomer. But that's not something that's crucial to our assurance of salvation. Great questions, Dana. And what are we going to do, Sam? Keep grace in focus.

[A]

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