“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
King James Version (KJV)
4:8 God is love - This little sentence brought St. John more sweetness, even in the time he was writing it, than the whole world can bring. God is often styled holy, righteous, wise; but not holiness, righteousness, or wisdom in the abstract, as he is said to be love; intimating that this is his darling, his reigning attribute, the attribute that sheds an amiable glory on all his other perfections.
4:12 If we love one another, God abideth in us - This is treated of, #1John 4:13 |- 16. And his love is perfected - Has its full effect. In us - This is treated of, #1John 4:17 |- 19.
1Jo 4:10 Herein is love. Love manifested. The heights of love are shown, not only in sending the Son, but sending him to be the propitiation for our sins; to become a sin offering for us, and to die for us. See PNT "1Jo 2:2".