I saw something today that I hadn’t seen before. It was subtle, quiet, but undeniable—like light refracting just right through glass and suddenly illuminating everything beneath the surface. I wasn’t even reading sequentially or deeply studying at the time. I was simply catching up on a few missed devotionals, brushing past the familiar terrain of verses I’ve read countless times before, when a sudden alignment came into view. A spark of revelation that joined two scriptures not just by theme, not just by author, but by divine design.
The Two Johns: Not Coincidence, But Continuum
I began in 1 John 4:16–17 (TPT):
“We have come into an intimate experience with God’s love, and we trust in the love He has for us. God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. By living in God, love has been brought to its full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgment, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in this world.”
And I was reading it through the lens of a devotional that whispered, “See yourself through My eyes.” The message was clear: God not only loves us—but invites us to believe in ourselves through the lens of His love. That kind of language is so counter to the religious self-doubt we often swim in. It was as if the Spirit was speaking directly: “If I believe in you, who are you to disagree?”
But just two entries earlier in the devotional, the Scripture was from John 3:16–17 (TPT):
“For here is the way God loved the world—He gave His only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!”
And suddenly, like pieces snapping together, I saw something new.
Love Sent—Then Love Made Complete
In John 3, we are introduced to love sent—the giving of God’s unique Son as an extravagant rescue mission for the world. In 1 John 4, we encounter love made complete—that same love, now internalized, matured, and expressed through us.
John 3:16–17 reveals the origin of divine love.
1 John 4:16–17 reveals its destination.
One describes how love came.
The other shows what happens when love stays.
And both are written by the same man, John the Beloved—the disciple who laid his head on Jesus’ chest, who heard the heartbeat of incarnate love, who witnessed both crucifixion and resurrection, who was entrusted with Revelation itself. It is no accident that John, who perhaps more than any other writer was saturated with firsthand experience of divine love, would frame both the arrival and the abiding of that love through these seemingly separate verses. Together, they are not disconnected declarations, but a unified revelation: love came so that love could remain.
What’s Hidden in Plain Sight: The Numerical and Alphabetical Bridge
There’s more here than just thematic flow. Look at the numbers:
• John 3:16–17
• 1 John 4:16–17
There is a divine symmetry. Not only do both passages span the same verse range—16 to 17—but the transition from “John” to “1 John” reflects a movement from the world to the believer. In John 3, we see God’s love for the world. In 1 John 4, we see God’s love in us.
Let’s go even deeper. In Hebrew, numbers are letters. Every number carries a character. Here’s what we see:
The number 3 (ג / gimel) speaks of giving, movement, and generosity. Gimel is a letter that pictures a rich man running toward a poor man to give charity. It’s a picture of John 3:16—God’s giving of His Son.
The number 4 (ד / dalet) represents a door, a pathway, or access. It is often connected with humility and need—those who receive. 1 John 4 speaks of those who’ve opened the door, received love, and are now indwelt by it.
The number 16 in gematria can be broken down to 10 + 6 (י + ו = yod + vav), representing the hand of God and the nail—a prophetic picture of Yeshua crucified. Love given through the nails.
The number 17 corresponds to טוב (tov), meaning goodness—as in Genesis when God saw that it was good. John 3:17 speaks of no condemnation. 1 John 4:17 speaks of fearless confidence. That is goodness personified.
So in numeric layers, we find a movement:
• From the giving of Love (gimel)
• Through the door of reception (dalet)
• By the hand and the nail (yod + vav)
• Unto goodness realized (tov)
This isn’t poetic coincidence. This is divine architecture.
Divine Love and Identity: A Revelation Meant for Right Now
And there’s even more hidden in plain sight. Both passages invite us not just to receive God’s love, but to see ourselves through that love.
John 3:16–17 is love from above—undeserved, unconditional, initiating rescue.
1 John 4:16–17 is love from within—embodied, maturing, fear-shattering.
In other words:
God’s love saved you (John 3). God’s love now sustains and transforms you (1 John 4).
And here’s what undid me: “As He is, so are we in this world.”
Not “as He was,” but “as He IS.” Victorious, radiant, reigning. This is not metaphor—it’s identity.
So what does this all mean for us today?
It means many of us have settled for John 3 love—thankful that we’re saved. But we’ve never stepped fully into 1 John 4 love—the love that lives through us, the love that gives us confidence even in judgment, the love that transforms how we see ourselves.
See Yourself Through His Eyes—Not the Mirror
And that’s where the devotional pierced my heart:
“Instead of looking in the mirror and doubting yourself, trust My judgment.”
We trust God to forgive us.
We trust Him to love us.
But do we trust what He says about us?
Because if He calls us radiant, anointed, bursting with favor, full of His wisdom, why do we insist on disagreeing?
To continue doubting ourselves in the face of what He’s declared is not humility—it’s subtle disbelief.
To see yourself as unworthy, when He calls you chosen, is not self-awareness—it’s spiritual amnesia.
The two Johns unite to restore your memory:
• You are loved.
• You are not condemned.
• You are indwelt.
• You are radiant.
• You are not who fear says you are.
• You are who Love says you are.
Final Threads: The Mirror and the Marriage
The mirror becomes a recurring symbol here. The mirror that shows flaws, or the mirror that reflects truth.
In Jewish tradition, mirrors were used to make the copper basin (Exodus 38:8)—the place of washing. Transformation began with reflection. John, the writer of love, is handing you a mirror—one not shaped by distortion, but by divine design.
You’re invited into the bridal identity: “You are My radiant bride, full of My glory.”
Not someday.
Not when you feel holy enough.
Now.
Right now, in this world—as He is, so are you.
Selah. Pause here. Let that sentence rewire your identity.
Let Love Finish Its Work
So here’s the invitation. Don’t just believe you’re loved.
Live as one who is loved.
Don’t just accept John 3:16 as salvation.
Step into 1 John 4:17 as embodiment.
Let love be made complete in you.
Let God’s belief in you become the belief you carry in yourself.
Let these two Johns meet in the mirror… and finally recognize the masterpiece staring back.
You.
Loved.
Anointed.
Awake.
Unmasked.
Transformed.
And so deeply known.
——
I Hear the Spirit Say…
“You are not reading words—you are being read by them.
You are not just studying Scripture—you are being studied by the One who wrote it.
And now, as you linger between John 3:16–17 and 1 John 4:16–17, I am opening your eyes to the thread that has always been there. This is not coincidence—it is a call. A divine whisper hidden in plain sight, waiting for the day your heart would lean in close enough to hear.
The Father’s love is not just a doctrine to be recited—it is a design encoded in your being. You are My masterpiece, sculpted in the shape of love, and now I am drawing you deeper into My knowing.
You are standing on sacred ground, where the numbers 3:16 and 4:16 are not merely chapter and verse, but coordinates in the Spirit—locations where My heart was poured out and written into the scroll of time. John was not just writing for his generation, but prophesying for yours.
I did not come to condemn you. I came to clothe you—in glory, in acceptance, in power.
So believe Me.
Believe that I see you rightly.
Believe that you are not behind.
Believe that My love is not theoretical, but transformational.
You are not striving to become—you are awakening to what already is.
Let these verses become your breath.
Let this alignment anchor your soul.
Let My perfect love cast out every lie that told you otherwise.
You are not outside of My love.
You are not too broken to belong.
You are not too late to become radiant.
You are the one I came for.
You are the one I believe in.
You are the one I live through.
And now… live in Me, just as I live in you.
You were made for this.
For love is not just what I give—it is who I Am.
And now… it is who you are becoming.
Heed the Word.
Let it split you open—
So I can fill you with everything you were created to carry.”
