John 5:42 Meaning: Do You Have God's Love in You?
But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves.
But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves.
but I have known you, that the love of God ye have not in yourselves.
but I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
Meaning in one sentence
Jesus tells religious leaders they lack God's love within. This verse challenges us to examine if our faith is rooted in love for God or in self-interest.
Context
Jesus has just healed a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. The healing happened on the Sabbath, and the religious leaders confronted him. Instead of backing down, Jesus explains who he is and where his authority comes from. He tells them that the Scriptures they study so carefully point to him, yet they refuse to come to him and receive life. Then he looks past their arguments and into their hearts. He knows what moves them. It is not love for God. They are motivated by a desire for human approval, as he will say in the next verses. This is the hard truth Jesus speaks: all their religious activity flows from an empty place.
Key Words
“But I know you.” The word for know here is the perfect tense of ginōskō: I have known and still know. This is not a casual acquaintance. It is the same kind of penetrating, personal knowledge Jesus shows throughout John’s Gospel. He sees into the depths of a person.
“The love of God”, agapē theou. Most commentators agree that in this verse it means their love toward God, not God’s love for them. It is the summary of the law: “love the Lord your God with all your heart.” The leaders wore those words on their phylacteries, but the love itself sat cold in their hearts.
“In yourselves”, en heautois. Inside, not on the outside. Jesus does not say they lack religious enthusiasm. They have plenty. They lack the one thing that gives religious life its soul: genuine love for the God they claim to serve.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have heard this verse as a sobering reminder that religious knowledge can exist without true love for God. Many Protestant commentators, such as Matthew Henry and Albert Barnes, emphasize that the Jewish leaders’ rejection of Jesus flowed from an absence of genuine love for God, replaced by a love for honor from one another. John Calvin saw the phrase as a summary of all religious feeling: without love for God, no obedience is possible. John Wesley noted that Jesus spoke these words “with the tenderest compassion,” not cold condemnation. Catholic readers may recognize here the call to interior conversion, a turning from external observance to a heart fully given to God. The verse forces every reader to ask: what is the actual center of my faith life?
A common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is to read “the love of God” as God’s love for the people, as if Jesus were saying they do not experience God’s love. In fact, the context and grammar point to their love for God. Jesus says they do not have love for God in their hearts. That is why they reject him. It is not that God has stopped loving them; it is that their hearts are not set on him.
Living This Out
This week, when you open your Bible or walk into church, take a moment to ask yourself: why am I doing this? The Jewish leaders were experts in Scripture, yet Jesus said they lacked love for God. It is possible to do all the right things for the wrong reasons. Maybe you are driven by habit, by guilt, by the desire to look good. Jesus invites you to come honestly. Tell him you want your heart stirred with love for him, not just your hands busy with religious tasks. That is the kind of prayer he will answer.
Main takeaway: The love of God in your heart is not the result of religious effort; it grows from coming to the One who knows you completely.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Jesus knows everything about you, even what is inside your heart. He wants your heart to love God. You can tell God today, “I love You,” and mean it.
For ages 9, 12
The religious leaders knew a lot about God, but they did not really love Him. They wanted people to think they were good. Jesus could see right through them. Loving God is not just knowing facts about Him. It is wanting to be with Him, listen to Him, and obey Him because you care about Him. You can ask Jesus to help you love God with your whole heart. He is happy to answer that prayer.
Questions People Ask
What does 'the love of God' mean in John 5:42?
In this verse, 'the love of God' refers to their love for God, not God's love for them. The Greek phrase allows both meanings, but the context shows Jesus is pointing to their inward devotion, or lack of it. They knew the law that commanded love for God, but it was not alive in their hearts.
Why does Jesus say 'I know you' in John 5:42?
Jesus says this as the Son of God who sees into every human heart. Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus demonstrates this knowledge, as when he knew Nathanael (John 1:47) and knew what was in people (John 2:24-25). Here he uses that knowledge to expose the true root of their rejection of him: not zeal for God, but a lack of love for God.
How does John 5:42 fit with the rest of Jesus' argument in John 5?
Jesus has just said that the Jewish leaders search the Scriptures but refuse to come to him for life. He then says he does not receive human glory; their problem is that they seek glory from each other instead of from God. Verse 42 is the diagnosis: they have no love for God in their hearts. That lack of love explains why they cannot recognize the Father's Son standing before them.
Does John 5:42 mean these people could not be saved?
The verse diagnoses their spiritual condition at that moment. Many Christian traditions differ on how this fits with divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Some see it as a statement of their willful rejection, others as a revelation of their need for regenerating grace. What all Christians agree on is that Jesus is calling them to honesty about their hearts, and he is still speaking to them with the offer of life.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study