3:18 not love in word. True love is not something to write or talk about; it is something we do, “in deed and in truth.” Our love for God is demonstrated, not by preaching or singing about it, but by living it. Note I John 2:5; 2:15; 5:3. In particular, it will be manifested in our relations with other Christians (I John 3:16,17; 4:11,20).