He was the second son of William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken and his wife Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach.
Even when he was still a minor, John Louis sought the return of Homburg, which had been taken by Lorraine.
When another war broke out between France and Lorraine, John Louis surrendered Homburg to the Electorate of Trier.
John Louis refused to pay homage to the French king as count of Homburg and Ottweiler.
When in 1677 Gustav Adolph died, John Louis became the senior member of the House of Nassau.
John Louis was in the service of the Upper Rhenish Circle and founded a new imperial army.
In 1649, he married Dorothea Catherine (1634-1715) a daughter of the Count Palatine Christian I of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler.