Berean Standard Bible
1 John 3:16
16By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
1 John 3:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
- New International Version (NIV)This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
- English Standard Version (ESV)By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
- New King James Version (NKJV)By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Context of 1 John 3:16
14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer. By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
Read all of 1 John 31 John 3:16 word by word
ἐν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκεν· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι.¶Read the interlinear
- Byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- we knowγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- whatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
- ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- ·ἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
- laid downτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
- Hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- lifeψυχήpsuchē · soul: lifeG5590
- forὑπέρhuper · above/forG5228
- usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- oughtὀφείλωopheilō opheileō · to oweG3784
- brothersἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
Cross-references for 1 John 3:16
- 1 John 4:9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
- Matthew 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 10:15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
- John 15:13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- Acts 20:28Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
- Romans 5:8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Ephesians 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- 1 Peter 1:18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 1 Peter 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Revelation 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
- Revelation 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- 1 John 2:6Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
- 1 John 4:11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
- John 13:34A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
Commentaries on 1 John 3:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Hereby perceive we the love of God - This sixteenth verse of this third chapter of John's first epistle is, in the main, an exact counterpart of the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of St. John's gospel: God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, etc. Here the apostle says, We perceive, , we have known, the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. Of God is not in the text, but it is preserved in one MS., and in two or three…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Hereby perceive we the love of God - The words “of God” are not in the original, and should not have been introduced into the translation, though they are found in the Latin Vulgate, and in the Genevan versions, and in one manuscript. They would naturally convey the idea that “God” laid down his life for us; or that God himself, in his divine nature, suffered. But this idea is not expressed in this passage as it is in the original, and of course no…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-21Verses 16-21 Here is the condescension, the miracle, the mystery of Divine love, that God would redeem the church with his own blood. Surely we should love those whom God has loved, and so loved. The Holy Spirit, grieved at selfishness, will leave the selfish heart without comfort, and full of darkness and terror. By what can it be known that a man has a true sense of the love of Christ for perishing sinners, or that the love of God has been planted in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18Christ’s example shows that real love requires self-sacrifice. We follow his example when we care deeply about the needs of other people. This means giving our time, effort, prayers, and possessions to help them. In some cases, it may even mean giving our lives to meet their needs.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. What true love to the brethren is, illustrated by the love of Christ to us. Hereby--Greek, "Herein." the love of God--The words "of God" are not in the original. Translate, "We arrive at the knowledge of love"; we apprehend what true love is. he--Christ. and we--on our part, if absolutely needed for the glory of God, the good of the Church, or the salvation of a brother. lives--Christ alone laid down His one life for us all; we ought to lay down our…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 3:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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