EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 John 3:16
16This is how we know what true love is: Jesus Christ gave his own life on the cross. He died on our behalf. So we too ought to give our lives for other believers.
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 now have new life with God. Death no longer has power over us. We know this because we love our Christian friends. But anyone who does not love other believers is still under the power of death. 15Anyone who hates other believers is like someone who murders other people. You know that a person like that does not have true life with God. This is how we know what true love is: Jesus Christ gave his own life on the cross. He died on our behalf. So we too ought to give our lives for other believers. 17When another believer has trouble, we need to be kind to him. Maybe you have all the things that you need to live. If you see another believer who needs things like that, you should help him. If you refuse to be kind to him, it shows that you do not belong to God. You do not love people in the way that God loves them. 18My little children, we should not show love for each other only by what we say. We should also show true love by the things that we do.
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Herebyἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- ·οὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- perceive weγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- the loveὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
- becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- heἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
- laid downτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- lifeψυχήpsuchē · soul: lifeG5590
- forὑπέρhuper · above/forG5228
- usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- oughtὀφείλωopheilō opheileō · to oweG3784
- the brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
Cross-references for 1 John 3:16
- 1 John 4:9This is how God showed that he loves us: He sent his only Son to come and live in the world. He did that so that we could have true life with God because of his Son.
- Matthew 20:28Even the Son of Man himself came to earth to be a servant to other people. He did not come here to have servants who must work for him. No, he came to die so that many people can be free.’
- John 3:16God loved the people in the world so much that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live for ever with God.’
- John 10:15I know them in the same way that my Father knows me. And they know me in the same way that I know the Father. I will die so that I can save my sheep.
- John 15:13A person really loves his friends if he dies so that they can live. Nobody could love anyone more than that.
- Acts 20:28You who are leaders should be careful about how you live. Also take care of the group of people that the Holy Spirit has chosen you to lead. Keep them safe like shepherds who take care of their sheep. All the believers belong to God because his Son, Jesus, died for them. He bought them with his blood which poured out on the cross.
- Romans 5:8But God has shown us how much he loves us. Even when we still did not obey God, Christ died on our behalf.
- Ephesians 5:2Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
- 1 Peter 1:18Your ancestors lived in a way that did not make them really happy. That is the way that you learned to live as well. But now God has saved you from that way of life. You know that he has bought you for himself. He did not buy you with things that do not continue for ever, like silver or gold.
- 1 Peter 2:24When Christ died on the cross, he carried our sins in his own body. He took this punishment so that sin would no longer rule over us. Instead, we can now do the right things that God wants us to do. Because people hurt Christ's body, you have now become well.
- 1 Peter 3:18Christ himself always did what was right. But he received pain on behalf of people who do what is wrong. He died once to take away all those wrong things. He did that to bring you near to God. People killed Christ's body, but God's Spirit made him alive again.
- Revelation 1:5Jesus Christ will also help you. He always speaks a true message. He is the first person who became alive again after death. He rules the kings of the earth. Jesus loves us and he died for us. That is how he made us free. Because of Jesus, God will not punish us for the bad things that we have done.
- Revelation 5:9The beings that are alive and the leaders sang a new song. They sang: ‘You are so good! You are good enough to take the book. You can break its seals and open it. You can do this because they killed you. When you died, you bought people for God with your blood. You bought them from every tribe, from every language and every nation.
- 1 John 2:6If we say that we are living in God's true way, then we must live in the way that Jesus lived.
- 1 John 4:11My friends, this shows how much God has loved us. So we should also love one another.
- John 13:34I give a new rule to you. Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.
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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