1 John 3:16

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 other believers. The person who doesn’t grow in love remains in death. 15Everyone who hates another believer is a murderer, and you know that a murderer doesn’t have eternal life. We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. 17Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? 18Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.

1 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 4:9God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him.
• Matthew 20:28It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.”
• John 3:16God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
• John 10:15So I give my life for my sheep.
• John 15:13The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.
• Acts 20:28Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to be shepherds for God’s church which he acquired with his own blood.
• Romans 5:8Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.
• Ephesians 5:2Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God.
• 1 Peter 1:18Realize that you weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed.
• 1 Peter 2:24Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so that freed from our sins, we could live a life that has God’s approval. His wounds have healed you.
• 1 Peter 3:18This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his spirit.
• Revelation 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the witness, the trustworthy one, the first to come back to life, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Glory and power forever and ever belong to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
• Revelation 5:9Then they sang a new song, “You deserve to take the scroll and open the seals on it, because you were slaughtered. You bought people with your blood to be God’s own. They are from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
• 1 John 2:6Those who say that they live in him must live the same way he lived.
• 1 John 4:11Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other.
• John 13:34“I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that 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

• Commandments
• Example
• Jesus, the Christ
• Love
• Suffering
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Appear
• Assure
• Condemn
• Pleasing
• Sin
• Word
• Christ, Offices of
• Ethics

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