1 John 4:11

1 John 4:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
• New International Version (NIV)Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Context of 1 John 4:11

9God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

1 John 4:11 word by word

Ἀγαπητοί, εἰ οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Belovedἀγαπητόςagapētos · belovedG27
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• lovedἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• oughtὀφείλωopheilō opheileō · to oweG3784
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• one anotherἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240

Cross-references for 1 John 4:11

• 1 John 3:16We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
• Matthew 18:32Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.
• Luke 10:37The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
• John 13:34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
• John 15:12This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
• 2 Corinthians 8:8I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
• Ephesians 4:31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
• Ephesians 5:1Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
• Colossians 3:13Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Commentaries on 1 John 4:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11If God so loved us - Without any reason or consideration on our part, and without any desert in us; we ought also, in like manner, to love one another, and not suspend our love to a fellow-creature, either on his moral worth or his love to us. We should love one another for God's sake; and then, no unkind carriage of a brother would induce us to withdraw our love from him; for if it have God for its motive and model, it will never fail.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another - (1)Because he is so much exalted above us, and if he has loved those who were so inferior and so unworthy, we ought to love those who are on a level with us; (2)because it is only in this way that we can show that we have his Spirit; and, (3)because it is the nature of love to seek the happiness of all. There are much stronger reasons why we should love one another than there were why God…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He that does not love the image of God in his people, has no saving knowledge of God. For it is God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness. The law of God is love; and all would have been perfectly happy, had all obeyed it. The provision of the gospel, for the forgiveness of sin, and the salvation of sinners, consistently with God's glory and justice, shows that God is love. Mystery and darkness…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12Those who have received God’s love will also love others who belong to God. When we show love to one another, it becomes clear that we truly love God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. God's love to us is the grand motive for our love to one another (1Jo 3:16). if--as we all admit as a fact. we ... also--as being born of God, and therefore resembling our Father who is love. In proportion as we appreciate God's love to us, we love Him and also the brethren, the children (by regeneration) of the same God, the representatives of the unseen God.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 4:11

• Commandments
• Fellowship
• Love
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Benevolence
• Fear
• Love
• Perfect
• Brotherly Kindness; Brotherly Love
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of

Commentaries on 1 John 4

• 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