Devine Scripture

1 John 4:11

What does 1 John 4:11 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 John 4:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 John 4:11 means

Because God has loved us with such depth and cost, we owe love to one another. The obligation is not burdensome but fitting: recipients of mercy extend mercy. This love is the family law of God’s children. It is not earned by others’ merits but modeled on God’s initiative toward us. In community, this means patient forgiveness, practical help, and seeking another’s good even when it costs. The more we meditate on God’s love in Christ, the more natural this duty becomes. Our love becomes an echo of His, showing that the gospel has taken root in us and shaping a fellowship that reflects God’s heart.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

My dearest, if God hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Beloved, ifGod has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Context

Flowing out of verses 9–10, which revealed God’s sending of the Son and His propitiatory work, verse 11 draws the ethical inference. The logic is from God’s prior love to our consequent duty. This prepares for verse 12’s promise that mutual love is the arena where God’s abiding presence is experienced and His love reaches its intended goal. The movement links doctrine to practice without separating them.

v.10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

v.11This passage

v.12No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • 1 John 3:23

    And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.

  • Ephesians 4:31

    Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:

  • 2 Corinthians 8:8

    I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love.

  • 1 John 3:16

    Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

  • Colossians 3:13

    forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:

  • Luke 10:37

    And he said, He that showed mercy on him. And Jesus said unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

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