1 John 4:11

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

Beloved {G27}, if {G1487} God {G2316} so {G3779} loved {G25} us {G2248}, we {G2249} ought {G3784} also {G2532} to love {G25} one another {G240}.

Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another.

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

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

1 John 4:11 KJV

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

Commentary

This verse comes in the midst of John's profound discussion on the nature of God as love and the command for believers to love one another. Having just stated that "God is love" (v. 8, 16) and that God demonstrated His love by sending His Son (v. 9-10), John now draws a direct conclusion.

The phrase "Beloved" (Ἀγαπητοί - Agapētoi) is a term of endearment John frequently uses, addressing fellow Christians with affection and reminding them of their shared identity in Christ.

"If God so loved us" doesn't express doubt, but rather emphasizes the *magnitude* and *quality* of God's love. The "so" (οὕτως - houtōs) points back to the description of God's love in the preceding verses – a love demonstrated through the ultimate sacrifice of sending His Son to be a propitiation for our sins (v. 10). It is a sacrificial, initiating, and undeserved love.

The conclusion, "we ought also to love one another," presents this mutual love among believers not as an option, but as a necessary consequence and obligation ("ought" - ὀφείλομεν - opheilemen, implying a debt owed or a moral necessity) stemming from having received God's immense love. Our love for one another is the proper response to God's love for us and serves as evidence that His love is perfected or completed in us (v. 12).

Key Themes: The reciprocal relationship between God's love and human love, the Christian community's obligation to love based on God's example, love as a defining mark of genuine faith.

Practical Application: This verse challenges believers to look at the depth of God's love for them and recognize that this love compels and enables them to love others, especially fellow believers, in a tangible and sacrificial way, mirroring the love they have received.

Cross-References:

  • John 13:34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
  • 1 John 3:16 - 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.
  • Ephesians 5:2 - And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Note: Commentary was generated by an advanced AI, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

  • John 15:12

    This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

  • John 15:13

    Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

  • Colossians 3:13

    Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye.

  • John 13:34

    A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

  • 1 John 3:23

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

  • Luke 10:37

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

  • 1 John 3:16

    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.
← Back