TRV
Translation
See also
In the KJVVerse 30,623 of 31,102 · 98.5%
LawLawHistoryHistPoetryPoetProphetsProphNew TestamentNT
Study this verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers 1 John 4:17–21.
Passage under comment1 John 4:17–21
17¶ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19We love him, because he first loved us.
20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
21And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
The apostle, having thus excited and enforced sacred love from the great pattern and motive of it, the love that is and dwells in God himself, proceeds to recommend it further by other considerations; and he recommends it in both the branches of it, both as love to God, and love to our brother or Christian neighbour.
I.As love to God, to the primum amabile - the first and chief of all amiable beings and objects, who has the confluence of all beauty, excellence, and loveliness, in himself, and confers on all other beings whatever renders them good and amiable. Love to God seems here to be recommended on these accounts: - 1. It will give us peace and satisfaction of spirit in the day when it will be most needed, or when it will be the greatest pleasure and blessing imaginable: Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, Jo1 4:17. There must be a day of universal judgment. Happy they who shall have holy fiducial boldness before the Judge at that day, who shall be able to lift up their heads, and to look him in the face, as knowing he is their friend and advocate! Happy they who have holy boldness and assurance in the prospect of that day, who look and wait for it, and for the Judge's appearance! So do, and so may do, the lovers of God. Their love to God assures them of God's love to them, and consequently of the friendship of the Son of God; the more we love our friend, especially when we are sure that he knows it, the more we can trust his love. As God is good and loving, and faithful to his promise, so we can easily be persuaded of his love, and the happy fruits of his love, when we can say, Thou that knowest all things knowest that we love thee. And hope maketh not ashamed; our hope, conceived by the consideration of God's love, will not disappoint us, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that is given to us, Rom 5:5. Possibly here by the love of God may be meant our love to God, which is shed abroad upon our hearts by the Holy Ghost; this is the foundation of our hope, or of our assurance that our hope will hold good at last. Or, if by the love of God be meant the sense and apprehension of his love to us, yet this must suppose or include us as lovers of him in this case; and indeed the sense and evidence of his love to us do shed abroad upon our hearts love to him; and thereupon we have confidence towards him and peace and joy in him. He will give the crown of righteousness to all that love his appearing. And we have this boldness towards Christ because of our conformity to him: Because as he is so are we in this world, Jo1 4:17. Love hath conformed us to him; as he was the great lover of God and man, he has taught us in our measure to be so too, and he will not deny his own image. Love teaches us to conform in sufferings too; we suffer for him and with him, and therefore cannot but hope and trust that we shall also be glorified together with him, Ti2 2:12. 2. It prevents or removes the uncomfortable result and fruit of servile fear: There is no fear in love (Jo1 4:18); so far as love prevails, fear ceases. We must here distinguish, I judge, between fear and being afraid; or, in this case, between the fear of God and being afraid of him. The fear of God is often mentioned and commanded as the substance of religion (Pe1 2:17; Rev 14:7); and so it imports the high regard and veneration we have for God and his authority and government. Such fear is constant with love, yea, with perfect love, as being in the angels themselves. But then there is a being afraid of God, which arises from a sense of guilt, and a view of his vindictive perfections; in the view of them, God is represented as a consuming fire; and so fear here may be rendered dread; There is no dread in love. Love considers its object as good and excellent, and therefore amiable, and worthy to be beloved. Love considers God as most eminently good, and most eminently loving us in Christ, and so puts off dread, and puts on joy in him; and, as love grows, joy grows too; so that perfect love casteth out fear or dread. Those who perfectly love God are, from his nature, and counsel, and covenant, perfectly assured of his love, and consequently are perfectly free from any dismal dreadful suspicions of his punitive power and justice, as armed against them; they well know that God loves them, and they thereupon triumph in his love. That perfect love casteth out fear the apostle thus sensibly argues: that which casteth out torment casteth out fear or dread: Because fear hath torment (Jo1 4:18) - fear is known to be a disquieting torturing passion, especially such a fear as is the dread of an almighty avenging God; but perfect love casteth out torment, for it teaches the mind a perfect acquiescence and complacency in the beloved, and therefore perfect love casteth out fear. Or, which is here equivalent, he that feareth is not made perfect in love (Jo1 4:18); it is a sign that our love is far from being perfect, since our doubts, and fears, and dismal apprehensions of God, are so many. Let us long for, and hasten to, the world of perfect love, where our serenity and joy in God will be as perfect as our love! 3. From the source and rise of it, which is the antecedent love of God: We love him, because he first loved us, Jo1 4:19. His love is the incentive, the motive, and moral cause of ours. We cannot but love so good a God, who was first in the act and work of love, who loved us when we were both unloving and unlovely, who loved us at so great a rate, who has been seeking and soliciting our love at the expense of his Son's blood; and has condescended to beseech us to be reconciled unto him. Let heaven and earth stand amazed at such love! His love is the productive cause of ours: Of his own will (of his own free loving will) begat he us. To those that love him all things work together for good, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Those that love God are the called thereto according to his purpose (Rom 8:28); according to whose purpose they are called is sufficiently intimated in the following clauses: whom he did predestinate (or antecedently purpose, to the image of his Son) those he also called, effectually recovered thereto. The divine love stamped love upon our souls; may the Lord still and further direct our hearts into the love of God! Th2 3:5.
II.As love to our brother and neighbour in Christ; such love is argued and urged on these accounts:
- 1. As suitable and consonant to our Christian profession. In the profession of Christianity we profess to love God as the root of religion: "If then a man say, or profess as much as thereby to say, I love God, I am a lover of his name, and house, and worship, and yet hate his brother, whom he should love for God's sake, he is a liar (Jo1 4:20), he therein gives his profession the lie." That such a one loves not God the apostle proves by the usual facility of loving what is seen rather than what is unseen: For he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? Jo1 4:20. The eye is wont to affect the heart; things unseen less catch the mind, and thereby the heart. The incomprehensibleness of God very much arises from his invisibility; the member of Christ has much of God visible in him. How then shall the hater of a visible image of God pretend to love the unseen original, the invisible God himself? 2. As suitable to the express law of God, and the just reason of it: And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also, Jo1 4:21. As God has communicated his image in nature and in grace, so he would have our love to be suitably diffused. We must love God originally and supremely, and others in him, on the account of their derivation and reception from him, and of his interest in them. Now, our Christian brethren having a new nature and excellent privileges derived from God, and God having his interest in them as well as in us, it cannot but be a natural suitable obligation that he who loves God should love his brother also.
Copy as
Historical interpretation
Six Centuries of Reception
9 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Post-NiceneEarly Medieval
4005006007008009001000
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
Hear the apostle Paul: "But God showed His love in us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us:" the just for the unjust, the beautiful for the foul. How find we Jesus beautiful? "Thou art beauteous in loveliness surpassing the sons of men; grace is poured upon thy lips." Why so? Again see why it is that He is fair; "Beauteous in loveliness surpassing the sons of men:" because "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." But in that He took flesh, He took upon Him, as it were, thy foulness, i.e. thy mortality, that He might adapt Himself to thee, and become suited to thee, and stir thee up to the love of the beauteousness within.
Let us ask the apostle Paul, and let him expound to us the unison of the two flutes. Let him sound to us the note, "Beauteous in loveliness surpassing the sons of men.-Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Let him sound to us also the note, "We saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness.-He made Himself of no reputation, taking upon Him the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, and in fashion found as man. He had no form nor comeliness," that He might give thee form and comeliness. What form? what comeliness? The love which is in charity: that loving, thou mayest run; running, mayest love. Thou art fair now: but stay not thy regard upon thyself, lest thou lose what thou hast received; let thy regards terminate in Him by whom thou wast made fair. Be thou fair only to the end He may love thee. But do thou direct thy whole aim to Him, run thou to Him, seek His embraces, fear to depart from Him; that there may be in thee the chaste fear, which endureth for ever. "Let us love, because He first loved us."
"Let us love, because He first loved us." For how should we love, except He had first loved us? By loving we became friends: but He loved us as enemies, that we might be made friends. He first loved us, and gave us the gift of loving Him. We did not yet love Him: by loving we are made beautiful. If a man deformed and ill-featured love a beautiful woman, what shall he do? Or what shall a woman do, if, being deformed and ill-featured and black-complexioned, she love a beautiful man? By loving can she become beautiful? Can he by loving become handsome? He loves a beautiful woman, and when he sees himself in a mirror, he is ashamed to lift up his face to her his lovely one of whom he is enamored. What shall he do that he may be beautiful? Does he wait for good looks to come? Nay rather, by waiting old age is added to him, and makes him uglier.
But our soul, my brethren, is unlovely by reason of iniquity: by loving God it becomes lovely. What a love must that be that makes the lover beautiful! But God is always lovely, never unlovely, never changeable. Who is always lovely first loved us; and what were we when He loved us but foul and unlovely? But not to leave us foul; no, but to change us, and of unlovely make us lovely. How shall we become lovely? By loving Him who is always lovely. As the love increases in thee, so the loveliness increases: for love is itself the beauty of the soul. "Let us love, because He first loved us."
By God's grace we love him who first loved us, in order to believe in him, and by loving him we perform good works, but we have not performed the good works in order to love him.
Where then in Scripture do we find Jesus uncomely and deformed, as we have found Him comely and "beauteous in loveliness surpassing the sons of men?" where find we Him also deformed? Ask Esaias: "And we saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness." There now are two flutes which seem to make discordant sounds: howbeit one Spirit breathes into both. By this it is said, "Beauteous in loveliness surpassing the sons of men:" by that it is said in Esaias, "We saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness." By one Spirit are both flutes filled, they make no dissonance.
God loves us so much that even the hairs of our head are numbered, as it says in the Gospels. It is not that God goes around numbering hairs but rather that he has exact understanding and complete foreknowledge of everything to do with us.
Therefore, let us love God, etc. Let us love because He first loved us. For how could we love unless He had first loved us? Hence He Himself says in the Gospel: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15). Thus, we will be perfect in charity if, just as He first loved us for the sake of our own salvation, so we also love Him solely for the sake of love. But because there are those who love God only in words, it is wisely added:
We love him, because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.
"If anyone says, 'I love God.'" Where John shows with compelling reasons that love is transmitted from God to us, and from us to God, he adds again that if God has loved us in this way, we also must love one another: now referring again to this matter, he says that because it is our duty to love our brother, we fulfill the obligation by referring to the example of God's love for us, which we also return to God: it is necessary, he says, to love our brother exceptionally, as the most perfect sign of love towards God. For if this is not the case, neither would our love towards God be preserved, since the obligation that exists between us is interceding, which we have contracted out of love towards God.
"For he who does not love his brother." Moreover, he adds a most effective saying to convince those who attempt to corrupt divine love, saying: Love, in any case, consists of the habitual relations towards one another: relations, however, has the aspect of a brother, and from this, it is especially gathered to that love. If this is true, whoever does not act on what more strongly attracts to love, and does not love the brother whom he sees, how can he claim to love God whom he does not see, with whom he has neither conversed nor can be perceived in any sense, how will he be found to be truthful? Therefore, if anyone shamelessly says that he loves God, but hates his brother, is he not found not only to corrupt divine love but also to be a transgressor of His command? Of whom? Of Him who says: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Jn. 13:35) Therefore, whoever loves God, and claims to be His disciple, must also love his brother according to His command.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying 1 John 4:19 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
CNTR CollationThe earliest Greek manuscripts of this verse, collated letter by letter.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
Summary
First John 4:19 succinctly articulates the foundational truth that human love for God is not an independent act of devotion but a direct, grateful, and empowered response to God's prior, initiating, and unconditional love for humanity. This verse serves as a theological anchor, establishing divine love as the ultimate source and enabling power for all genuine spiritual affection and relational love, both towards God and fellow believers.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is deeply embedded within 1 John 4, a chapter primarily dedicated to the nature of God as love and the implications of this truth for believers' lives. John has just exhorted his readers to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) to discern true prophecy from false, linking spiritual truth to the confession of Jesus Christ's incarnation. He then transitions to the theme of love, emphatically stating, "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and "God is love" (1 John 4:16). The verses immediately preceding 1 John 4:19 emphasize that God's love was manifested by sending His Son as a propitiation for sins (1 John 4:9-10), and that abiding in love means abiding in God and God in us (1 John 4:16). The flow of thought moves from God's nature, to His demonstrative act of love, to the resulting imperative for believers to love one another (1 John 4:11-12). Verse 19 acts as a theological summation, explaining why believers can and should love.
Historical & Cultural Context
First John was likely written in the late first century, possibly from Ephesus, addressing a community facing internal divisions and external pressures from false teachers (proto-Gnostics) who denied the full humanity of Christ and promoted a dualistic worldview that often devalued the physical and emphasized esoteric knowledge over ethical living. These false teachings undermined the importance of love and obedience. In this context, John's emphasis on God's tangible, incarnational love and the reciprocal love it produces served as a strong counter-narrative, grounding faith in a relational reality rather than abstract philosophy. The concept of love in the Greco-Roman world was multifaceted, but John's use of agape (as discussed in the exposition) stood in stark contrast to the often self-serving or merit-based forms of love prevalent in the wider culture, elevating it to a divine standard.
Key Themes
First John 4:19 contributes significantly to several overarching themes in the epistle. It powerfully underscores the theme of Divine Initiative, asserting that God's action always precedes and enables human response, particularly in the realm of love and salvation. This aligns with the broader New Testament teaching that salvation is by grace, not human merit (e.g., Ephesians 2:8-9). The verse also reinforces the Causal Relationship between God's Love and Human Love, making it clear that our love for God is a direct consequence and grateful overflow of His love for us, rather than an independent human achievement. This theme is crucial for understanding Christian ethics, as genuine love for one another is presented as evidence of truly knowing God (1 John 4:7-8). Finally, it speaks to the Authenticity of Faith and Love, suggesting that true spiritual life is characterized by a responsive love that mirrors God's own selfless nature, contrasting with the empty claims of those who profess to know God but do not practice love (1 John 2:4).
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
Derived from G25, this verb signifies a profound, unconditional, and self-sacrificial love. Unlike phileo (brotherly affection) or eros (romantic desire), agape is not primarily based on emotion or the inherent worthiness of the beloved, but on a deliberate act of will and commitment. In this verse, it describes both God's initiating love and humanity's responsive love, implying that our love for God should mirror the quality and character of His love for us—a love that seeks the good of the other, even at great cost.
Derived from G4413, this adjective means "foremost" in time, place, order, or importance. Here, it emphasizes the temporal priority and causal precedence of God's love. God's love is not a reaction to ours; it is the original, uncaused, and primary act that makes our love possible. This highlights God's sovereignty and grace, underscoring that the entire relationship originates from His divine initiative, not human effort or merit.
Verse Breakdown
"We love him,"
This clause describes the human response of affection and devotion towards God. The "we" (G2249, hēmeîs) is emphatic in the Greek, highlighting the believers' active participation in loving God. This love is not merely an emotion but a commitment that manifests in obedience and worship, reflecting the agape quality of God's own love.
"because"
This conjunction (G3754, hóti) introduces the causal explanation for the preceding statement. It establishes a direct and undeniable link between God's action and human response, indicating that our love for God is not spontaneous or self-generated but is fundamentally dependent on something external to us.
"he first loved us."
This clause reveals the divine initiative and the ultimate source of all true love. The "he" refers to God (G846, autós), and "us" (G2248, hēmâs) refers to humanity, specifically those who have come to know Him. The crucial adverb "first" (G4413, prōtos) underscores that God's love precedes and enables our love. His love is the originating cause, demonstrated supremely through the sending of His Son, which then empowers and motivates our reciprocal love.
Literary Devices
First John 4:19 employs several literary devices to convey its profound theological truth. The most prominent is Causality, explicitly stated by the conjunction "because." This structure establishes a direct, undeniable link between God's prior action and humanity's subsequent response, making it clear that human love for God is not self-generated but divinely enabled. There is also a strong element of Reciprocity, though it is asymmetrical: God's love initiates, and human love responds. This is not a quid pro quo, but a divine outpouring that elicits a grateful return. The verse functions as an Aphorism, a concise statement of a general truth, encapsulating a foundational principle of Christian theology and experience. Furthermore, it utilizes Emphasis through the word "first," highlighting the divine initiative as paramount and foundational to the entire relationship between God and humanity.
Theological and Thematic Connections
This verse is a cornerstone for understanding the nature of Christian love, rooting it firmly in God's character and actions. It refutes any notion of human merit or self-sufficiency in initiating a relationship with God, instead positing that salvation and spiritual life flow entirely from God's gracious, unprompted love. Our love for God is thus not a means to earn His favor, but a joyous, grateful, and empowered response to a love already given. This theological truth liberates believers from the burden of trying to "love God enough" and instead invites them into a relationship of responsive affection, knowing that His love is constant and initiating. It also provides the ultimate motivation for loving others, as our capacity to love our neighbor is an overflow of the divine love we have first received.
Reflection and Application
First John 4:19 offers immense comfort and a profound paradigm for Christian living. It assures us that our relationship with God is not contingent on our fluctuating emotions or imperfect efforts to love Him, but on His steadfast, initiating love for us. This truth provides deep security and peace, freeing us from performance-based religion. When we struggle to feel love for God, this verse reminds us to look back to His unwavering love for us, especially as demonstrated in Christ. This divine love is not just a historical fact but an ongoing reality that empowers us daily. Understanding that we love because He first loved us transforms our motivation for obedience and service from a burdensome duty into a joyful, grateful response. It calls us to reflect on the depth of God's agape love for us and to allow that love to transform our hearts, enabling us to extend similar unconditional love to others, even those who are difficult to love. Our capacity to truly love, whether God or neighbor, is always an echo of His divine initiative.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does this verse imply that our love for God is not genuine or freely chosen, since it's a response?
Not at all. First John 4:19 highlights the source and enabling power of our love, not its authenticity or freedom. Our love for God is profoundly genuine and freely chosen, but it is a love that has been awakened, empowered, and inspired by God's prior, unconditional love. It's akin to a child's love for a parent who has consistently demonstrated sacrificial care: the child's love is real and freely given, but it is a direct and natural response to the parent's initiating affection. God's love removes the barriers of sin and enables us to respond, transforming our hearts so that we desire to love Him. The Spirit of God, given to believers, is the very Spirit of love, enabling us to respond to God's love with our own, as seen in passages like Romans 5:5.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
First John 4:19 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in Jesus Christ. God's declaration that "He first loved us" is not an abstract theological concept but a concrete historical reality made manifest in the person and work of Christ. The "love" (agape) that God initiated was supremely demonstrated when "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16). Jesus's incarnation, His sinless life, His sacrificial death on the cross as a propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10), and His resurrection are the definitive acts of God's prior love for humanity. Through Christ, we receive forgiveness, reconciliation, and new life, enabling us to enter into a loving relationship with God. Our ability to "love him" is thus a direct result of Christ's finished work, which broke the power of sin and death, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, who pours God's love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Christ is the perfect embodiment of God's initiating love and the ultimate motivation for our responsive love, making Him the very heart of this profound truth.