THIS IS THE LOVE OF GOD - 1 JOHN 4:10-11

Verse 10-11: In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

John begins again, as in the previous verse, with in this (by this in the Greek) referring to the truth he is about to illustrate. He first clarifies that the essence of love he is about to expound upon is not that we loved God. This is an emphatic statement with the addition of the personal pronoun we in the Greek. We includes John, his readers and all members of the human race. John is declaring an absolute truth, that no one has ever loved God in a permanent and abiding manner so that God would respond to mankind’s love and provide them with eternal life. This is substantiated by the Apostle Paul who asserted that our disposition towards God prior to salvation is in no way a demonstration of love:

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds (Colossians 1:21).

Even David declared in Psalm 14:

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there are any who understand,

Who seek after God.

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1–3) 

 

This Is Love

This verse asserts the criterion and absolute characteristic of God’s love for us. But let us set the stage for what comes next. For the Apostle Paul provided the basis for God’s Divine love: He sent His Son.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6–8)

All of us were ungodly and unlovely in God’s estimation and yet, not willing that any of His creatures should suffer eternal damnation (1 Timothy 2:4), He secured salvation from His wrath through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Romans 5:9). Leading Paul to conclude:

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

This is true Godly love: that the name of His Son is eternally linked to the propitiation for our sins. This Greek word for propitiation literally refers to the mercy seat of the Old Testament, where the blood sacrifices were offered in order to satisfy God’s righteousness demands for the forgiveness of sins. Dr. Zodhiates states that Christ’s atoning work “was parallel to that which the [Old Testament] high priest did, but it was perfect and a far better sacrifice in that it was permanent and unrestricted”1 (cf. Hebrews 9:11-12).

It is important to recall something John declared earlier, that Our Lord is the propitiation (satisfaction) for not only our sins, “but also for those of the whole world” (2:2). God has provided for all mankind His grace provision for eternal life. But sadly many refuse to believe and to accept His free gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) for the reason the Apostle Paul states:

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

We Should Love

Upon addressing his beloved readers, John asserts in verse 11: if God so loved us. There are two things to note about this phrase. First, if actually means since, indicating: since it is a fact that God indeed loved us. Second, the word so refers to the way or manner2 in which God loved us; this is what he had just described in verse 10, that He “sent His Son” for our salvation.

This phrase happens to be an exact parallel in grammar and meaning as that of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The manner of His love displayed is by having given His only begotten Son, also the same phrase in 4:9. The difference is that in John 3:16, God loved the world; and in our passage the emphasis is upon us—all Church Age believers.

Now, John presents a challenge to his readers (and to us) that since God loved us in such an amazing fashion, we ought to love one another. The key word is ought, meaning “to owe, whether of a debt or any obligation.”3 Hence, we are duty bound to love one another, just as Our Lord had commanded:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34)

This is restated by the Apostles Peter (1 Peter 1:22) and Paul (Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9), therefore making it a requirement, not an option, to obey (keep) His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-4). It becomes our responsibility to persistently4 demonstrate observable love towards other believers as evidence that we love Jesus Christ (John 14:21, 23).

The Believer’s Challenge

What makes this command difficult at times to obey is that there are many different personalities that make up the Body of Christ. They range from those who are sweet, having an inner beauty, while others may be indifferent and obnoxiously insufferable. Whatever the personality, we should love one another. This love is reciprocal, meaning that each believer must participate. If one person fails then our entire witness to the world is diminished. This requires having “a relaxed and objective mental attitude toward everyone,”5 willing to accept people as they are in exactly the same manner as Peter described:

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9; cf. Colossians 3:12-14)

This was discussed in 3:14, that love for the brethren (John 13:35) and the clear demonstration of unity (John 17:21) when exhibited by faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, are essential indicators before the unbelieving world of the true mark of the Christian—the irrefutably evidence that the Father had indeed sent Jesus Christ into the world to be the propitiation for our sins.

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2434.

[2] Liddell, H. G. (1996). In A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, p. 580.

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.75.

[4] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 182.

[5] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 136.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi