ris3n's Apologetics Codex
1 John 4.11
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Passage

1 John 4.11

Book: 1 John · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

9. Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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

  1. No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us: 13. hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:9-13, ASV)
WEB

9. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

11. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

  1. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. 13. By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:9-13, WEB)
KJV

9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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

  1. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:9-13, KJV)
YLT

9. In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son, the only begotten, hath God sent to the world, that we may live through him; 10. in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.

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

  1. God no one hath ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us doth remain, and His love is having been perfected in us; 13. in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us. (1 John 4:9-13, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: the author of 1 John, who does not name himself; early tradition identifies him with John the apostle
  • Audience: believers he calls "little children" and "beloved," traditionally the churches around Ephesus
  • Location: traditionally Ephesus, in the Roman province of Asia
  • Time period: late first century, commonly dated c. AD 85-100

Theological reading

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (1 John 4:11, KJV).

"If" means "since." The verse does not doubt God's love; it argues from it. Since God loved us this much, we owe the same love to each other. Christian ethics here is a response to grace, not a way of earning it.

Obligation that comes from a gift. "Ought" is a word of duty. John grounds a moral obligation in what God has done, which is one way Christian thought answers the question of where obligation comes from.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Notes

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.