Limitless Word
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.
1 John 3:16 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
  • BSB By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
  • NKJV By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
  • NASB We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.
  • NLT We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

We know what love is because Christ laid down his life for us, and we should likewise lay down our lives for fellow believers. The cross defines self-giving love.

Overview

The supreme definition of love is Christ's self-sacrifice on the cross. His laying down his life sets the pattern for believers, who ought to give themselves sacrificially for one another. This roots Christian love in the gospel itself, calling for costly, self-denying love modeled on the Savior.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 20

  • 1 Jn 4:9–11In 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.
  • Eph 5:2And 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.
  • John 13:34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
  • John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
  • Rom 5:8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
  • John 15:12–13This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
  • Rev 1:5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
  • 1 Pet 3:18For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
  • Acts 20:28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
  • Matt 20:28Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
  • Eph 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
  • Titus 2:13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
  • 1 Jn 2:6He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
  • Rom 16:4Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
  • Rev 5:9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
  • Phil 2:17Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
  • John 10:15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
  • 1 Pet 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
  • 1 Pet 1:18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
  • Phil 2:30Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 John 3:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'

How 1 John 3:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.