And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Parallel translations
- WEB This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.
- BSB And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
- NKJV And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
- NASB And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
- NLT And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
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
Christ himself commanded that whoever loves God must also love his brother. Love for God and love for neighbor are inseparably bound by his command.
Overview
John grounds the duty of mutual love in the explicit command of Jesus, recalling the Lord's summary of the law (Mark 12:30-31; John 13:34). Loving God and loving fellow believers are not two optional virtues but one bound obligation. This closes the chapter by rooting Christian love not merely in logic but in the authority of Christ's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Matt 22:37–39Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
- Lev 19:18Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
- 1 Jn 3:11For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
- Gal 5:14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- 1 Pet 3:8Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
- 1 Th 4:9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
- John 13:34–35A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
- John 15:12This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
- Rom 12:9–10Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
- 1 Pet 4:8And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
- 1 Jn 3:23And 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.
- 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
- Mark 12:29–33And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
- 1 Jn 4:11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
- Gal 5:6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
- Rom 13:9–10For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Luke 10:37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
- 1 Jn 3:18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
- Matt 5:43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:21 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
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