Limitless Word
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
John 15:9 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
  • KJV As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
  • BSB As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
  • NASB Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.
  • NLT “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.

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

As the Father loved Jesus, so Jesus loves His disciples, and He calls them to remain in His love. Believers are enfolded in divine love.

Overview

Jesus draws a stunning parallel: His love for the disciples mirrors the Father's eternal love for Him. The command to 'remain in my love' invites continued dwelling in that secure, gracious love. This love is the atmosphere of the abiding life, and the following verse shows that obedience is the way believers consciously remain in it.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • John 17:23–24I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them, even as you loved me.
  • John 17:26I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
  • 1 Jn 2:28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
  • Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;
  • John 15:13Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
  • John 15:11I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
  • Eph 3:18may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth,
  • Jude 1:20But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 15:9YouTube · 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 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

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 15:9 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.