What does it mean that we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19)?

Answer

John asserts powerfully that “we love Him because He first loved us” «We love him, because he first loved us. », (1 John 4:19) in a section where he discusses expressing God’s love to others. He mentions earlier in the letter that, “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” «Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. », (1 John 4:11). John explains that we have experienced and believed in the agape love that God has for us «And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. », (1 John 4:16), and because of this, there is an expectation for us to act on that love. If love originates from God, then those who walk with God should demonstrate love «Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. », (1 John 4:17).

But what kind of love should we express, and with what kind of love do “we love Him because He first loved us” «We love him, because he first loved us. », (1 John 4:19)? His love is perfected in us, giving us confidence in the day of judgment. His love has saved us (by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ) from condemnation—this life-saving love is what He has shown us and what we are expected to show one another. This love is free from fear.

, because there is no punishment in our futures «There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. », (1 John 4:18). His love has given us great confidence because He has removed our fear.

“We love Him because He first loved us” «We love him, because he first loved us. », (1 John 4:19). Love made the first move; our love for God is simply a response to His love for us. We have the capacity to love, now understanding what love really is and how we can express that without fear because He first loved us—because He modeled for us what love looks like. As John said a bit earlier, we have come to know and believe His love «And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. », (1 John 4:16), so we are neither ignorant nor incapable of showing His kind of love to others. In fact, loving our brother is not only an expectation; it is an imperative.

“We love Him because He first loved us «We love him, because he first loved us. », (1 John 4:19), and because He first loved us, we can and must love others. If someone claims to love God whom we have not seen but doesn’t love his brother whom we have seen, then John says that person is lying «If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? », (1 John 4:20). If we aren’t loving our brother, we aren’t loving God. John goes further, reminding hiAs readers of Jesus’ commandment that we love our brother «And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.», (1 John 4:21), John adds to the logic of love when he asserts that the believer in Jesus is born of God, and anyone who loves the Father should obviously love the child born of the Father «Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. », (1 John 5:1). It would be nonsensical for a believer, then, not to love his brother in Christ. John explains it from a different angle as well: when we are loving God and observing His commandments, we can know we are loving the brethren «By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. », (1 John 5:2).

To love God means to obey Him, especially considering that His commandments are not burdensome «For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. », (1 John 5:3). John reminds us that our love should be sincere—like the love the Father has for us. We should not love simply with words, but with sincerity in our deeds «My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. », (1 John 3:18). Loving in truth and sincerity is so important that John lists it as a logical next step after believing in Jesus—“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us” «And this is his commandm

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us., (1 John 3:23, ESV). But God did not just instruct us to do something He was not willing to do first; instead, “We love because he first loved us.” «We love him, because he first loved us. », (1 John 4:19).