1 John 4:21

An Understandable Version (2005 edition)

And this is the [greatest] commandment [See Matt. 2:37-38] we have received from Him: [It requires] that the person who [claims to] love God should also love his brother.

Cross References

1 John 3:11

[Now] this is the message that you people heard from the beginning [of Christ’s ministry], that we should love one another [See Mark 12:31],

1 Thessalonians 4:9

Now you people do not need anyone to write to you about loving [your] brothers, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.

1 Peter 3:8

Now to summarize: All of you should think alike. Be sympathetically understanding [toward one another]. Be loving toward [your] brothers [and sisters]. Be tender-hearted and humble-minded.

Galatians 5:14

For the whole Law of Moses can be fulfilled by [obeying this] one requirement [Lev. 19:18]: “You should love your neighbor the way you love yourself.”

John 15:12

My commandment [to you] is this: You should love one another just as I have loved you.

1 John 3:23

And this is His commandment: We should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ [i.e., the person of Christ], and love one another, just as He has commanded us to do.

1 John 3:14

[For] we [can] know that we have passed out of [the realm of spiritual] death and into [spiritual] life, because we [show] love for the brothers [and sisters]. The person who does not love [them] continues to be [spiritually] dead.

1 Peter 4:8

Above everything else, have a warm love for one another, for such a love keeps many sins from occurring [between you].

Luke 10:37

And the teacher of the Law of Moses said, “The person who showed pity on him.” Then Jesus replied, “You go and do the same thing.”

1 John 4:11

Loved ones, if God loved us that much, we should also love one another.

Galatians 5:6

For in [our relationship with] Christ neither the practice of circumcision nor refraining from its practice matters in any way; but [all that really matters is having a genuine] faith [in Christ] that causes us to work [for Him] out of a genuine love [for Him and others].

1 John 3:18

Little children [i.e., dear ones], we should not [merely] claim to love [people], or [even just] talk about it, but [we should love] by what we do [for them] in a genuine way.

Matthew 5:43

“You have heard what was said [Lev. 19:18], ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

1 John 2:7

My dearly loved ones, I am not writing to you about a new commandment, but about an old one. [It is the one] you had learned about from the beginning. [Note: This is the commandment to love one another (3:1; II John 5) which Jesus had taught his disciples during His earthly ministry. See Mark 12:31]. This old commandment is the word [of God] which you heard [previously].