In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The real amazing thing here isn't our love for God, but the shocking truth that God's love for us came first. He's the one who initiated everything by sending Jesus, a sacrifice that fully satisfies God's justice for our sins. It's a divine love that reaches down, not one we had to earn.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
John is explaining the true nature of God's love, contrasting it with human attempts to earn it. He’s just talked about discerning spirits and recognizing that anyone who doesn't confess Jesus is not from God. Now, he emphasizes that God's love is the source and initiative in our relationship with Him, not our own feelings or actions towards Him.
We often think of love as something we give. But what if the greatest love story started with God's move, not ours?
This verse flips our usual understanding of love on its head. John isn't saying, 'God loves you because you first loved Him.' Instead, he emphasizes God's proactive, initiating love.
God's Unilateral Love
This concept is foundational to understanding the Gospel: God acted first, out of His own perfect love, to rescue us.
God's love isn't just a feeling; it's an action. What was this incredible action, and why was it so significant?
The verse doesn't stop at saying God loved us. It tells us how He expressed that love in the most profound way possible: by sending His Son.
The Gift of the Son
Ask a follow-up
God's love isn't just forgiveness; it's a profound act of reconciliation that deals with the root problem: our sin and God's just judgment.
Understand the original words
hilasmos · Greek Noun
A legal or cultic term referring to the sacrifice that satisfies God's holy justice and turns away His wrath, thereby reconciling the sinner to God.
hamartia · Greek Noun
Missing the mark or breaking God's law; it denotes a state of alienation from God that requires atonement and forgiveness.
This passage echoes the same sentiment: God's love for us is demonstrated not by our love for Him, but by His initiative in sending Christ while we were still sinners.
John 3:16This foundational verse highlights God's profound love that motivated Him to give His Son, directly paralleling the theme of God's preemptive love expressed in 1 John 4:10.
1 John 4:19This verse directly follows the passage and reinforces the idea that our love for God is a response to His prior, foundational love for us, showing the sequence of divine and human affection.
Ephesians 2:4-5These verses emphasize God's abundant mercy and love in making us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our sins, illustrating the proactive nature of God's love described in 1 John.
The real amazing thing here isn't our love for God, but the shocking truth that God's love for us came first. He's the one who initiated everything by sending Jesus, a sacrifice that fully satisfies God's justice for our sins. It's a divine love that reaches down, not one we had to earn.
John is explaining the true nature of God's love, contrasting it with human attempts to earn it. He’s just talked about discerning spirits and recognizing that anyone who doesn't confess Jesus is not from God. Now, he emphasizes that God's love is the source and initiative in our relationship with Him, not our own feelings or actions towards Him.
John is explaining the true nature of God's love, contrasting it with human attempts to earn it. He’s just talked about discerning spirits and recognizing that anyone who doesn't confess Jesus is not from God. Now, he emphasizes that God's love is the source and initiative in our relationship with Him, not our own feelings or actions towards Him.
"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." — The real amazing thing here isn't our love for God, but the shocking truth that God's love for us came first. He's the one who initiated everything by sending Jesus, a sacrifice that fully satisfie…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026