1 John 4:10 kjv
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10 nkjv
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10 niv
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10 esv
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.
1 John 4:10 nlt
This is real love ? not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4 verses
MeaningThis verse profoundly defines the essence of divine love, stating emphatically that true love did not originate with humanity's affection for God, but rather with God's unilateral, unmerited love for humanity. It specifies the supreme demonstration of this love: God sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the "propitiation" for our sins, thereby making it possible for sinful humanity to be reconciled to a holy God. This foundational truth establishes that salvation is purely an act of God's grace, not a response to human initiative or merit.
Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| God's Initiative in Love & Salvation | ||
| Jn 3:16 | For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son... | God's supreme love, His giving |
| Rom 5:8 | But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. | God's love proven in Christ's death while we were sinful |
| Eph 2:4-5 | But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions... | God's great love as source of salvation even when we were spiritually dead |
| Deut 7:7-8 | The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than any other people... but because the LORD loved you... | God's choice and love based on His character, not human merit |
| Jer 31:3 | I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. | God's eternal love and initiative in drawing us |
| Is 65:1 | I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. | God taking initiative to reveal Himself to the undeserving |
| Jn 15:16 | You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit... | Christ's sovereign choice of His followers |
| Christ as Propitiation/Atonement | ||
| 1 Jn 2:2 | And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. | Reiterates Christ's role as propitiation |
| Rom 3:25 | Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. | God provided Christ as the means of atonement |
| Heb 2:17 | Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. | Christ's priestly role in providing propitiation |
| Col 1:19-20 | For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself... having made peace through the blood of His cross. | Reconciliation through Christ's atoning work |
| 2 Cor 5:19-21 | Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them... He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf... | God reconciling the world through Christ, imputation of sin |
| Dan 9:24 | Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity... | Old Testament prophecy of an ultimate atonement |
| Sending of the Son | ||
| 1 Jn 4:9 | By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. | Direct immediate context, similar declaration of God sending His Son |
| Gal 4:4 | But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law... | God's sending of His Son at the appointed time |
| Rom 8:3 | For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin... | God sending His Son to deal with sin, which the Law could not |
| Jn 6:57 | Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father... | Jesus affirming He was sent by the Father |
| Holiness of God & Wrath | ||
| Hab 1:13 | Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can no longer look on wickedness with favor. | God's absolute holiness, inability to tolerate sin |
| Rom 1:18 | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men... | God's righteous wrath against sin |
| Ps 7:11 | God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day. | God's righteous judgment and wrath |
| Implication for Love & Sin | ||
| 1 Jn 4:19 | We love, because He first loved us. | Direct logical consequence of 1 Jn 4:10 |
| 1 Jn 3:16 | We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. | Love defined by Christ's sacrificial act, setting the example for believers |
| Rom 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Consequence of sin and the solution offered by God |
ContextFirst John chapter 4 opens with a warning to "test the spirits," emphasizing the importance of discerning true prophecy from false, particularly in light of contemporary gnostic or proto-gnostic denials of Christ's true incarnation. Verses 1-6 provide the test: any spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Then, beginning in verse 7, the epistle transitions to God's love as the true characteristic of those born of God. Verses 7-9 stress that God is love and that His love was perfectly demonstrated by sending His only Son. Verse 10 builds on this by clarifying the nature of this love: it's not reactive but proactive, originating solely with God. This clarification is critical for understanding true Christianity, which is rooted in God's prior action rather than human merit or aspiration, setting the stage for the imperative in verses 11-12 to love one another in response to God's immense love for us. The historical context included challenges from those who claimed spiritual enlightenment or a special relationship with God but denied the physical reality of Jesus, diminishing His atoning work. John firmly grounds their understanding of God's nature and love in the concrete historical event of Christ's coming and atoning death.
Word analysis
- In this (ἐν τούτῳ, en toutō): A phrase that often signals what is foundational or definitional. Here, it introduces the precise nature of God's love, clarified in the subsequent clause. It means "herein" or "in this consists."
- love (ἀγάπη, agapē): Refers specifically to divine, self-giving, unconditional love. Unlike human emotional love (eros) or affectionate love (philia), agapē is primarily an act of the will, an unselfish desire for the welfare of others, regardless of their worthiness. It is characteristic of God's very being.
- not that we loved God (οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠγαπήσαμεν τὸν θεόν, ouch hoti hēmeis ēgapēsamen ton theon): This clause explicitly negates human initiative in the source of salvation. "Not that" strongly emphasizes the negative. The aorist tense (ἠγαπήσαμεν) points to a decisive action, meaning that at no point did we initiate the loving relationship or deserve it through our prior love for God.
- but that he loved us (ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, all' hoti autos ēgapēsen hēmas): "But that" serves as a strong contrasting conjunction. The pronoun "He" (autos) is emphatic in the Greek, underscoring that God Himself, solely and entirely, took the initiative in love. His love (ἠγάπησεν, aorist) was the prior and determinative act.
- and sent (καὶ ἀπέστειλεν, kai apesteilen): A deliberate, purposeful divine mission. The verb "sent" implies an authority sending a delegate with a specific purpose.
- his Son (τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, ton huion autou): Identifies the specific one sent—Jesus Christ, who is eternally God's Son and thus fully capable of mediating between God and humanity. This points to the divine-human nature of Christ essential for atonement.
- to be the propitiation (ἱλασμὸν, hilasmon): This is a crucial theological term, signifying the removal of divine wrath by the satisfaction of justice. It is not about changing God's mind from anger to love, for God's love sent the Son. Rather, it is the means by which God's holy justice and righteous wrath against sin are appeased, thus making fellowship with a holy God possible without compromising His character. In the Old Testament, hilasmos often relates to the "mercy seat" or sacrificial rites of atonement where sins were "covered" or "at-oned" for. Here, Christ Himself is the propitiation.
- for our sins (περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, peri tōn hamartiōn hēmōn): Clearly states the specific reason and object of propitiation—the countless trespasses and rebellions of humanity, which create a barrier between humanity and God, invoking God's just condemnation. The "our" makes it personal to believers, while also encompassing all whom God saves.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us": This foundational phrase overturns common human conceptions of earning favor. It starkly asserts divine grace as the antecedent to human response. God’s love is not a reaction to ours, but the uncaused cause of any love or goodness in us. This emphasizes the passive role of humanity in the initiation of reconciliation, shifting the focus entirely to God’s sovereign grace and radical mercy.
- "and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins": This phrase details how God's love was manifested and what it accomplished. It reveals that God's love is not merely sentimental but actively and sacrificially deals with the greatest impediment to relationship with Him: sin and its resulting wrath. The "sending" underscores divine intentionality, while "propitiation for our sins" points to the substitutionary atonement of Christ, satisfying God’s just requirements and clearing the way for humanity to be reconciled without God compromising His holiness.
Commentary1 John 4:10 is a definitive statement about the nature and source of true love, directly countering any human-centric view of spirituality or salvation. It declares that divine love is entirely initiatory, not reciprocal in its origin. God's love did not awaken because of our goodness, nor was it earned by our affections or works. On the contrary, while humanity was mired in sin and enmity towards God, God Himself took the decisive action. The profound demonstration of this unmerited, proactive love was the "sending of His Son," Jesus Christ, for a specific purpose: to be the "propitiation" for our sins. This means that through Christ's sacrificial death, God's righteous wrath against sin was appeased, His justice satisfied, and the path for reconciliation with Him was opened. This is the cornerstone of Christian salvation: a testament to God's boundless grace, enabling Him, as a holy and just God, to extend mercy and love to sinners without compromising His character. This truth defines the quality of genuine love that should flow through believers, knowing they are loved by God not because of what they did, but because of who He is.
Bonus sectionThe concept of "propitiation" (hilasmos) in this verse (and 1 John 2:2) is significant as it roots Christian salvation in the necessity of God's holy nature to deal decisively with sin. It stands in stark contrast to pagan notions of appeasing arbitrary or temperamental deities with offerings. Here, it is God Himself, out of His own infinite love, who provides the means for satisfying His own righteous requirements. It's not a transactional deal where humanity offers something to earn God's favor, but a divine solution to humanity's rebellion and estrangement. The Cross, therefore, is not merely a demonstration of love but the locus where divine love and divine justice perfectly converge, resolving the inherent conflict that human sin introduced into creation. It means Christ's work objectively dealt with the sin problem, allowing God's redemptive purpose to flow towards humanity righteously.