1 John 4:19
New International Version
We love because he first loved us.

New Living Translation
We love each other because he loved us first.

English Standard Version
We love because he first loved us.

Berean Standard Bible
We love because He first loved us.

Berean Literal Bible
We love because He first loved us.

King James Bible
We love him, because he first loved us.

New King James Version
We love Him because He first loved us.

New American Standard Bible
We love, because He first loved us.

NASB 1995
We love, because He first loved us.

NASB 1977
We love, because He first loved us.

Legacy Standard Bible
We love, because He first loved us.

Amplified Bible
We love, because He first loved us.

Christian Standard Bible
We love because he first loved us.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
We love because He first loved us.

American Standard Version
We love, because he first loved us.

Contemporary English Version
We love because God loved us first.

English Revised Version
We love, because he first loved us.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
We love because God loved us first.

Good News Translation
We love because God first loved us.

International Standard Version
We love because God first loved us.

Majority Standard Bible
We love Him because He first loved us.

NET Bible
We love because he loved us first.

New Heart English Bible
We love, because he first loved us.

Webster's Bible Translation
We love him, because he first loved us.

Weymouth New Testament
We love because God first loved us.

World English Bible
We love him, because he first loved us.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
we love Him, because He first loved us;

Berean Literal Bible
We love because He first loved us.

Young's Literal Translation
we -- we love him, because He -- He first loved us;

Smith's Literal Translation
We should love him, for he first loved us.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Let us therefore love God, because God first hath loved us.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, let us love God, for God first loved us.

New American Bible
We love because he first loved us.

New Revised Standard Version
We love because he first loved us.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
We love God because he first loved us.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Therefore we shall love God because he first loved us.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
We love him, because he first loved us.

Godbey New Testament
Let us love with divine love, because he himself first loved us with divine love.

Haweis New Testament
We love him, because he first loved us.

Mace New Testament
let us love him; since he first loved us.

Weymouth New Testament
We love because God first loved us.

Worrell New Testament
We love, because He first loved us.

Worsley New Testament
We love Him, because He first loved us. If any one say,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Love Comes from God
18There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because He first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.…

Cross References
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 3:16
By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, / made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

1 John 4:10
And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. / It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. / Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. ...

John 15:9-13
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. / If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. / I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ...

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. / For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, / neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. / And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

Psalm 136:26
Give thanks to the God of heaven! His loving devotion endures forever.

Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”


Treasury of Scripture

We love him, because he first loved us.

See on ver.

1 John 4:10
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Luke 7:47
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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First Love Power
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First Love Power
1 John 4
1. He warns them not to believe all who boast of the Spirit;
7. and exhorts to brotherly love.














We love
The phrase "We love" is a profound declaration of the Christian's response to God's initiative. The Greek word for love here is "ἀγαπῶμεν" (agapōmen), derived from "ἀγάπη" (agapē), which signifies a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. This is not merely an emotional affection but a deliberate act of the will, reflecting the love that God has shown us. In the historical context of the early church, this love was a radical departure from the self-centered love prevalent in Greco-Roman society. Christians are called to love others as a reflection of the divine love they have received, demonstrating the transformative power of the Gospel.

because He first loved us
The phrase "because He first loved us" underscores the foundational truth of the Christian faith: God's love is the origin and cause of our ability to love. The Greek word "πρῶτος" (prōtos) means "first" in terms of priority and time, indicating that God's love precedes and enables our love. This reflects the biblical narrative of God's initiative in creation and redemption. Historically, this was a revolutionary concept in a world where gods were often seen as distant and capricious. The Apostle John emphasizes that God's love is proactive and unmerited, as seen in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. This divine love is the catalyst for the believer's love, inspiring a life of service, compassion, and obedience. Theologically, this highlights the doctrine of prevenient grace, where God's grace precedes human action, drawing us into a loving relationship with Him.

Verse 19. - We love. The αὐτόν is spurious, and is not to be understood: the love is again quite general. "We have this principle of love." To take ἀγαπῶμεν as subjunctive in the sense "let us love" is less forcible. St. John states as a fact what ought to be a fact. "We Christians do not fear, but love. Yet this is no credit to us. After God's love in giving his Son for us it would be monstrous not to love."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
We
Ἡμεῖς (Hēmeis)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

love
ἀγαπῶμεν (agapōmen)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural
Strong's 25: To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.

because
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

He
αὐτὸς (autos)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

first
πρῶτος (prōtos)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4413: First, before, principal, most important. Contracted superlative of pro; foremost.

loved
ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 25: To love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Perhaps from agan; to love.

us.
ἡμᾶς (hēmas)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 1st Person Plural
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.


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NT Letters: 1 John 4:19 We love Him because he first loved (1J iJ 1Jn i jn 1 jo)
1 John 4:18
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