God & Savior

1 John 4:19

We love because He first loved us.
1 John 4:19
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Study notes

We love because He first loved us.

Explanation

Our love is a response. God's love always comes first, as verse 10 says: not that we loved God, but that He loved us.

Original language
  • ἀγαπῶμεν (agapōmen): to love
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 1st person plural · Strong's G0025 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    We love.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 John 4:19, word 2

  • πρῶτος (prōtos): first
    Greek · Adjective, nominative, singular, masculine · Strong's G4413G · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    First.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 John 4:19, word 5

  • ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen): to love
    Greek · Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G0025 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Loved.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 John 4:19, word 6

Cross-references
  • 1 John 4:10 · Surrounding passage

    Not that we loved God, but that He loved us.

  • Romans 5:8 · Same theme

    While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

  • John 15:16 · Same theme

    You did not choose Me, but I chose you.

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

ἡμεῖς ἀγαπῶμεν ὅτι αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς.

  1. ἡμεῖςhēmeis“We ourselves”
    Personal pronoun, 1st person, nominative, plural · from ἐγώ · “I/we” · Strong's G3165
  2. ἀγαπῶμενagapōmen“love”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 1st person plural · from ἀγαπάω · “to love” · Strong's G0025
  3. ὅτιhoti“because”
    Conjunction · “that/since” · Strong's G3754H
  4. αὐτὸςautos“He himself”
    Personal pronoun, nominative, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  5. πρῶτοςprōtos“first”
    Adjective, nominative, singular, masculine · “first” · Strong's G4413G
  6. ἠγάπησενēgapēsen“loved”
    Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from ἀγαπάω · “to love” · Strong's G0025
  7. ἡμᾶς.hēmas“us.”
    Personal pronoun, 1st person, accusative, plural · from ἐγώ · “I/we” · Strong's G3165
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)

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