Chapter
1 2 3 4 5
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1 John 3:11
ESV For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
NIV For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
NASB For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we are to love one another;
CSB For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another,
NLT This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
KJV For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
NKJV For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

What does 1 John 3:11 mean?

John begins a new section with a positive reminder about love. "The beginning" likely refers to when his readers first heard the gospel message. John 13:34–35 offers the first time Jesus made this statement: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Jesus mentions this command to "love one another" again in John 15:12 and 17. Paul mentions its importance in Romans 12:10 and 1 Thessalonians 4:9. Peter notes believers are to "love one another" in 1 Peter 1:22. John develops this theme throughout this chapter (1 John 3:11, 23) as well as the next (1 John 4:7, 11, 12), mentioning it again in 2 John 1:5.

The fact that John directs this statement to those who have heard this message already is an important piece of context. The points raised in the previous section are important in examining one's own faith, but—technically—they are warnings given to saved believers.
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