1 John 4:10 (ASV)

Passage

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:9 Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.

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.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:12 No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "herein", "love", "loved", "sent", "propitiation", and "sins". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "herein" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Herein was the love of God manifested..." into verse 11's "Beloved if God so loved us we...", so "herein" and "love" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "herein" and "love" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.