1 John 3:16 (LSB)

Passage

By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Nearby Context

1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death.

1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

1 John 3:16 By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 3:17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "known", "love", "laid", "down", "life", "ought", and "lives". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "known" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Everyone who hates his brother is a..." into verse 17's "But whoever has the world s goods...", so "known" 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 "known" and "love" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.