1 John 3:16 (WEB)

Passage

By this we know love, because 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. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.

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

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because 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 of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?

1 John 3:18 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.

Study Lenses

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

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