1 John 3:16

Know we (egnwkamen). Perfect active indicative, "we have come to know and still know." See 1 John 2:3 for "hereby" (en toutwi). Love (thn agaphn). "The thing called love" (D. Smith). He for us (ekeino uper hmwn). Ekeino as in 1 John 2:6 ; 1 John 3:3 1 John 3:5 , uper here alone in this Epistle, though common in John's Gospel ( Jo 10:11 Jo 10:15 ; 11:50 , etc.) and in 3 John 1:7 . Laid down his life (thn psuchn autou eqhken). First aorist active indicative of tiqhmi, the very idiom used by Jesus of himself in John 10:11 John 10:17 . We ought (hmei opeilomen). Emphatic hmei again. For opeilw see 1 John 2:6 . Of course our laying down our lives for the brethren has no atoning value in our cases as in that of Christ, but is a supreme proof of one's love ( John 13:37 ; John 15:13 ), as often happens.