1 John 3:11

11 ¹For this is the message ²which you have heard from the beginning, ³that we should love one another;

1 John 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 John 3:11

For this is the message
Sent from God by Christ, or what he in his ministry declared, and is the commandment which was so frequently urged by him, ( John 13:34 ) ( John 15:12 John 15:17 ) ;

that ye have heard from the beginning;
of the preaching of the Gospel to them, and of their conversion; see ( 1 John 2:7 ) ;

that we should love one another;
to which the command of Christ, the reason with which it is enforced, and the early notice of it, should engage.

1 John 3:11 In-Context

9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.

Cross References

• 1. 1 John 1:5
• 2. 1 John 2:7
• 3. John 13:4; John 15:12; 1 John 4:7, 11f, 21; 2 John 5