1-john 4:10
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins.
Webster's Revision
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
World English Bible
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Definitions for 1-john 4:10
Clarke's 1-john 4:10 Bible Commentary
Not that we loved God - And that he was thereby induced to give his Son to be a propitiation for our sins. No: we were enemies to God, and yet Christ died for our ungodly souls. (See Romans 5:6-11, and the notes there.) So it was God's love, not our merit, that induced him to devise means that his banished might not be expelled from him.
Barnes's 1-john 4:10 Bible Commentary
Herein is love - In this great gift is the highest expression of love, as if it had done all that it can do.
Not that we loved God - Not that we were in such a state that we might suppose he would make such a sacrifice for us, but just the opposite. If we had loved and obeyed him, we might have had reason to believe that he would be willing to show his love to us in a corresponding manner. But we were alienated from him. We had even no desire for his friendship and favor. In This state he showed the greatness of his love for us by giving his Son to die for his enemies. See the notes at Romans 5:7-8.
But that he loved us - Not that he approved our character, but that he desired our welfare. Hc loved us not with the love of complacency, but with the love of benevolence.
And sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins - On the meaning of the word "propitiation," see the notes at Romans 3:25. Compare the notes at 1 John 2:2.