1 John 4:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then, showing the excellence of God's love, he says: God did this, that is, He delivered up His own Son for us, not because we loved Him.

Rather, He first began to benefit us out of love and sent His Son. And He not only sent Him, but by His own blood He accomplished the cleansing of our sins.

If, he says, God so loved us, though we are by no means of the same nature as He, then much more ought we to love. We ought to love those akin to us.

Having known the excellence of love, we ought to show it to others.

Just as the one who does not choose what is worthy of choice is guilty, so praise belongs to those who love those worthy of love, because they themselves are beloved.

By disposing ourselves in this way, we have both things. We are loved, because God loves us and has received us to Himself as children. We are beloved, because we love our neighbors.

We did not love Him first, for He loved us precisely so that we might love Him. “And He sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins.” As propitiation, as the one who offers sacrifice. He offered sacrifice for our sins. Where did He find an offering? Where did He find the pure sacrifice that He wished to offer? He would have found no other. He offered Himself.

The perfect love of God, by which He first loved us, will pass into the disposition of our heart through the fulfillment of this prayer of the Lord. We are certain that this prayer can in no way remain fruitless.

The Apostle draws special attention to this property of divine love: it was not deserved by mankind.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the propitiation for our sins.

It belongs to the higher to show favor and love to the lower when the lower deserves this favor and love by obedience and devotion to the higher.

But the love of God was poured out upon mankind before they loved God.

All men sinned. Through sin all became unworthy of God's love and incapable of receiving the gifts of this all-holy love, being impure and given over to sin.

In this sinful condition of the human race, God manifested His love for mankind. And what love did He manifest?

He sent His Only-begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

He sent Him so that by His merits He might satisfy the righteousness of God, and by His sufferings and death deliver us from condemnation and eternal death.

The Apostle, having said that our God is the God of love, and that only one who loves Him knows Him, presents the clearest proof of God's love for man.

This proof was shown when He sent His Only-begotten Son into the world and delivered Him up for the life and salvation of the world.

Let us note here that the Lord's regard for fallen humanity is not the result of sacrifices or of any merits on humanity's part.

The restoration of life to one who had sinned beyond number required a boundless propitiation.

But what can worthless clay bring to the great Creator? What could earthly poverty render to the riches of heavenly goodness?

The heavenly Father Himself was moved to compassion for poor humanity. He loved us without our merits, and without our sacrifices sent His Only-begotten Son.

“He has given us of His Spirit.” The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles had, besides the aim of enlightenment and consolation, another aim: witness concerning Jesus Christ Himself as the true Son of God (Jn 15:26). “And we have seen,” the Apostle adds (1 Jn 4:14), “and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”

In this is love, and so forth. This is the Apostle's further explanation of the greatness of divine love for mankind (cf. Rom 8:32).

The Apostle draws special attention to this feature of God's love for sinful people: it was granted to them entirely without merit on their part (cf. Rom 5:8).

Not that we loved God. People did not first, or more greatly, love God. Rather, He Himself loved us.

People sinned and were deprived of God's mercy. They continually grieved and offended His love by their sins and iniquities, and they were unworthy of God's love.

Nevertheless, He Himself loved sinful people and sent His Son as the propitiation (see note on 1 Jn 2:2).

By His merits He satisfied the righteousness of God for human sins, delivered them from condemnation and torment, and granted them eternal life.

Those who know God always join love to this knowledge (1 Jn 4:7-12).

For “he who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 Jn 4:7-8). This was revealed in the fact that He sent His Only-begotten Son and gave Him “as the propitiation for our sins.”

And this was so not because we first loved Him, “but because He loved us” (1 Jn 4:9-10).

“If God so loved us,” then, according to the reasoning of the holy Apostle John, love must also be manifested on our part.

Since God is invisible in Himself, our love must be directed toward beings who bear His image. Thus our union with Him may be living, and love may be not an empty sound, but perfect love.

“No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His perfect love is in us” (1 Jn 4:11-13).

After interrupting his discourse on love for a time by speaking about heretics, the Apostle now returns again to the teaching on Christian love. He gives the most exalted and profound doctrine concerning it.

In this he follows the example of the Lord's discourse in His farewell conversation with the disciples.

He often interrupts his speech with living addresses and repetitions, so natural and necessary in the fatherly instruction of a father and pastor speaking with his spiritual children.

He indicates the first motive for mutual Christian love in the origin of Christian love from God.

By this, on the one hand, the high dignity of love is shown. On the other hand, it is shown to be a gift of God that we must put into action.