What does 1 John 3:16 mean?
“By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. The cross sets the definition of love.
Love is not first a feeling, John says, but laying down a life. We learn what love means by looking at the cross.
"And we ought to lay down our lives" — the verb is daily, not just final. There are many ways to lay down a life: time, money, comfort, plans.
"For the brothers" — the Christian community is the first proving ground of love. If we cannot love here, our claim to love God is hollow.
Original BibleDawn explanation · reviewed 2026-06-07. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.