1 John 3:11
“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The message heard from the beginning is that we should love one another.
What Does 1 John 3:11 Mean?
John recalls the foundational message: from the beginning they heard that we should love one another. This is no afterthought but central to the gospel they received.
Love is the heartbeat of the Christian message. It is not an advanced lesson for the few but the basic call given to all from the start. John keeps returning to it because it is so easily neglected. To follow Christ is to love one another, and this command has been with us since we first believed. John roots the whole of Christian conduct in this ancient and ever-fresh word of love.
In the Original Language
agapao (ἀγαπάω), 'to love' -- to seek another's good with self-giving love, the message heard from the beginning.