1 John 3:11
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1 John 3:11
This verse reiterates the message first heard from the community’s beginnings: love one another. John grounds this in the very earliest Christian teaching and life of Jesus. The command to love is not supplementary but central; it reveals the gospel’s shape and the community’s identity. The “message you heard from the beginning” echoes the apostolic witness, a correction to false teaching and an invitation to embody the gospel in concrete acts of love. In a context of competing ideologies and temptations to diverge, love becomes a unifying and practical test of discipleship.
Theology centers on love as the distinguishing mark of God’s children. Love is not sentimental but concrete action that reflects God’s own love in Christ. The verse connects faith with ethical living and reinforces the idea that truth without love is hollow.
Practical applications: choose acts of love in your daily routine. Reach out to someone isolated, reconcile broken relationships, or offer material support to someone in need. Let love shape your decisions at work, in your home, and online. The test of following Jesus is not just right beliefs but right relationships.
Cross-References: John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13; James 2:8-12; 1 John 4:7-12; Romans 13:8-10