1 John 4:11 - Exposition

Beloved introduces a solemn exhortation, as in 1 John 4:1 , 1 John 4:7 . The "if" implies no uncertainty (see on 1 John 5:9 ); it puts the fact more gently, but not more doubtfully, than "since." The "so" οὕτως covers both the quality and the quantity of the love. καὶ belongs solely to ἡμεῖς : "we also on our part ought to love one another." We should have expected as the apodosis, "we also ought to love God." But this link in the thought the apostle omits as self-evident, and passes on to state what necessarily follows from it. In 1 John 4:12 he shows how loving God involves loving one's fellow-men.