1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
Note d'étude
Study Note
The simple yet theologically profound statement 'we love him, because he first loved us' encapsulates the Johannine theology of love as fundamentally responsive and derivative rather than initiating. The priority of divine love ('first,' prōtos) in the Johannine understanding is grounded in the entire Incarnation narrative: God's love was demonstrated not in our response but in Christ's coming (1 John 4:9-10: 'he sent his only begotten Son... he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins'). The Greek syntax allows for both 'we love him' (agapōmen auton) and 'we love' (agapōmen, without object) as translations, the latter reading making divine prior love the source of all creaturely love, including love for neighbor (4:20-21). Augustine's famous formulation 'Thou madest us for Thyself... our heart is restless until it repose in Thee' reflects this Johannine theology of love's divine origin.
Autres traductions
We love, because he first loved us.
we--we love him, because He--He first loved us;
We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.
Références croisées
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