Everyone knows the one, but how many can quote the other?

You’re probably thinking “I got this…”

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Nice. But that’s not the one. I mean the other John 3:16…

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

That’s what John said in his first epistle. In our Bible’s its a phrase found in “1 John 3:16.” Of course, John and the other Bible writers didn’t use chapters and verses to break up their texts; those came later. Still, they are handy, and every now and then, you get something like this. A bit of harmony happens, when you see how similar the messages are behind these two “John 3:16” verses.

The more famous one, taken from a quote by Jesus, describes love from the Father’s perspective. The other text describes love from the perspective of the Son.

We know God loves us because He gave His Son to us. And we know Jesus loves us, because He laid down His life for us.

And to finish John’s thought: We ought to love likewise, and be willing to lay down our lives for our brethren.

What a perfectly beautiful Bible verse!