62 - 1Jn 4:11
Ἀγαπητοὶ, εἰ οὕτως ὁ Θεὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν. From 1Jn 4:8 till now the apostle has been exhibiting how the love to the brethren, which he enforces, comes to reality in us; purely on the ground of a divine operation, God is love, and has through the central act of the mission of His Son established this His love as an efficient power in us. Now in 1Jn 4:11 comes forward the application: the exhortation to suffer the germ thus deposited in us to come to its full development. The words as they run show in the most beautiful manner the accuracy of the above explanation of the previous verses. For, if the current exposition were true, according to which the anticipating love of God is argument to us that we all should love our brethren in the same anticipating manner, the conclusion of the proposition ought to have the οὕτως [“so”] of its beginning repeated; for then the apostle would not be commending brotherly love in general, but a definite kind of brotherly love (οὕτως [“so”]). But the apostle has not inserted this, and we must seek another explanation. The emphasis lies upon the ὀφείλομεν [“we ought”]: it is explained that, in virtue of the mission of the Son of God, love ἐνἡμῖν[“in us”] is manifested, that is, is implanted in us as an energizing power. Let then your light shine, trade with the pound given, is the apostle’s exhortation. This trading with the pound, the evidencing of brotherly love, is your most solemn duty: every gift like that of the infusion of divine love, makes us responsible for its use. And now the interpretation of the οὕτως [“so”] in the beginning suggests itself at once: it is our duty if God has so loved us: how? in that He hath revealed His love ἐνἡμῖν[“in us”], implanted the germ of it in our hearts. The ἀγαπητοί [“beloved”], which introduces the verse, resumes that of 1Jn 4:7: the former one was only the foundation for this superstructure of exhortation. And, when he has come to this, the apostle brings it home to his readers by an affectionate appeal to the heart of each.