4:10a

And love consists in this: (Lexical Problem) In some languages it may not be possible to talk about love without indicating the object of the love. If that is the case in your language you may have to refer to “the right/true way for someone to love others.”

this: (Pronoun Reference) The word this points forward to 4:10b–c where John says that real love is what God showed by sending his Son to this world. However John first states that real love is not what we show by loving God. It may therefore be clearer to restructure the sentence as:

Real love is not what we show by loving God, rather it is what God showed by loving us…

4:10c

and sent: (Logical Relationship) God’s love and his sending his Son are not two independent facts. Sending his Son was the means by which he put his love into action. This relationship may need to be made explicit in your translation.

the atoning sacrifice: (Meaning) This is what was referred to in 2:2a. (See the note on that verse.) Here the main point in focus is that by sending Jesus to die, God provided the way for our sins to be forgiven. See Good News Translation.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.