1 John 4:10 - He Sent His Son to Be the Propitiation for Our Sins

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” — 1 John 4:10 KJV 

First John 4:10 gives us one of Scripture's clearest explanations of God's love demonstrated through Jesus Christ. John does not begin with humanity's love for God. He begins with God's love toward humanity.

“Not That We Loved God”

John immediately removes human boasting from the picture:

“not that we loved God…”

God's saving love was not a reward for humanity first loving Him. He took the initiative.

This agrees with the later statement:

“We love him, because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 KJV

The foundation of redemption is therefore not our love reaching upward to God, but God's love reaching toward us through His Son.

“But That He Loved Us”

God did not merely say that He loved us. He demonstrated His love through action.

The surrounding passage explains that God manifested His love by sending His Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In John's theology, the sending of Christ is the supreme historical demonstration of divine love.

Biblical love is therefore more than emotion.

Love gives.
Love acts.
Love sacrifices.

“And Sent His Son”

Notice the relationship:

The Father sent.
The Son was sent.

This agrees with 1 John 4:14:

“the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”

Jesus Christ did not simply come as a moral teacher. The Father sent His Son on a redemptive mission.

“The Propitiation for Our Sins”

The word “propitiation” is especially important.

The Greek word is ἱλασμός (hilasmos), which refers to an atoning sacrifice dealing with sin. The same word appears in 1 John 2:2. Translators and scholars sometimes emphasize either propitiation—the turning away of divine wrath—or expiation—the removal of guilt; the KJV preserves the word propitiation. 

In simple terms:

We had sin.
Sin required atonement.
God sent His Son.
Christ became the sacrifice that dealt with our sin.

This makes John's statement about love especially powerful.

God's love did not simply overlook sin as though sin did not matter. At the cross, God's love and His righteous dealing with sin meet.

Love and the Cross

John's message is therefore deeper than:

“God loves you.”

He tells us how we know God loves us:

He sent His Son.

And he tells us why the Son was sent:

“to be the propitiation for our sins.”

The cross is therefore the demonstration of divine love.

Christ did not die because humanity had already made itself worthy of God's love. God loved and acted toward sinners through His Son.

Personal Application

First John 4:10 changes the way we understand love.

When we wonder what genuine love looks like, we look at what God did through Christ.

And the next verse gives us our response:

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” — 1 John 4:11 KJV

Those who have received sacrificial love are called to demonstrate love.

We forgive because we have received mercy.

We show compassion because God showed compassion toward us.

We love because:

“he first loved us.”

The message of 1 John 4:10 is beautifully simple:

God loved.
God sent.
Christ sacrificed Himself for our sins.
We received His love.
Now we are called to love one another.