Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
Know we (egnwkamen). Perfect active indicative, "we have come to know and still know." See I John 2:3 for "hereby" (en toutw).
Love (thn agaphn). "The thing called love" (D. Smith).
He for us (ekeinov uper hmwn). Ekeinov as in I John 2:6; I John 3:3, I John 3:5, uper here alone in this Epistle, though common in John's Gospel (John 10:11, John 10:15; John 11:50, etc.) and in III John 1:7.
Laid down his life (thn yuxhn autou eqhken). First aorist active indicative of tiqhmi, the very idiom used by Jesus of himself in John 10:11, John 10:17 f.
We ought (hmeiv ofeilomen). Emphatic hmeiv again. For ofeilw see I John 2:6. Of course our laying down our lives for the brethren has no atoning value in our cases as in that of Christ, but is a supreme proof of one's love (John 13:37 f.; John 15:13), as often happens.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing 1 John 3:16:
John 6:51
John 15:13
1 John 2:3
1 John 2:6
1 John 4:17
3 John 1:8
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