"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
— John 15:12 (NIV)
John 15:12 is the verse people mean when they search the reference for "love each other as I have loved you" in the vine discourse. This page is the passage and a plain reading. The next verse is John 15:13. The longer John 15 study on this site is How to love like Jesus: John 15. The similar new command in John 13 is John 13:34 and John 13:34-35.
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The verse
John 15:12 (NIV) reads: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you."
The King James says, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." Jesus does not leave the measure vague. The standard is his own love for them.
What the verse is saying
Jesus has been speaking about abiding in the vine. Verse 12 states the command that flows from that life: love one another the way he has loved. Verse 13 then names the greatest love — laying down one's life for one's friends — which is John 15:13. The pattern is not "love when it is easy." It is love shaped by Jesus' own self-giving.
This page stays with the reference. The chapter walk-through is How to love like Jesus: John 15. The Upper Room parallel is John 13:34.
How people use John 15:12
People look up the reference for sermons on Christian friendship, foot-washing services, and studies on abiding love. It pairs with 1 John 4:7 when the topic is love that comes from God, and with 1 John 3:16 when the topic is laying down one's life for brothers and sisters.
Questions people ask
What does John 15:12 say?
It says my command is this: love each other as I have loved you.
What does love each other as I have loved you mean?
It means the measure of love among Jesus' followers is his own love for them — costly, chosen, and concrete. See How to love like Jesus: John 15.
How does John 15:12 relate to John 15:13?
Verse 12 gives the command. Verse 13 names the greatest love: laying down one's life for one's friends. Read John 15:13.
Is this the same as John 13:34?
Both command love patterned on Jesus' love. John 13 sets it as a new command after the foot washing; John 15 restates it in the vine discourse. See John 13:34 and John 13:34-35.
Where should I read next?
For greater love has no one than this, read John 15:13. For the chapter study, read How to love like Jesus: John 15. For the new command, read John 13:34.
