1 John 3:20 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:19-22

The privileges of Christian loyalty. Connecting link: The ἔν τούτῳ with which our present paragraph begins is the connecting link between the material of this homily and that of the last. It connects the privileges here specified with the duties there enjoined. No verses of the Epistles of John lead us more into the very heart-work of religion than do these; nor are there any the construction of which is so complex, and the exact meaning thereof less easy to ascertain. We have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:19-22

The judicial function of conscience. "And hereby we know that we are of the truth," etc. Our text suggests the following observations. I. THAT CONSCIENCE EXERCISES A. JUDICIAL FUNCTION IN MAN . By "our heart" in the text St. John means, as Alford says, "the heart as the seat of the conscience, giving rise there to peace or to terror, according as it is at rest or in disquietude.… The heart here is the inward judge of the man." Many are the definitions of "conscience."... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:20

Our heart means our conscience, not the affections, which would be σπάγχνα ( 1 John 3:17 ). If we are conscious of sincere and habitual love, this will calm us when conscience reproaches us. St. John never uses the more technical term συνείδησις , which occurs in the Acts and 1 Peter, and is very frequent in St. Paul. God is greater than our heart. It is asked whether this means that he is more merciful or more rigorous. Neither the one nor the other. It means that, although our... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 3:20

For if our heart condemn us - We cannot hope for peace from any expectation that our own hearts will never accuse us, or that we ourselves can approve of all that we have done. The reference here is not so much to our past lives, as to our present conduct and deportment. The object is to induce Christians so to live that their hearts will not condemn them for any secret sins, while the outward deportment may be unsullied. The general sentiment is, that if they should so live that their own... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 3:18-20

1 John 3:18-20. My beloved children, let us not love merely in word or in tongue Contenting ourselves with complimental expressions of regard, or with giving our Christian brethren nothing but fair speeches; but in deed and in truth Let our actions approve the sincerity of our professions, and, by relieving them in their necessities and straits, let us show that we sincerely love them. And hereby Εν τουτω , in this, by being compassionate, kind, and bountiful, according to our... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 John 3:11-24

God’s children love one another (3:11-24)Since Christians do what is right and refuse what is wrong, their lives will be characterized by love. But the world will not respond kindly to their goodness, just as Cain did not respond kindly to Abel’s (11-12). When sinners are shamed by the uprightness of others, the outcome usually is that they hate them for it (13). Hate produces murder, and murder is obviously not a characteristic of the Christian (14-15).Those who have genuine love, instead of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 John 3:20

if . App-118 . condemn . Greek. kataginosko. See Galatians 2:11 (blamed). all things . Compare Peter's answer, John 21:17 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 John 3:20

1 John 3:20. God is greater than our heart,— That is, more powerful, say some, and consequently more able to condemn and punish: but greater in knowledge, say others; and the following words evidently favour this interpretation: a criminal may have some hopes of escaping, when he stands before an earthly judge, though his own conscience condemn him; but God knows us more exactly than we do ourselves; and thosewhoseconsciencescondemnthem,mustexpectthat God will ratify the sentence of conscience,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 John 3:20

20. LUTHER and BENGEL take this verse as consoling the believer whom his heart condemns; and who, therefore, like Peter, appeals from conscience to Him who is greater than conscience. "Lord, Thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love Thee." Peter's conscience, though condemning him of his sin in denying the Lord, assured him of his love; but fearing the possibility, owing to his past fall, of deceiving himself, he appeals to the all-knowing God: so Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Corinthians... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 3:10-23

C. Learning to See Christian Love 3:10b-23John has made clear that the only basis on which a Christian can be identified (manifested) as such is by his or her righteous behavior. Christians are not manifested by the absence of sin in them; he never says this. The next question that John proceeded to respond to is, How can we identify "righteousness?" John’s response was, It is not seen in morality-unbelievers can be moral-but in brotherly love. In this section, as in the one preceding it and in... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:19-22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:19-22

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 John 3:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 John 3:20

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 John 3:18-20

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 John 3:11-24

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 John 3:20

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 1 John 3:20

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 John 3:20

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 John 3:10-23

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