Darby Bible
1 John 4:6
6We are of 1God; he that knows 2God hears us; he who is not of 3God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1 John 4:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
- New International Version (NIV)We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
- English Standard Version (ESV)We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
- New King James Version (NKJV)We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Context of 1 John 4:6
4Ye are of God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that [is] in you than he that [is] in the world. 5They are of the world; for this reason they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God; he that knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 7Beloved, let us love one another; because love is of God, and every one that loves has been begotten of God, and knows God. 8He that loves not has not known God; for God is love.
Read all of 1 John 41 John 4:6 word by word
ἡμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσμεν· ὁ γινώσκων τὸν θεὸν ἀκούει ἡμῶν· ὃς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἀκούει ἡμῶν. ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πλάνης.¶Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 John 4:6
- 1 John 4:4Ye are of God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that [is] in you than he that [is] in the world.
- Micah 3:8But truly I am filled with power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgment and with might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
- Romans 1:1Paul, bondman of Jesus Christ, [a] called apostle, separated to God's glad tidings,
- 1 Corinthians 2:12But we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which [is] of God, that we may know the things which have been freely given to us of God:
- 2 Peter 3:2to be mindful of the words spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Saviour by your apostles;
- Jude 1:17But ye, beloved, remember the words spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,
- 1 John 4:8He that loves not has not known God; for God is love.
- Luke 10:22All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son is pleased to reveal [him].
- John 8:19They said to him therefore, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye know neither me nor my Father. If ye had known me, ye would have known also my Father.
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;
- John 13:20Verily, verily, I say to you, He who receives whomsoever I shall send receives me; and he that receives me receives him who has sent me.
- John 18:37Pilate therefore said to him, Thou art then a king? Jesus answered, Thou sayest [it], that I am a king. I have been born for this, and for this I have come into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice.
- John 20:21[Jesus] said therefore again to them, Peace [be] to you: as the Father sent me forth, I also send you.
- 1 Corinthians 14:37If any one thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him recognise the things that I write to you, that it is [the] Lord's commandment.
- 2 Corinthians 10:7Do ye look at what concerns appearance? If any one has confidence in himself that he is of Christ, let him think this again in himself, that even as he [is] of Christ, so also [are] we.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who know not God, and those who do not obey the glad tidings of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Commentaries on 1 John 4:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6We are of God - We, apostles, have the Spirit of God, and speak and teach by that Spirit. He that knoweth God - who has a truly spiritual discernment, heareth us - acknowledges that our doctrine is from God; that it is spiritual, and leads from earth to heaven. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth - The doctrine and teacher most prized and followed by worldly men, and by the gay, giddy, and garish multitude, are not from God; they savor of the flesh, lay on…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6We are of God - John here, doubtless, refers to himself, and to those who taught the same doctrines which he did. He takes it for granted that those to whom he wrote would admit this, and argues from it as an indisputable truth. He had given them such evidence of this, as to establish his character and claims beyond a doubt; and he often refers to the fact that he was what he claimed to be, as a point which was so well established that no one would call…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6We are from God: John tests whether a person truly belongs to Christ by seeing if that person listens to the teachings of the apostles and agrees with them. The Spirit of truth is the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13–15). The Holy Spirit teaches the truth about Christ (1 John 2:20, 27). False prophets have a spirit of deception. This is the spirit of antichrist, which leads people away from Christ (see study note on 2:22). For this reason…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. We--true teachers of Christ: in contrast to them. are of God--and therefore speak of God: in contrast to "speak they of the world," 1Jo 4:5. knoweth God--as his Father, being a child "of God" (1Jo 2:13, 14). heareth us--Compare Joh 18:37, "Every one that is of the truth, heareth My voice." Hereby--(1Jo 4:2-6); by their confessing, or not confessing, Jesus; by the kind of reception given them respectively by those who know God, and by those who are of…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 4:6
In the dictionaries
Notes
Commentaries on 1 John 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries