1 John 5:3

1 John 5:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
• New International Version (NIV)In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
• English Standard Version (ESV)For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

Context of 1 John 5:3

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is God's Messiah has become a child of God. And if we love God, our Father, we will love his other children too. 2How do we know that we love God's children? We know it when we love God and we do what he tells us to do. Because, if we really love God, we will obey his commands. And those commands are not difficult for us to obey. 4Because we have become God's children, we can live in a good way. We can refuse to live like people who belong to this world. We are able to win against the wrong ways of this world because we trust Jesus Christ. 5It is only people who believe that Jesus is the Son of God who can do that. Only they can win against the wrong ways of this world.

1 John 5:3 word by word

αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρῶμεν· καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖαι οὐκ εἰσίν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the loveὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the loveἀγάπηagapē · loveG26
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• we keepτηρέωtēreō · to keep: observeG5083
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• commandmentsἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• grievousβαρύςbarus · weightyG926

Cross-references for 1 John 5:3

• Exodus 20:6But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.
• Deuteronomy 5:10But I will truly love all those who love me. They are the people who obey my laws. I will continue to love them and their families for ever.
• Deuteronomy 7:9Remember that the Lord your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands. Then you can trust him to be faithful to his covenant. He made that covenant with you, his people, and with your descendants for ever.
• Deuteronomy 10:12So, people of Israel, this is what the Lord your God wants you to do: You should respect him with fear. You should live in a way that pleases him. Love him and serve him in everything that you think and in everything that you do.
• Daniel 9:4I prayed to the Lord my God. I agreed that we were guilty and I prayed this prayer: ‘Our Lord, you are a great God and we give you honour. In your covenant, you have promised to love your people. You continue to be faithful to those people who love you and obey your commands.
• Matthew 12:47Someone told him, ‘Look! Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to speak to you.’
• John 14:15Jesus then said, ‘If you love me, do what I have told you to do.
• John 14:21Those people who obey my commands are the ones who really love me. They accept my words and they do what I say. My Father will love everyone who loves me. I also will love them and I will show myself to them.’
• John 15:10If you obey what I have told you, you will be living in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed what my Father has told me to do. In that way, I live in his love.
• 2 John 1:6How do we show real love? We show it when we live in a way that makes God happy. We obey his commands. He tells us to love one another, and that is how you should live. You have heard that command from the beginning.
• Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect. It makes us strong again. We can trust what the Lord teaches us. He helps ordinary people to be wise.
• Psalms 119:45I will not be in danger as I live, because I try to obey your teaching.
• Proverbs 3:17Wisdom will be your guide through a happy life. She will lead you in ways that keep you safe.
• Micah 6:8But God has told us what is good. This is what the Lord wants from us: ‘You must be fair to other people,’ God says. ‘You must want to be kind. And you must be careful to do what I show you.’
• Matthew 11:28Come to me all of you who are tired. You are like people who have worked for a long time. You are like people who have carried heavy things. Come to me. If you do that, you will find a place to rest.
• Romans 7:12So we understand that God's Law and its commands are completely good. They are holy, fair and good.

Commentaries on 1 John 5:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For this is the love of God - This the love of God necessarily produces. It is vain to pretend love to God while we live in opposition to his will. His commandments - To love him with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves, are not grievous - are not burdensome; for no man is burdened with the duties which his own love imposes. The old proverb explains the meaning of the apostle's words, Love feels no loads. Love to God brings strength from God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments - This constitutes true love; this furnishes the evidence of it. And his commandments are not grievous - Greek, “heavy” - ͂ bareiaithat is, difficult to be borne as a burden. See Matthew 11:30. The meaning is, that his laws are not unreasonable; the duties which he requires are not beyond our ability; his government is not oppressive. It is easy to obey God when the heart is right; and those who…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5Those who believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God have been born spiritually as children of God (see John 20:31). The Spirit of God empowers them to love God and others. Their faith helps them obey God and resist the evil temptations in the world. Through faith, they can love and obey God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. this is--the love of God consists in this. not grievous--as so many think them. It is "the way of the transgressor" that "is hard." What makes them to the regenerate "not grievous," is faith which "overcometh the world" (1Jo 5:4): in proportion as faith is strong, the grievousness of God's commandments to the rebellious flesh is overcome. The reason why believers feel any degree of irksomeness in God's commandments is, they do not realize fully by…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 5:3

• Law
• Love
• Obedience
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Idol
• Children of God
• Hope
• John, the Epistles of
• Love
• Christ, Messiah

Commentaries on 1 John 5

• 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