English Standard Version
1 John 3:6
6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
1 John 3:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
- New International Version (NIV)No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.
Context of 1 John 3:6
4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Read all of 1 John 31 John 3:6 word by word
πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 John 3:6
- 1 John 2:28And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
- John 15:4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
- 1 John 3:2Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
- 1 John 2:4Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
- 1 John 4:8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- 1 John 5:18We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- 3 John 1:11Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
Commentaries on 1 John 3:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Whosoever abideth in him - By faith, love, and obedience. Sinneth not - Because his heart is purified by faith, and he is a worker together with God, and consequently does not receive the grace of God in vain. See on 1 John 3:3; (note). Hath not seen him - It is no unusual thing with this apostle, both in his gospel and in his epistles, to put occasionally the past for the present, and the present for the past tense. It is very likely that here he puts…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Whosoever abideth in him - See 1 John 2:6. The word here employed ( ́ menōn) properly means to remain, to continue, to abide. It is used of persons remaining or dwelling in a place, in the sense of abiding there permanently, or lodging there, and this is the common meaning of the word, Matthew 10:11; Matthew 26:38; Mark 6:10; Luke 1:56, “et saepe.” In the writings of John, however, it is quite a favorite word to denote the relation which one sustains to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-10Verses 3-10 The sons of God know that their Lord is of purer eyes than to allow any thing unholy and impure to dwell with him. It is the hope of hypocrites, not of the sons of God, that makes allowance for gratifying impure desires and lusts. May we be followers of him as his dear children, thus show our sense of his unspeakable mercy, and express that obedient, grateful, humble mind which becomes us. Sin is the rejecting the Divine law. In him, that is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6remains in Him: The Greek word menō means “to remain” or “to stay.” It describes “abiding” or “remaining” in Christ (John 15:1–8) instead of departing into false teaching. When we live in ongoing and dependent fellowship with Christ, and when we remain faithful to the apostles’ teaching, we will not continue in sin. continues to sin: This verb describes sin as an ongoing or repeated action. John was not saying that a single act of sin means a person does…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. He reasons from Christ's own entire separation from sin, that those in him must also be separate from it. abideth in him--as the branch in the vine, by vital union living by His life. sinneth not--In so far as he abides in Christ, so far is he free from all sin. The ideal of the Christian. The life of sin and the life of God mutually exclude one another, just as darkness and light. In matter of fact, believers do fall into sins (1Jo 1:8-10; 2:1, 2)…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 John 3:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 John 3
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries