1 John 3:18

1 John 3:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
• New International Version (NIV)Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Context of 1 John 3:18

16We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians. 17But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the love of God reside in such a person? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth. 19And by this we will know that we are of the truth and will convince our conscience in his presence, 20that if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience and knows all things.

1 John 3:18 word by word

Τεκνία μὴ ἀγαπῶμεν λόγῳ μηδὲ τῇ γλώσσῃ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἔργῳ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• little childrenτεκνίονteknion · childrenG5040
• let usἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• notμήmē · notG3361
• in wordλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• neitherμηδέmēde · norG3366
• in tongueγλῶσσαglōssa · tongueG1100
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• in deedἔργονergon · workG2041
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• in truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225

Cross-references for 1 John 3:18

• 1 John 2:1(My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One,
• Exodus 33:21The Lord said, “Here is a place by me; you will station yourself on a rock.
• Matthew 25:41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
• Romans 12:9Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.
• 1 Corinthians 13:4Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.
• Galatians 5:13For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, but through love serve one another.
• Galatians 6:1Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
• Ephesians 4:1I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,
• 1 Thessalonians 1:3because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
• James 2:15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food,
• 1 Peter 1:22You have purified your souls by obeying the truth in order to show sincere mutual love. So love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

Commentaries on 1 John 3:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18My little children - , My beloved children, let us not love in word - in merely allowing the general doctrine of love to God and man to be just and right; Neither in tongue - In making professions of love, and of a charitable and humane disposition, and resting there; but in deed - by humane and merciful acts; And in truth - Feeling the disposition of which we speak. There is a good saying in Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 145, 4, on this point: "If love consisted…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue - By mere profession; by merely sayinG that we love each other. See 1 Peter 1:22. But in deed and in truth - In such acts as shall show that our professed love is sincere and real. Let us do the deed of love, whether anything is said about it or not. See the notes at Matthew 6:3.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-21Verses 16-21 Here is the condescension, the miracle, the mystery of Divine love, that God would redeem the church with his own blood. Surely we should love those whom God has loved, and so loved. The Holy Spirit, grieved at selfishness, will leave the selfish heart without comfort, and full of darkness and terror. By what can it be known that a man has a true sense of the love of Christ for perishing sinners, or that the love of God has been planted in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18Christ’s example shows that real love requires self-sacrifice. We follow his example when we care deeply about the needs of other people. This means giving our time, effort, prayers, and possessions to help them. In some cases, it may even mean giving our lives to meet their needs.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. When the venerable John could no longer walk to the meetings of the Church but was borne thither by his disciples, he always uttered the same address to the Church; he reminded them of that one commandment which he had received from Christ Himself, as comprising all the rest, and forming the distinction of the new covenant, "My little children, love one another." When the brethren present, wearied of hearing the same thing so often, asked why he…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 3:18

• Commandments
• Kindness
• Liberality
• Love
• Poor
• Righteous
• Righteousness
• Sincerity

In the dictionaries

• Appear
• Assure
• Condemn
• Pleasing
• Sin
• Word
• Ethics
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• Ten Commandments, the

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