1 John 3:20

1 John 3:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
• English Standard Version (ESV)for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

Context of 1 John 3:20

18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 19This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

1 John 3:20 word by word

ὅτι ἐὰν καταγινώσκῃ ἡμῶν ἡ καρδία, ὅτι μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν καὶ γινώσκει πάντα.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• heartὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• condemn usκαταγινώσκωkataginōskō · to condemnG2607
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• greater thanμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• knowethγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• all thingsπᾶςpas · allG3956

Cross-references for 1 John 3:20

• Job 27:6I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.
• John 8:9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
• Acts 5:33When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
• Romans 2:14(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.
• 1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
• 1 Corinthians 14:24But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all,
• 1 John 4:4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
• Job 33:12“But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal.
• John 10:29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
• Hebrews 6:13When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,
• Psalms 44:20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
• Psalms 90:8You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
• Psalms 139:1You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
• Jeremiah 17:10“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
• Jeremiah 23:24Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.
• John 2:24But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.

Commentaries on 1 John 3:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20If our heart condemn us - If we be conscious that our love is feigned, we shall feel inwardly condemned in professing to have what we have not. And if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, for he knows every hypocritical winding and turning of the soul, he searches the heart, and tries the reins, and sees all the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of the heart which we cannot see, and, if we could see them, could not comprehend them…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20For 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…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. 19-22Those who truly love (3:16–18) can feel confident that God accepts them. This kind of love shows that their faith is real and that they have new life in Christ (see 4:7–8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 3:20

• Commandments
• Conscience
• God Continued...
• Remorse
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Appear
• Assure
• Condemn
• Pleasing
• Sin
• Word
• Condemn; Condemnation
• Ethics

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