1 John 3:10

1 John 3:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
• New International Version (NIV)This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
• English Standard Version (ESV)By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
• New King James Version (NKJV)In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Context of 1 John 3:10

8But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. 11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.

1 John 3:10 word by word

ἐν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστιν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου. πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• the childrenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• manifestφανερόςphaneros · clearG5318
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• of the devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
• whosoeverπᾶςpas · allG3956
• doethποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• notμήmē · notG3361
• righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343
• notοὐou · noG3756
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• he that lovethἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80

Cross-references for 1 John 3:10

• 1 John 5:2We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.
• Luke 6:35“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
• Romans 8:16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
• Ephesians 5:1Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
• Matthew 13:38The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
• John 8:44For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
• Acts 13:10Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
• 1 John 3:7Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.
• 1 John 2:29Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
• 1 John 4:3But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
• John 8:47Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
• 3 John 1:11Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.
• 1 John 3:14If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.
• 1 John 2:9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.
• 1 John 4:8But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Commentaries on 1 John 3:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10In this the children of God are manifest - Here is a fearful text. Who is a child of the devil? He that commits sin. Who is a child of God? He that works righteousness. By this text we shall stand or fall before God, whatever our particular creed may say to the contrary. Neither he that loveth not his brother - No man is of God who is not ready on all emergencies to do any act of kindness for the comfort, relief, and support of any human being. For, as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10In this the children of God are manifest … - That is, this furnishes a test of their true character. The test is found in doing righteousness, and in the love of the brethren. The former he had illustrated; the latter he now proceeds to illustrate. The general idea is, that if a person is not truly a righteous person, and does not love the brethren, he cannot be a child of God. Perhaps by the phrase in this, using a pronoun in the singular number, he…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. 9-10To practice righteousness means to live in a right relationship with God. This is different from what the false teachers claimed. They taught that their spiritual life was not affected by what they did in their physical bodies. Living righteously does not mean that we live perfect lives (1:8). It means we confess our sins and stay in a right relationship with God (1:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. children of the devil--(See on 1Jo 3:8; Ac 13:10). There is no middle class between the children of God and the children of the devil. doeth not righteousness--Contrast 1Jo 2:29. he that loveth not his brother--(1Jo 4:8); a particular instance of that love which is the sum and fulfilment of all righteousness, and the token (not loud professions, or even seemingly good works) that distinguishes God's children from the devil's.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 3:10

• Adoption
• Commandments
• Depravity of Man
• Hatred
• Holiness
• Malice
• Perfection
• Righteousness
• Satan
• Sin
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Children of God
• Appear
• Assure
• Condemn
• Pleasing
• Sin
• Word
• Brotherly Kindness; Brotherly Love

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