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.
• New International Version (NIV)If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
• 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.

Context of 1 John 3:20

18Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please 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 without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live.
• John 8:9When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.
• Acts 5:33When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.
• Romans 2:14Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it.
• 1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
• 1 Corinthians 14:24But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.
• 1 John 4:4But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
• Job 33:12“But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being.
• John 10:29for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
• Hebrews 6:13For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
• Psalms 44:20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,
• Psalms 90:8You spread out our sins before you— our secret sins—and you see them all.
• Psalms 139:1O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
• Jeremiah 17:10But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
• Jeremiah 23:24Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.
• John 2:24But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about 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