He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
- BSB Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
- NKJV He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
- NASB The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling.
- NLT Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Loving fellow believers shows one abides in the light, with no cause for stumbling. Love keeps us on a stable, godly path.
Overview
The one who loves remains in the light and has nothing in him to cause stumbling, whether for himself or others. Love produces moral and spiritual stability. Contrasted with the hater of the next verse, the loving believer walks securely in fellowship with God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
- Rom 9:32–33Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
- Rom 14:13Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.
- Hos 6:3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
- 2 Pet 1:10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
- John 8:31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
- Matt 18:7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
- Matt 13:21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
- Luke 17:1–2Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
- Phil 1:10That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
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Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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