If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Parallel translations
- WEB One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.
- KJV He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- NKJV He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- NASB The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
- NLT If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
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
Claiming to know God while disobeying his commandments is a lie. Profession without obedience is false.
Overview
John bluntly states that the disobedient person who claims to know God is a liar lacking the truth. This sharpens the previous verse: knowledge of God and disregard for his commands cannot coexist. It exposes hollow profession and calls for a faith that bears fruit in obedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Jn 1:6If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
- Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Jas 2:14–16What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- 1 Jn 4:20If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
- Hos 8:2–3Israel cries out to Me, “O our God, we know You!”
- 1 Jn 2:9If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
- 1 Jn 1:10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:4 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.