He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, 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.
- BSB If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he 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 that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth.
- Titus 1:16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
- Jas 2:14–16What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?
- 1 Jn 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
- Hos 8:2–3They cry to me, ‘My God, we Israel acknowledge you!’
- 1 Jn 2:9He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in the darkness even until now.
- 1 Jn 1:10If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him 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.