And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
- KJV And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
- NKJV And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
- NASB This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
- NLT And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.
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
God's command is to believe in his Son Jesus Christ and to love one another. Faith and love sum up his will for us.
Overview
John condenses the commandments into one: believe in Jesus Christ and love fellow believers. Faith in Christ and love for others are inseparable and together express the heart of obedience. This unites the letter's two great tests, doctrine and love, as the substance of God's command.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- John 6:29Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
- John 13:34A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
- 1 Pet 1:22Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- John 15:12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
- 1 Pet 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- 1 Jn 3:11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
- 1 Jn 4:21And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
- Mark 9:7Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!”
- 1 Th 4:9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
- Eph 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- Matt 22:39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- 1 Jn 2:8–10Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.
- Acts 16:31They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”
- Deut 18:15–19The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
- Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.
- John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 14:1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
- 1 Tim 1:15This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 3:23 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.