And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
- BSB Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
- NKJV Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
- NASB The one who keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
- NLT Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in 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
Those who keep his commandments abide in God, and the Spirit he gave assures us of this mutual indwelling. The Spirit confirms our union with God.
Overview
Obedience marks the mutual abiding of God and the believer. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the inward witness that God remains in us. This introduces the role of the Spirit in assurance and discernment, leading into chapter 4's call to test the spirits by their confession of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Cor 3:16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
- 1 Jn 4:15–16Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
- 1 Jn 4:12–13No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
- 2 Tim 1:14That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
- 1 Cor 6:19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
- 1 Jn 2:6He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
- Rom 8:9–17But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
- John 14:21–23He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
- John 17:21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
- 1 Jn 4:7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
- John 6:54–56Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
- 1 Jn 3:22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
- John 15:7–10If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
- Gal 4:5–6To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
- 2 Cor 6:16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
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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 3:24 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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