Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
Parallel translations
- WEB Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
- KJV Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
- NKJV Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
- NASB Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is of God; the one who does what is evil has not seen God.
- NLT Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.
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
John urges Gaius to imitate good rather than evil, for doing good shows one belongs to God, while doing evil shows one has not truly known him. A person's habitual conduct reveals their true spiritual condition.
Overview
With Diotrephes as a negative example, John exhorts Gaius to follow what is good. The contrast between being 'of God' and 'not having seen God' echoes John's first letter, where doing righteousness marks the children of God. This is not salvation by works but the principle that genuine, regenerating knowledge of God in Christ inevitably produces a life of good.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 1:16–17Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Ps 37:27Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.
- Eph 5:1Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- 1 Pet 3:11He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
- John 3:20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- 1 Pet 3:13Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
- Ps 34:14Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
- 1 Jn 3:6–9No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
- 2 Tim 3:10You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance,
- 1 Jn 2:29If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Exod 23:2You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- John 10:27My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- John 12:26If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
- 1 Th 1:6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
- 1 Th 2:14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,
- Heb 6:12Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
- Prov 12:11The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
- 1 Cor 4:16Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
- 1 Cor 11:1You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
- Phil 3:17Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Faithful love shown for the sake of 'the Name' is service rendered to Christ, who is the truth in which his people walk.
How 3 John 1:11 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.