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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
- Ps 37:27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
- Eph 5:1Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
- 1 Pet 3:11Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
- John 3:20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
- 1 Pet 3:13And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
- Ps 34:14Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
- 1 Jn 3:6–9Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
- 2 Tim 3:10But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
- 1 Jn 2:29If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
- Exod 23:2Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
- John 12:26If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
- 1 Th 1:6And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
- 1 Th 2:14For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
- Heb 6:12That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
- Prov 12:11He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
- 1 Cor 4:16Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
- 1 Cor 11:1Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
- Phil 3:17Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
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.