Chapter
1 2 3 4 5
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1 John 3:24
ESV Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
NIV The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave 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.
CSB The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit 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.
KJV 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.

What does 1 John 3:24 mean?

This final verse of chapter 3 concludes with a reminder that obedience is tied to "abiding" in fellowship with God. To abide or continue in God includes obedience, believing in Jesus as Lord, and loving one another. John is simply repeating the teaching of Jesus, who named as the "greatest commandment" to love God, and the next greatest to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–40).

These final two verses of chapter 3 also mention all three persons of the Trinity. Verse 23 refers to Jesus the Son. This verse adds God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Though some have argued the doctrine of the Trinity was "added" long after the New Testament's writing, 1 John offers examples in which Father, Son, and Spirit are all three mentioned together as part of the triune God.

This verse does offer a powerful "test" of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life. Namely, that the influence of the Holy Spirit is proof that a person has been saved. Since Christians can sin, and can choose not to "abide" in His will, a lack of this influence is not always a sign of being an unbeliever. However, those who show no signs of the influence of the Holy Spirit fail to give evidence that they are part of God's family.
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