1 John 3:24

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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — John writes to a community under pressure from false teachers who separate belief from practice. This verse closes the argument of 3:14–24, which has been contrasting genuine love-in-deed against mere verbal profession.

The words — τηρῶν (tērōn), "keeping," is a present participle: not a single act of obedience but continuous, ongoing observance. The double ἐν ("in") frames the relationship as mutual indwelling rather than a one-directional gift.

The thread — 1 Corinthians 3:16 identifies the believer as God's temple where His Spirit dwells; 1 John 4:15 and 4:12 repeat the same mutual-indwelling formula tied to confession and love respectively.

Why it lands — The verse makes the evidence of God's presence in a person two-fold and checkable: obedience to the commandment (belief in the Son + love for fellow believers, per v. 23) and the Spirit as the internal proof. It offers no emotional test; it offers a behavioral one.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 John 4:15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
2 Timothy 1:14 Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
John 14:21 Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
Romans 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
John 17:21 that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
1 John 3:22 and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.