Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
What does 1 John 3:1 mean?
Little does the world know of the happiness of the real followers of Christ. Little does the world think that these poor, humble, despised ones, are favourites of God, and will dwell in heaven.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside 1 John 3:1-3 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on 1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love - What love, in "kind" and in "degree." In kind the most tender and the most ennobling, in adopting us into His family, and in permitting us to address Him as our Father; in "degree" the most exalted, since there is no higher love that can be shown than in adopting a poor and friendless orphan, and giving him a parent and a home. Even God could bestow upon us no more valuable token of affection than that we should be adopted into His family, and permitted to regard Him as our Father.
Key words
- Behold
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Behold what manner of love,.
- manner
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Behold what manner of love,.
Context in 1 John 3
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1 John 3 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as love and discernment. First John is a profound epistle of light, truth, love, assurance, obedience, and confession of the incarnate Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of love, truth, and assurance in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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A guided collection of passages on God’s love, neighbor-love, steadfast covenant love, and the shape of love in Christian life.
Bible verses about justice and mercy
Key texts on public righteousness, neighbor-love, social ethics, compassion, and the prophetic refusal to separate worship from justice.
Passages on lowliness, modesty, the contrast between pride and humility, and the way God exalts those who humble themselves.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.