1 John 3:1

Just think about this. God our father, he really loves us a lot. He loves us so much that he takes us into his family, and he says that we are his kids. And that’s true. We really are God’s kids. But the people that belong to this world, they don’t know God, so they don’t understand that we are God’s kids.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

2My friends, we are already God’s kids now, and that’s a really good thing. But later, on the day when Jesus comes back, God will do even more good things for us. You see, on that day, God will change us, so that we will be like Jesus. We don’t understand everything about that yet, but we know for sure that it will happen. Yes, we will see Jesus, we will see what he is like, and we will become just like him.

Read all of 1 John 3

Cross References

John 3:16You see, God loved all of the people in the world. He loved everyone so much that he sent them his only son, his special son. God sent him to die instead of them, so that if anyone trusts him, God will not finish them up, but they will live with him for ever.

John 16:3They will do those bad things, because they never knew me, or my father.

Romans 5:8But Jesus Christ died for us while we were still really bad people. That shows that God really loves us very much.

Matthew Henry on 1 John 3:1

The apostle here magnifies the love of God in our adoption, ver. 1, 2 . He thereupon argues for holiness ( ver. 3 ), and against sin, ver. 4-19 . He presses brotherly love, ver. 11-18 . How to assure our hearts before God, ver. 19-22 . The precept of faith, ver. 23 . And the good of obedience, ver. 24 . Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study 1 John 3:1