First John 2:3 teaches that knowing God is shown by obeying his commands, so obedience is the evidence of a real relationship with him rather than a claim made with words. The verse is part of a letter traditionally attributed to the apostle John, written to Christians who were facing teachers who claimed special knowledge of God while living in ways that contradicted the faith. John addresses his readers as his “little children” and writes to strengthen their confidence in their own relationship with Christ.
This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.
1 John 2:3 (WEB)
What 1 John 2:3 Means
The phrase “we know that we know him” describes a settled assurance, not a hope that hangs by a thread. John is saying that believers can be confident they know God, and he gives a practical test for that confidence. The test is not a feeling or a religious experience but a pattern of life: “if we keep his commandments.”
The word “keep” means to guard, hold to, and actually live by. Obeying God is not a one-time act but a continuing way of life shaped by his instructions. John is not describing sinless perfection here, since the same chapter says that if anyone sins, there is a Counselor with the Father. What the verse does promise is that a real relationship with God will produce a real pattern of obedience over time.
The verse also does not say that obedience earns God’s acceptance. Elsewhere in the letter John makes clear that God first loved us and that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Obedience is the evidence and fruit of knowing God, not the price of knowing him.
The Context of 1 John 2:3
First John was written to a congregation or group of congregations that was struggling with false teaching. Some who had left the community were claiming a special, superior knowledge of God, and they seemed to think that their knowledge freed them from ordinary moral responsibility. John responds by insisting that real knowledge of God always shows up in how a person lives.
The verses just before and after this one make the point sharper. Verse 1 says John writes so that his readers will not sin, and verse 2 presents Jesus as the one who makes atonement for sin. Verse 4 then says that anyone who claims to know God but does not keep his commandments is a liar. Read in that setting, verse 3 is a test that separates genuine faith from empty claims, and it also offers comfort to those who are honestly trying to follow Christ.
Key Phrases in 1 John 2:3
John 14:15
If you love me, keep my commandments.
(WEB)
Jesus himself links love for him with keeping his commandments, showing that the connection John makes in his letter goes back to the teaching of Jesus. Reading this verse alongside 1 John 2:3 helps you see that obedience is an expression of love for a person, not a cold duty.
1 John 2:5
But whoever keeps his word, God’s love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him…
(WEB)
The verse immediately following our reference repeats the idea that keeping God’s word shows that his love has been perfected in a person. Reading it next to verse 3 deepens the sense that obedience is the place where God’s love becomes visible and complete in a believer’s life.
A Short Prayer From 1 John 2:3
Father, I want my life to show that I truly know you, not just that I talk about you. Where I have treated your commands as optional, forgive me, and where I have been honest with myself about my failures, thank you for the Counselor who stands with you on my behalf. Give me a steady desire to keep your word in small choices as well as large ones, so that my obedience comes from love and not from fear. Let the evidence of my life point others to the reality of your presence. Amen.
