1 John 3:17 Explained

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" — 1 John 3:17 (KJV)

A question rather than a rule, and it is aimed at people who are certain they love God.

Read it in context: The Book of 1 John. Also gathered under verses about generosity.

1 John 3:17 in context

What does 1 John 3:17 mean?

Three conditions stack: has the goods, sees the need, closes off. Each is required — the verse is not about the poor who cannot give, and not about need you genuinely did not see. 'Bowels of compassion' is the King James rendering of a word for the gut, where the ancient world located feeling. And the whole is a question, which leaves the reader to answer rather than pronouncing a verdict on them.

What is the context of 1 John 3:17?

John has just cited Christ laying down his life as the definition of love, and immediately scales it down to something testable. The next verse is the famous one about loving in deed and truth rather than in word.

How do I pray 1 John 3:17?

Answer the question instead of admiring it. Name one need you have actually seen this week and what you did. If the answer is nothing, the verse is not asking you to feel worse — it is asking whether the claim to love God is being tested anywhere it could fail.

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