1 John 3:18 (DBY)

Passage

Children, let us not love with word, nor with tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Nearby Context

1 John 3:16 Hereby we have known love, because *he* has laid down his life for us; and *we* ought for the brethren to lay down [our] lives.

1 John 3:17 But whoso may have the world's substance, and see his brother having need, and shut up his bowels from him, how abides the love of God in him?

1 John 3:18 Children, let us not love with word, nor with tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:19 And hereby we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall persuade our hearts before him

1 John 3:20 that if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "love", "word", "tongue", "deed", and "truth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "children" and "love", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "But whoso may have the world's substance..." into verse 19's "And hereby we shall know that we...", so "children" and "love" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "children" and "love" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.