1 John 3:21 (WEB)

Passage

Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;

Nearby Context

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

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

1 John 3:21 Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;

1 John 3:22 and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

1 John 3:23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "condemn", "beloved", "hearts", "boldness", and "toward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "condemn" and "beloved", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "because if our heart condemns us God..." into verse 22's "and whatever we ask we receive from...", so "condemn" and "beloved" 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 "condemn" and "beloved" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.