Passage

1 John 3.2

Book: 1 John · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2. Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.

And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4. Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:1-4, ASV)

WEB

See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.

2. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is.

Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. 4. Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:1-4, WEB)

KJV

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.

2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:1-4, KJV)

YLT

See ye what love the Father hath given to us, that children of God we may be called; because of this the world doth not know us, because it did not know Him;

2. beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is;

and every one who is having this hope on him, doth purify himself, even as he is pure. 4. Every one who is doing the sin, the lawlessness also he doth do, and the sin is the lawlessness, (1 John 3:1-4, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: the author of 1 John
Audience: a congregation addressed as beloved and as little children
Location: traditionally Ephesus
Time period: late first century

Theological reading

It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. The verse balances a confession of ignorance against a confession of certainty, and both halves are deliberate.

What is denied is knowledge of the form: the writer says plainly that what we shall be has not yet been shown. That reticence is worth keeping, since a great deal of popular teaching about the future state claims more detail than the New Testament supplies. What is affirmed is the fact and its mechanism, and the mechanism is the striking part. The likeness is grounded in the seeing: we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is.

This is the principal New Testament text behind the doctrine of the beatific vision, developed extensively in the Western tradition and central to Aquinas's account of the final end of the rational creature. It is also connected to the transformative-seeing motif Paul uses when he speaks of beholding the glory of the Lord and being changed into the same image, and to the promise that the pure in heart shall see God.

The verse should be read with the one that follows, which draws a present ethical consequence: everyone who has this hope purifies himself. The passage is not offered as speculation about the future state but as a ground for present conduct, which is the pattern of the whole letter.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.