1 John 3:18
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Study Note
Study Note
The exhortation 'let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth' is John's most direct statement of the incarnational logic underlying Christian love ethics. Love that remains verbal is implicitly contrasted with God's love in verse 16 ('he laid down his life for us'), which was supremely enacted rather than merely declared — the cruciform shape of love sets the standard. The Johannine tradition consistently insists on the demonstration rather than declaration of love: John 14:21 ('he that loveth me will keep my commandments') and 1 John 4:20 ('how can he love God whom he hath not seen?' while neglecting the visible brother) develop the same logic. James 2:15-17's parallel teaching ('if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them... and ye give them not those things which are needful to the body') provides the wisdom tradition's equivalent formulation.
Other Translations
My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.
My little children, may we not love in word nor in tongue, but in word and in truth!
My little children, do not let our love be in word and in tongue, but let it be in act and in good faith.
Cross References
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Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.