1 John 3:17
“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?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Withholding compassion from a brother in need calls into question whether God's love dwells within.
What Does 1 John 3:17 Mean?
John brings love down to daily life. Whoever has the world's goods, sees a brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion, how does the love of God dwell in him? Love that ignores real need rings hollow.
Love is tested not in grand gestures but in ordinary mercy. To possess means while shutting our hearts to a brother's need exposes the absence of God's love within. John makes love concrete: it opens the hand as well as the heart. The love of God, when it dwells in us, moves us to meet the needs we see. John calls his readers to a love that acts, not merely feels.
In the Original Language
splagchna (σπλάγχνα), 'bowels of compassion' -- the inward seat of tender mercy, here closed off from a brother in need.