1 John 2:6
in 1 John 2Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.
KJV
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
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This verse in 1 John 2
Commentary
20 notes on this verseAbideth in him - He who not only professes to have known Christ, but also that he has communion with him, and abides in his favor, should prove the truth of his profession by walking as Christ walked; living a life of devotion and obedience to God, and of benevolence and beneficence to his neighbor. Thus Christ walked; and he has left us an example that we should follow his steps. To be in Christ, 1Jn 2:5, is to be converted to the Christian faith, and to have received the remission of sins.
This site's exposition
the love of God has been truly perfected in him
on 1 John 2:5-6
The test turns positive: if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. The standard is as high as it goes: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked. Christ's earthly life is the pattern for every claim to abide.
This site's exposition
must walk as Jesus walked
Abiding is the letter's word for a lasting union with Christ. Anyone who claims to abide in Him answers for it with a life shaped like the life Jesus lived. At John 13:15 Jesus washed the disciples' feet as an example to follow.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
There are three ways that we dwell in God—by faith, by hope and by love. God dwells in us by patience and humility.
"He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." How, brethren, what doth he advise us? "He that saith he abideth in Him," that is, in Christ, "ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." Haply the advice is this, that we should walk on the sea? That be far from us! It is this then, that we walk in the way of righteousness. In what way? I have already mentioned it. He was fixed upon the cross, and yet was He walking in this very way: this way is the way of charity, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." If, therefore, thou have learned to pray for thine enemy, thou walkest in the way of the Lord.
When, however, he turns their minds back to continence, ("But I will you all so to be,") "I think, moreover," he says, "I too have the Spirit of God; "in order that, if he had granted any indulgence out of necessity, that, by the Holy Spirit's authority, he might recall. But John, too, when advising us that "we ought so to walk as the Lord withal did," of course admonished us to walk as well in accordance with sanctity of the flesh (as in accordance with His example in other respects).
In Him therefore we find our Model of patience, in Whom we have our Hope of life eternal; for "if we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him," since, as the Apostle says, "he that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also to walk as He walked." Otherwise we make a vain presence and show, if we follow not His steps, Whose name we glory in, and assuredly they would not be irksome to us, but would free us from all dangers, if we loved nothing but what He commanded us to love.
For you ought to know and to believe, and hold it for certain, that the day of affliction has begun to hang over our heads, and the end of the world and the time of Antichrist to draw near, so that we must all stand prepared for the battle; nor consider anything but the glory of life eternal, and the crown of the confession of the Lord; and not regard those things which are coming as being such as were those which have passed away. A severer and a fiercer fight is now threatening, for which the soldiers of Christ ought to prepare themselves with uncorrupted faith and robust courage, considering that they drink the cup of Christ's blood daily, for the reason that they themselves also may be able to shed their blood for Christ. For this is to wish to be found with Christ, to imitate that which Christ both taught and did, according to the Apostle John, who said, "He that saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also so to walk even as He walked." Moreover, the blessed Apostle Paul exhorts and teaches, saying, "We are God's children; but if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."
12 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers3 voices
But there are some rich women, and wealthy in the fertility of means, who prefer their own wealth, and contend that they ought to use these blessings. Let them know first of all that she is rich who is rich in God; that she is wealthy who is wealthy in Christ; that those are blessings which are spiritual, divine, heavenly, which lead us to God, which abide with us in perpetual possession with God. But whatever things are earthly, and have been received in this world, and will remain here with the world, ought so to be contemned even as the world itself is contemned, whose pomps and delights we have already renounced when by a blessed passage we came to God, John stimulates and exhorts us, witnessing with a spiritual and heavenly voice. "Love not the world," says he, "neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not from the Father, but is of the lust of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, even as God also abideth for ever." Therefore eternal and divine things are to be followed, and all things must be done after the will of God, that we may follow the divine footsteps and teachings of our Lord, who warned us, and said, "I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." But if the servant is not greater than his lord, and he that is freed owes obedience to his deliverer, we who desire to be Christians ought to imitate what Christ said and did. It is written, and it is read and heard, and is celebrated for our example by the Church's mouth, "He that saith he abideth in Christ. […]
But if we also, beloved brethren, are in Christ; if we put Him on, if He is the way of our salvation, who follow Christ in the footsteps of salvation, let us walk by the example of Christ, as the Apostle John instructs us, saying, "He who saith he abideth in Christ, ought himself also to walk even as He walked." Peter also, upon whom by the Lord's condescension the Church was founded, lays it down in his epistle, and says, "Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps, who did no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not, but gave Himself up to him that judged Him unjustly."
"Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." However, since it happens that someone may convey precepts rightly and precisely, while their own affections are sluggish: this is far from God. Therefore, it is said that …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Let us follow Christ's footsteps with the entire effort of our minds. And so that we may deserve to come to the gate of his heavenly kingdom, let us seriously consider entering it by that course of action by which he proceeded when he was …
Perfect love, he says, is proven by deeds. But since it happens that someone outwardly appears to observe the commandments correctly and precisely, yet his inner disposition is impure, which is why he is far from God, the apostle says that one who has drawn …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He that saith he abideth in him - which implies a durable state; a constant, lasting knowledge of, and communion with, him. Ought himself - Otherwise they are vain words.
11 ), and the old commandment, 2 John 5 . Now, while the apostle addresses himself to the recommendation of such a practice, he is ready to give an instance thereof in his affectionate appellation: " Brethren, you who are dear to me in the bond of that love to which I would solicit you;" and so the precept of fraternal love is recommended, I.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
He that saith he abideth in him,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Even as He walked" when on earth, especially in respect to love. John delights in referring to Christ as the model man, with the words, "Even as He," &c. "It is not Christ's walking on the sea, but His ordinary walk, that we are called on to imitate" [LUTHER].
He that saith he abideth in him: ”—that is exactly what every Christian does say. He cannot be a Christian unless this be true of him, and be cannot fully enjoy his religion unless he assuredly knows that he is in Christ, and can boldly say as much. We must be in Christ, and abidingly in Christ, or else We are not saved in the Lord.
He that saith he abideth in him: ”—that is exactly what every Christian does say. He cannot be a Christian unless this be true of him, and be cannot fully enjoy his religion unless he assuredly knows that he is in Christ, and can boldly say as much. We must be in Christ, and abidingly in Christ, or else We are not saved in the Lord. It is our union with the Christ that makes us Christians: by union with him as our life we truly live,—live in the favour of God.—We are in Christ, dear brethren, as the manslayer was in the city of refuge: I hope that we can say we abide in him as our sanctuary and shelter. We have fled for refuge to him who is the hope set before us in the gospel; even as David and his men sheltered themselves in the eaves of En-gedi, so we hide ourselves in Christ. We each one sing, and our heart goes with the words— “Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.” We have entered into Christ as into the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, as guest; into a banquet-hall, as returning travellers into their home. And now we abide—in Christ in this sense, that we are joined to him : as the stone is, in the wall, as the wave is in the sea, as the branch is in the vine, so are we in Christ. As the branch receives all its sap from the stem, so all the sap of spiritual life flows from Christ into us. If we were separated from him, we should be as branches cut off from the vine, only fit to be gathered up for the fire, and to be burned. So that we abide in Christ as our shelter, our home, and our life. Today we remain in Christ, and hope for ever to remain in him, as our Head. Ours is no transient union; while he lives as our Head we shall remain his members. We are nothing apart from him. As a finger is nothing without the head, as the whole body is nothing without the head, so should we be nothing without our Lord Jesus Christ.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He that saith, he abideth in him - Greek, “remains” in him; that is, abides or remains in the belief of his doctrines, and in the comfort and practice of religion. The expression is one of those which refer to the intimate union between Christ and his people. A great variety of phrase is employed to denote that. For the meaning of this word in John, see the notes at 1Jn 3:6. Ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked - Ought to live and act as he did. If he is one with him, or professes to be united to him, he ought to imitate him in all things. Compare Joh 13:15. See also the notes at 1Jn 1:6.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λέγων | legon | claiming | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| μένειν | menein | to abide | G3306 → | 118 times |
| ὀφείλει, | opheilei | ought | G3784 → | 35 times |
| καθὼς | kathos | even as | G2531 → | 182 times |
| ἐκεῖνος | ekeinos | that [one] | G1565 → | 260 times |
| περιεπάτησεν, | periepatesen | walked | G4043 → | 94 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| αὐτὸς | autos | He himself | G846 → | 5565 times |
| οὕτως | houtos | in the same way | G3779 → | |
| περιπατεῖν.¶ | peripatein | to walk. | G4043 → | 94 times |
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
λέγωνclaiming
legonG3004 →1325 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
αὐτῷHim
autoG846 →5565 times
μένεινto abide
meneinG3306 →118 times
ὀφείλει,ought
opheileiG3784 →35 times
καθὼςeven as
kathosG2531 →182 times
ἐκεῖνοςthat [one]
ekeinosG1565 →260 times
περιεπάτησεν,walked
periepatesenG4043 →94 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
αὐτὸςHe himself
autosG846 →5565 times
οὕτωςin the same way
houtosG3779 →
περιπατεῖν.¶to walk.
peripateinG4043 →94 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 11:1You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
it leads to
- Philippians 3:17
Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:6
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
- Ephesians 5:1–2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
- 1 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
- Hebrews 6:12
Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
- Philippians 3:17
Through
1 Peter 2:21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:2
and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- Ephesians 5:2
Through
1 John 3:6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.
it leads to
- 3 John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- 3 John 1:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 John

This page draws on 18 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Ten Homilies on 1 John 1; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.11; Brooke Foss Westcott, The Epistles of St. John; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1732: “In Him: Like Him” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Cyprian, Epistle LV; Cyprian, Treatise II. On the Dress of Virgins.; Cyprian, Treatise IX. On the Advantage of Patience.; Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Leo the Great, SERMONS 90.2; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on 1 John; Tertullian, On Monogamy and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 John.
