1 John 3:20

For if. Commentators have found difficulty in establishing the connection between vs. 19 and 20, and in explaining the meaning of v. 20. What appears to be the meaning is revealed in this paraphrase of vs. 19, 20: “By genuinely loving our brother we may know that we are children of the truth, or of God. This knowledge will enable us to stand confidently in the presence of God, for even though our heart condemns us, since we are still sinners, we know that God is greater than our heart, His knowledge and understanding far surpass our own, and He is able to perceive our sincerity and to allow for the mistakes into which we fall.”

Condemn. Unnecessary self-condemnation has marred many a Christian’s experience. Many depend on their own moral judgments to determine their spiritual condition, and fail to realize that their feelings are unsatisfactory criteria for deciding the state of their spiritual health. John is comforting his readers by turning their minds away from morbid concentration on their own weaknesses to an uplifting contemplation of the height and depth of God’s understanding love.

God is greater. The realization of God’s omniscience may have two effects: it may strike terror to the guilty heart, or it may bring comfort to the contrite sinner. Throughout this chapter the writer is bent on encouraging his readers (vs. 1-3, 5, 9, 11, 16, 18), and it is reasonable to suppose that he has the same positive purpose here. To the genuine Christian the thought of God’s omniscience can be reassuring.