2:29a

If: (Multiple Senses) This does not express doubt. It indicates that the statement “you know that He is righteous” is the reason for what John says in 2:29b. It may be better translated “since” or “because.” Alternatively, the sentence may be translated:

“You know that he is righteous, therefore/so you should recognize that…”

See Good News Translation, The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

He is righteous: (Alternative Interpretations) There are different views about who the pronoun He refers to:

(1) It probably refers to Christ. (Good News Translation)

(2) It may refer to God. (The Jerusalem Bible, Living Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

righteous: (Multiple Senses) This means that everything that Christ does is right in God’s sight.

2:29b

everyone who: (Meaning) John is concerned in this section with the importance of Christians doing what is right. So when he refers to “everyone” here he means “every Christian.” He is not saying that just anybody, even a non-Christian, who does what is right is born of God. He is saying that when Christians do right this shows us that we are God’s children.

righteousness: (Biblical Term) The Greek word used here refers to everything that is in accordance with God’s will.

born of Him: (Pronoun Reference) This certainly means that such a person is the child of God, not of Christ. But this may not be clear unless “God” is made explicit here. See Good News Translation, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English.

(1) John is writing here about our relationship to God, so it probably means that the people did not know or believe in God.

(2) Some think it means that the people did not recognize who Christ was. (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.