John 3:21

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
he that doeth	ποιῶν poiōn	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
truth	ἀλήθειαν alētheian	G225	truth · noun — accusative singular feminine
cometh	ἔρχεται erchetai	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
to	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
the light	φῶς phōs	G5457	compare G5316 (φαίνω) · noun — accusative singular neuter
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
his	αὐτοῦ autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
deeds	ἔργα erga	G2041	toil (as an effort or occupation) · noun — nominative plural neuter
may be made manifest	φανερωθῇ phanerōthēa	G5319	to render apparent (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
they are	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
wrought	εἰργασμένα.¶ eirgasmena	G2038	to toil (as a task · verb — perfect passive participle, nominative plural neuter
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
God	θεῷ theō	G2316	figuratively · noun — dative singular masculine, a title

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
3 John 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
1 John 4:15-16 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
1 John 2:27-29 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth y…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 3:1-21

We found, in the close of the foregoing chapter, that few were brought to Christ at Jerusalem; yet here was one, a considerable one. It is worth while to go a great way for the salvation though but of one soul. Observe, I. Who this Nicodemus was. Not many mighty and noble are called; yet some are, and here was one. Not many of the rulers, or of the Pharisees; yet. 1. This was a man of the Pharisees, bred to learning, a scholar. Let it not be said that all Christ's followers are unlearned and ignorant men. The principles of the Pharisees, and the peculiarities of their sect, were directly contrary to the spirit of Christianity; yet there were some in whom even those high thoughts were cast do…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 3:21

doeth truth--whose only object in life is to be and do what will bear the light. Therefore he loves and "comes to the light," that all he is and does, being thus thoroughly tested, may be seen to have nothing in it but what is divinely wrought and divinely approved. This is the "Israelite, indeed, in whom is no guile."

Adam Clarke on John 3:21

Wrought in God - In his presence, and through his assistance. This is the end of our Lord's discourse to Nicodemus; and though we are not informed here of any good effects produced by it, yet we learn from other scriptures that it had produced the most blessed effects in his mind, and that from this time he became a disciple of Christ. He publicly defended our Lord in the Sanhedrin, of which he was probably a member, Joh 7:50, and, with Joseph of Arimathea, gave him an honorable funeral, Joh 19:39, when all his bosom friends had deserted him. See Dodd.

John Gill on John 3:21

But he that doth truth,.... That which is true, right and good: "he whose work is just", as the Ethiopic version renders it; or, "he that does that which is right", so the Persic; that which is according to the will of God, and from a principle of love to him, and with a view to his glory: cometh to the light; to Christ, and to his word, and ordinances: that his deeds may be made manifest; being brought to the light, to the test, and standard, whether they, are right, or wrong; and that it may appear, that they are wrought in God; or "by God"; by his assistance, and gracious influence, without which men can do nothing; for it is God that works in them both to will and to do: or, "accordin…

The Church Fathers

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

He calls the works of him who comes to the light, wrought in God; meaning that his justification is attributable not to his own merits, but to God's grace.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

What is good, moreover, provided it be true and full, loves not darkness: it joys in being seen, and exults over the very pointings which are made at it.
— Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women Book II

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Faith — Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of…
Nicodemus — The people is victor, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He is first noticed as visiting Jesus by night (John 3:1-21) for the purpose of learning more of his doctrines, which our Lord then…
Darkness · .OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS — .OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS
Light · FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLI — FIGURATIVE AND SYMBOLI
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Works, Good · Saints: Bring to the light their — Saints: Bring to the light their

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

John 3:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 3:1-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 3:21

Adam Clarke on John 3:21

John Gill on John 3:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 3:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 3:1-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 3:21

Adam Clarke on John 3:21

John Gill on John 3:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 3:19-21

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 3:19-20