God is constantly searching the hearts of his people and we should be aware that he knows us better than we know ourselves.
There are two opposite views of this verse. The first says, ‘Even though our heart condemns us, God still approves of us, for he is greater than our heart and he sees the faith which we are unable to see in ourselves because of our guilt.’ The other says, ‘If we condemn ourselves, how much more does God condemn us, for we see only a part of the wickedness of our hearts, but he sees all of it.’ The second view is correct – verse 20 must not be made to contradict verse 19 which gives the only solid grounds of assurance. Not until verse 21 does John return to the side of the believer as signalled by the opening word ‘Beloved’. John nowhere divides believers into two classes – good believers and poor believers – but his contrasts are always between opposites: believer and unbeliever, light and darkness, truth and error, life and death, love and hatred.
Do not believers’ hearts often condemn them, and must they conclude that God also condemns them? Our consciences may be aware of much guilt and yet we dare address the throne of grace. He who condemns himself may come to Christ for pardon, though he sees no good in himself at all, because he is honest with God about his sin. It is pretence and duplicity that prevents us coming to God for pardon.