1 John 3
3
1See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,#3:2 Or when it is made known we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
More on Love and Hatred
11For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,#3:13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 16. if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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1 John 3
3
1Look at the amazing kind of love the Father has for us! This is why we can be called God's children—for that's who we are! The reason why the people of this world don't recognize us as God's children is because they don't recognize him. 2My friends, we are already God's children; however what we shall become hasn't been revealed just yet. But we do know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is. 3All those who have this hope in them make sure they are pure, just as he is pure. 4All those who sin are lawless, because sin is lawlessness. 5But of course you know that Jesus came to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him. 6All those who live in him don't go on sinning; all those who keep on sinning haven't seen him and haven't known him.
7Dear friends, don't let anyone fool you: those who do what is right are right, in the same way as Jesus is right. 8Those who sin are of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. That's the reason why the Son of God came—to destroy what the devil has done. 9All those who are born of God don't keep on sinning, for God's nature#3:9. Literally, “his seed.” lives in them. They can't keep on sinning because they are born of God. 10This is how God's children and the devil's children can be distinguished: all those who don't do what's right don't belong to God, nor do those who don't love their fellow Christians.
11The message you've heard from the beginning is simply this: we should love one another. 12We cannot be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one, and murdered his brother. Why did he murder him? Because Cain did what was evil, while his brother did what was right. 13So don't be surprised, my friends, if this world hates you!
14The reason we know that we have changed from death to life is because we love our Christian brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love remains dead. 15All those who hate their Christian brothers and sisters are murderers, and you know that no murderers have eternal life within them! 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. 17If one of you is living well in this world and you see your Christian brother or sister in need, but you don't show compassion—how can God's love be living in you? 18Dear friends, let's not just say we love with words, but show our love in what we do and how we demonstrate the truth. 19This is how we will know that we belong to the truth, and how we will set our minds#3:19. Literally, “hearts.” It was believed that the heart was where you did your thinking. at rest before God 20whenever we think we're in the wrong. God is greater than how we think, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if we're reassured we're not in the wrong, we can have confidence before God. 22We'll receive from him whatever we ask him for, because we follow his commands and do what pleases him. 23This is what he commands: we should trust in the name#3:23. Name in the sense of character and reputation rather than just a given name. of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us to do. 24Those who keep his commands continue to live in him, and he lives in them. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit he has given us.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com