1 John 3
See what love the Father has given
ee 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.a 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, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.b 3All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.c
4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.d 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.e 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.f
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.g 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.h 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.i
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.j
Love in deed and in truth
11For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.k 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.l 13Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.m
14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.n 15Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.o 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.p
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?q 18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.r 19This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:s 20If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.t
21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before Godu 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.v 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.w
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.x
Bible Dictionary· 1 John 3(6)
Bible Characters· 1 John 3(2)
References· 1 John 3
- a
- v.1 — John 1:12, Galatians 3:26, 2 Corinthians 6:18, Galatians 4:5-6, John 3:16, John 17:25, Psalms 36:7-9, 1 John 4:9-10, John 15:18-19, Revelation 21:7
- b
- v.2 — Philippians 3:21, Colossians 3:4, 1 Corinthians 13:12, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalms 17:15, Romans 8:29, 1 Corinthians 15:49, Revelation 22:4, 2 Peter 1:4, Romans 8:18
- c
- v.3 — 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 John 2:6, 2 Peter 3:14, Matthew 5:48, Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 7:26, Acts 15:9, Colossians 1:5, Romans 5:4-5, 2 Peter 1:4
- d
- v.4 — 1 John 5:17, Romans 3:20, Romans 4:15, Numbers 15:31, 2 Corinthians 12:21, 1 John 3:8-9, James 2:9-11, Daniel 9:11, Romans 7:7-13, 1 Samuel 15:24
- e
- v.5 — 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 9:26, John 1:29, 1 John 1:7, Titus 2:14, Revelation 1:5, Isaiah 53:4-12
- f
- v.6 — 3 John 1:11, 1 John 2:4, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 4:8, John 15:4-7, 1 John 5:18, 1 John 3:2, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 1 John 2:28, 2 Corinthians 3:18
- g
- v.7 — 1 John 2:29, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Romans 2:13, 1 John 3:3, 1 John 2:26, 1 John 2:1, Psalms 45:7, Galatians 6:7-8, Acts 10:35, Ephesians 5:9
- h
- v.8 — Hebrews 2:14, John 8:44, Colossians 2:15, John 12:31, John 16:11, Romans 16:20, 2 Peter 2:4, Mark 1:24, Ephesians 2:2, Isaiah 27:1
- i
- v.9 — 1 John 5:18, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 5:1, John 1:13, 1 John 2:29, Matthew 7:18, John 3:3, Galatians 5:17, 1 John 5:4, Romans 6:2
- j
- v.10 — 1 John 4:8, 3 John 1:11, Matthew 13:38, Luke 6:35, John 8:44, 1 John 4:21, 1 John 3:7-8, John 8:47, 1 John 4:6, 1 John 4:3-4
- k
- v.11 — John 15:12, 2 John 1:5, 1 John 4:7, 1 Peter 3:8, 1 John 4:21, John 13:34-35, Ephesians 5:2, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Peter 4:8, 1 John 1:5
- l
- v.12 — Hebrews 11:4, Genesis 4:4-15, Proverbs 29:27, Genesis 4:25, Jude 1:11, Luke 11:51, Proverbs 29:10, Psalms 37:12, John 15:19-25, Matthew 23:35
- m
- v.13 — John 15:18-19, John 17:14, Luke 21:17, James 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:12, Mark 13:13, Luke 6:22, John 7:7, Matthew 24:9, Romans 8:7
- n
- v.14 — John 13:35, 1 John 5:2, John 5:24, 1 John 4:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 John 4:7-8, 1 Peter 1:22, Hebrews 13:1, John 15:12, Matthew 25:40
- o
- v.15 — Matthew 5:21-22, Revelation 21:8, Proverbs 26:24-26, John 8:44, Leviticus 19:16-18, James 4:1-2, Acts 23:14, Matthew 5:28, Mark 6:19, James 1:15
- p
- v.16 — 1 John 4:9-11, Ephesians 5:2, John 13:34, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 15:12-13, Revelation 1:5, 1 Peter 3:18, Acts 20:28, Matthew 20:28
- q
- v.17 — Hebrews 13:16, Isaiah 58:7-10, Deuteronomy 15:7-11, 1 John 4:20, Proverbs 19:17, Luke 3:11, 2 Corinthians 9:5-9, James 2:15, 2 Corinthians 8:14-15, 1 Timothy 6:17-18
- r
- v.18 — James 2:15-16, Romans 12:9, 1 Peter 1:22, Galatians 5:13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Galatians 6:1-2, Ephesians 4:1-3, Matthew 25:41-45, Ephesians 4:15, 1 Thessalonians 1:3
- s
- v.19 — Hebrews 10:22, 1 John 3:21, Hebrews 6:10-11, Isaiah 32:17, John 18:37, 2 Timothy 1:12, 1 John 1:8, John 13:35, Romans 4:21, Romans 8:38
- t
- v.20 — Psalms 139:1-4, Jeremiah 17:10, Hebrews 4:13, 1 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 4:4, Jeremiah 23:24, John 10:29-30, Psalms 44:20-21, Job 33:12, Titus 3:11
- u
- v.21 — 1 John 2:28, Hebrews 4:16, Psalms 101:2, 2 Corinthians 1:12, Psalms 7:3-5, 1 John 5:14, Job 22:26, Hebrews 10:22, 1 John 4:17, Job 27:6
- v
- v.22 — John 15:7, John 9:31, Matthew 21:22, 1 John 5:14, Mark 11:24, John 16:23-24, Psalms 34:4, Proverbs 15:29, John 14:13, Matthew 7:7-8
New International Version (NIV) © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Midvash cross references + OpenBible.info data (CC BY 4.0).
Guided study
Study this chapter
A guided session — observe, interpret, apply — that ends in your own note.