1 John 3

See what love the Father has given

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.a ²Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.b ³And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.c

⁴Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.d ⁵And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.e ⁶Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.f

⁷Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.g ⁸But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.h ⁹Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.i

¹⁰So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.j

Love in deed and in truth

¹¹This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.k ¹²We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.l ¹³So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.m

¹⁴If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.n ¹⁵Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.o ¹⁶We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.p

¹⁷If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?q ¹⁸Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.r ¹⁹Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.s

²⁰Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.t ²¹Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.u ²²And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.v

²³And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.w ²⁴Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.x