Chapter 3

Children of God Love One Another

1 See 1ahow great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called bchildren of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because cit did not know Him.

2 aBeloved, now we are bchildren of God, and cit has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He dappears, we will be elike Him, because we will fsee Him just as He is.

3 And everyone who has this ahope fixed on Him bpurifies himself, just as He is pure.

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and asin is lawlessness.

5 You know that He aappeared in order to btake away sins; and cin Him there is no sin.

6 No one who abides in Him asins; no one who sins has seen Him or 1bknows Him.

7 aLittle children, make sure no one bdeceives you; cthe one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;

8 the one who practices sin is aof the devil; for the devil 1has sinned from the beginning. bThe Son of God cappeared for this purpose, dto destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one who is 1aborn of God bpractices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is 1born of God.

10 By this the achildren of God and the bchildren of the devil are obvious: 1anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who cdoes not love his dbrother.

11 aFor this is the message bwhich you have heard from the beginning, cthat we should love one another;

12 not as aCain, who was of bthe evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because chis deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if athe world hates you.

14 We know that we have apassed out of death into life, bbecause we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.

15 Everyone who ahates his brother is a murderer; and you know that bno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 We know love by this, that aHe laid down His life for us; and bwe ought to lay down our lives for the cbrethren.

17 But awhoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and bcloses his 1heart 2against him, chow does the love of God abide in him?

18 aLittle children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and btruth.

19 We will know by this that we are aof the truth, and will 1assure our heart before Him

20 1in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

21 aBeloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have bconfidence 1before God;

22 and awhatever we ask we receive from Him, because we bkeep His commandments and do cthe things that are pleasing in His sight.

23 This is His commandment, that we 1abelieve in bthe name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as cHe 2commanded us.

24 The one who akeeps His commandments babides in Him, and He in him. cWe know by this that dHe abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.