¹See ¹^ahow 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.

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

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

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

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

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

⁸the 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.

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

¹⁰By 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;

¹²not 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.

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

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

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

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

¹⁷But ^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.

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

²⁰¹in 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;

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

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

²⁴The 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.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1Lit what kind of love
1Or has known
1Lit sins
1Or begotten
1Lit everyone
1Lit inward parts
2Lit from
1Lit persuade
1Or that if our heart condemns us, that God …
1Lit toward
1Or believe the name
2Lit gave us a commandment

Cross references

a John 3:16; 1 John 4:10
b John 1:12; 11:52; Rom 8:16; 1 John 3:2, 10
c John 15:18, 21; 16:3
a 1 John 2:7
b John 1:12; 11:52; Rom 8:16; 1 John 3:1, 10
c Rom 8:19, 23f
d Luke 17:30; Col 3:4; 1 John 2:28
e Rom 8:29; 2 Pet 1:4
f John 17:24; 2 Cor 3:18
a Rom 15:12; 1 Pet 1:3
b John 17:19; 2 Cor 7:1;
a Rom 4:15; 1 John 5:17
a 1 John 1:2; 3:8
b John 1:29; 1 Pet 1:18–20; 1 John 2:2
c 2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 2:29
a 1 John 3:9
b 1 John 2:3; 3 John 11
a 1 John 2:1
b 1 John 2:26
c 1 John 2:29
a Matt 13:38; John 8:44; 1 John 3:10
b Matt 4:3
c 1 John 3:5
d John 12:31; 16:11
a John 1:13; 3:3; 1 John 2:29; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; 3 John 11
b 1 Pet 1:23; 1 John 3:6; 5:18
a John 1:12; 11:52; Rom 8:16; 1 John 3:1, 2
b Matt 13:38; John 8:44; 1 John 3:8
c Rom 13:8ff; Col 3:14; 1 Tim 1:5; 1 John 4:8
d 1 John 2:9
a 1 John 1:5
b 1 John 2:7
c John 13:4f; 15:12; 1 John 4:7, 11f, 21; 2 John 5
a Gen 4:8
b Matt 5:37; 1 John 2:13f
c Ps 38:20; Prov 29:10; John 8:40, 41
a John 15:18; 17:14
a John 5:24
b John 13:35; 1 John 2:10
a Matt 5:21f; John 8:44
b Gal 5:20f; Rev 21:8
a John 10:11; 15:13
b Phil 2:17; 1 Thess 2:8
c 1 John 2:9
a James 2:15f
b Deut 15:7
c 1 John 4:20
a 1 John 2:1; 3:7
b 2 John 1; 3 John 1
a 1 John 2:21
a 1 John 3:2
b 1 John 2:28; 5:14
a Job 22:26f; Matt 7:7; 21:22; John 9:31
b 1 John 2:3
c John 8:29; Heb 13:21
a John 6:29
b John 1:12; 2:23; 3:18
c John 13:34; 15:12; 1 John 2:8
a 1 John 2:3
b John 6:56; 10:38; 1 John 2:6, 24; 4:15
c John 14:17; Rom 8:9, 14, 16; 1 Thess 4:8; 1 John 4:13
d 1 John 2:5