See what great lovem the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!n And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.o 2 Dear friends,p now we are children of God,q and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,a r we shall be like him,s for we shall see him as he is.t 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves,u just as he is pure.v

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.w 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.x And in him is no sin.y 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.z No one who continues to sin has either seen hima or known him.b

7 Dear children,c do not let anyone lead you astray.d The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.e 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,f because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of Godg appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.h 9 No one who is born of Godi will continue to sin,j because God’s seedk remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of Godl are and who the children of the devilm are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not loven their brother and sister.o

More on Love and Hatred

11 For this is the message you heardp from the beginning:q We should love one another.r 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil ones and murdered his brother.t And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.u 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,b if the world hates you.v 14 We know that we have passed from death to life,w because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.x 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sistery is a murderer,z and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.a

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.b And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.c 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,d how can the love of God be in that person?e 18 Dear children,f let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.g

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends,h if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before Godi 22 and receive from him anything we ask,j because we keep his commandsk and do what pleases him.l 23 And this is his command: to believem in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,n and to love one another as he commanded us.o 24 The one who keeps God’s commandsp lives in him,q and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.r

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends,s do not believe every spirit,t but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.u 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the fleshv is from God,w 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,x which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.y

4 You, dear children,z are from God and have overcome them,a because the one who is in youb is greater than the one who is in the world.c 5 They are from the worldd and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.e This is how we recognize the Spirita of truthf and the spirit of falsehood.g

God’s Love and Ours

7 Dear friends, let us love one another,h for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of Godi and knows God.j 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.k 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Sonl into the world that we might live through him.m 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved usn and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.o 11 Dear friends,p since God so loved us,q we also ought to love one another.r 12 No one has ever seen God;s but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.t

13 This is how we knowu that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.v 14 And we have seen and testifyw that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.x 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,y God lives in them and they in God.z 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.a Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.b 17 This is how love is made completec among us so that we will have confidenced on the day of judgment:e In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,f because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us.g 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sisterh is a liar.i For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,j cannot love God, whom they have not seen.k 21 And he has given us this command:l Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.m