1 John 3–5

3Behold ^awhat manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that ^bwe should be called children of ¹God! Therefore the world does not know ²us, ^cbecause it did not know Him. ²Beloved, ^dnow we are children of God; and ^eit has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, ^fwe shall be like Him, for ^gwe shall see Him as He is. ^3hAnd everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

⁴Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ⁱsin is lawlessness. ⁵And you know ^jthat He was manifested ^kto take away our sins, and ^lin Him there is no sin. ⁶Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ^8mHe who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ⁿthat He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whoever has been ^oborn of God does not sin, for ^pHis seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^qthat we should love one another, ¹²not as ^rCain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^sthe world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ³his brother abides in death. ^15tWhoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^uno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

^16vBy this we know love, ^wbecause He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷But ^xwhoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, ^ylet us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹And by this we ⁴know ^zthat we are of the truth, and shall ⁵assure our hearts before Him. ^20aFor if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, ^bwe have confidence toward God. ²²And ^cwhatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments ^dand do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ^eand love one another, as He gave ⁶us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴Now ^fhe who keeps His commandments ^gabides in Him, and He in him. And ^hby this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

4Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^atest the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^bmany false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^cEvery spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess ¹that Jesus ²Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ^dhe who is in the world. ^5eThey are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ^fthe world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ^gBy this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love

^7hBeloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ⁱloves is born of God and knows God. ⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ^9jIn this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ^kSon into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, ^lnot that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ^mto be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, ⁿif God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

^12oNo one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ^13pBy this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴And ^qwe have seen and testify that ^rthe Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ^15sWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ^the who abides in love abides in God, and God ^uin him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that ^vwe may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ^19wWe love ³Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

^20xIf someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ⁴how can he love God ^ywhom he has not seen? ²¹And ^zthis commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

5Whoever believes that ^aJesus is the Christ is ^bborn of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ^ckeep His commandments. ^3dFor this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And ^eHis commandments are not burdensome. ⁴For ^fwhatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that ^ghas overcome the world—¹our faith. ⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^hhe who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶This is He who came ⁱby water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. ^jAnd it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷For there are three that bear witness ²in heaven: the Father, ^kthe Word, and the Holy Spirit; ^land these three are one. ⁸And there are three that bear witness on earth: ^mthe Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹If we receive ⁿthe witness of men, the witness of God is greater; ^ofor this is the witness of ³God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰He who believes in the Son of God ^phas the witness in himself; he who does not believe God ^qhas made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ^12rHe who has the Son has ⁴life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ⁵and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

¹⁴Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that ^sif we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and ^tHe will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. ^uThere is sin leading to death. ^vI do not say that he should pray about that. ^17wAll unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

¹⁸We know that ^xwhoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God ^ykeeps ⁶⁷himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and ^zthe whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰And we know that the ^aSon of God has come and ^bhas given us an understanding, ^cthat we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^dThis is the true God ^eand eternal life.

²¹Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.