1 Johannes 3

1 Julle kan seker wees dat die Vader baie lief is vir ons. Hy het ons sy kinders gemaak en nou is ons kinders van God. Die mense van die wêreld wou nie vir God ken nie. Daarom wil hulle ons ook nie ken nie. 2 Vriende, ons is nou kinders van God. Ons weet nog nie presies hoe wonderlik ons eendag sal wees nie, maar ons weet dit: Wanneer Jesus kom, dan sal ons wees soos Hy, want ons sal Hom sien soos Hy regtig is.

3 Almal wat seker is dat Jesus weer kom, treinig hulleself sodat hulle trein is, soos Jesus rein is.
4 Almal wat sonde doen, doen nie wat God se wette sê nie, want wanneer iemand nie doen wat God se wette sê nie, dan doen hy sonde. 5 Julle weet dat Jesus na die aarde gekom het om sondes weg te neem, Hy wat self niks sonde gedoen het nie.

6 Mense wat aan Hom behoort, hou nie aan om sonde te doen nie, maar mense wat aanhou om sonde te doen, glo nie in Hom nie en hulle ken Hom nie.
7 Vriende, julle moenie luister na mense wat verkeerde dinge vir julle leer nie. Mense wat lewe soos God wil hê, is gehoorsaam aan God, soos Jesus gehoorsaam is aan God. 8 Maar mense wat aanhou om sonde te doen, is kinders van tdie duiwel, want die duiwel doen van die begin af sonde. Die Seun van God het na die wêreld gekom sodat die duiwel nie sal kan doen wat hy wil doen nie. 9 Mense wat God se kinders is, hou nie aan om sonde te doen nie, want God het die ware lewe in hulle harte laat begin. Hulle kan nie aanhou om sonde te doen nie, want hulle is God se kinders.

10 Hoe weet ’n mens wie is kinders van God en wie is kinders van die duiwel? Kinders van God doen wat God wil hê en hulle is lief vir die ander tgelowiges.

Gelowiges moet lief wees vir mekaar

12 Julle moenie soos Kain wees nie. Hy was ’n kind van tdie duiwel en thy het sy broer vermoor. Hoekom het hy sy broer vermoor? Hy het dit gedoen omdat hý slegte dinge gedoen het, maar sy broer het gedoen wat God wil hê.
13 Vriende, wanneer die mense van die wêreld vir julle haat, dan moet julle nie verbaas wees nie. 14 Ons weet dat ons nie meer tgeestelik dood is nie, ons lewe. Ons weet dit omdat ons lief is vir die ander tgelowiges. Mense wat nie lief is vir ander gelowiges nie, is nog geestelik dood. 15 Mense wat ander gelowiges haat, is moordenaars, en julle weet dat moordenaars nie die tewige lewe het nie. 16 Jesus het vir ons gewys wat liefde is, want Hy het gesterf sodat ons kan lewe. En so moet ons ook sterf sodat die ander gelowiges kan lewe.

17 Mense wat baie goed het, sien miskien dat ’n ander gelowige iets nodig het, maar hulle is nie jammer vir hom nie en hulle wil hom nie help nie. Daardie mense wys dat hulle nie lief is vir God nie.
18 Vriende, ons moet lief wees vir die ander gelowiges, maar ons moet dit nie net sê nie. Ons moet dinge dóén wat wys dat ons lief is vir hulle omdat ons weet wat die waarheid is. 19-20 As ons daardie dinge doen, dan sal ons weet dat God sy waarheid vir ons gegee het. As ons tskuldig voel en dink God moet ons straf, dan moet ons nie bang wees vir God se toordeel nie. Want ons weet dat God belangriker is as die dinge wat ons in ons harte voel. En God weet alles. 21 Vriende, ons voel nie skuldig nie en ons is nie bang vir God se straf nie, daarom is ons ook nie bang om vir Hom iets te vra nie.

22 En God gee vir ons wat ons vra, want ons doen die dinge wat Hy sê ons moet doen, dinge waarvan Hy hou.
23 God wil hê dat ons in sy Seun Jesus Christus moet glo en dat ons lief moet wees vir mekaar. Jesus het gesê ons moet dit doen. 24 As ons doen wat God sê, dan bly ons by Hom en Hy bly by ons. En ons weet dat Hy by ons bly, want Hy het vir ons die Heilige Gees gegee.

1 John 3

1 How great is the love the Father has given us so freely! Now we can be called children of God. And that's what we really are! The world doesn't know us because it didn't know him.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. He still hasn't let us know what we will be. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is.3 He is pure. All who hope to be like him make themselves pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact, breaking the law is sin.5 But you know that Christ came to take our sins away. And there is no sin in him.6 No one who remains joined to him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him.
7 Dear children, don't let anyone lead you down the wrong path. Those who do what is right are holy, just as Christ is holy.8 Those who do what is sinful belong to the devil. They are just like him. He has been sinning from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the devil's work.
9 Those who are born again because of what God has done will not keep on sinning. God's very nature remains in them. They can't go on sinning. They have been born again because of what God has done.
10 Here is how you can tell the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil. Those who don't do what is right do not belong to God. Those who don't love their brothers and sisters do not belong to him either.

Love One Another

11 From the beginning we have heard that we should love one another.12 Don't be like Cain. He belonged to the evil one. He murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because the things Cain had done were wrong. But the things his brother had done were right.
13 My brothers and sisters, don't be surprised if the world hates you.14 We know that we have left our old dead condition and entered into new life. We know it because we love one another. Those who do not are still living in their old condition.
15 Those who hate their brothers and sisters are murderers. And you know that murderers do not have eternal life in their hearts.
16 We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 Suppose someone sees a brother or sister in need and is able to help them. If he doesn't take pity on them, how can the love of God be in him?
18 Dear children, don't just talk about love. Put your love into action. Then it will truly be love.19 That's how we know that we hold to the truth. And that's how we put our hearts at rest, knowing that God is watching.20 Our hearts may judge us. But God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not judge us, we can be bold with God.22 And he will give us anything we ask. That's because we obey his commands. We do what pleases him.
23 God has commanded us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has also commanded us to love one another.24 Those who obey his commands remain joined to him. And he remains joined to them.
How do we know that God lives in us? We know it because of the Holy Spirit he gave us.