1 John 3

1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,t we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

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

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.9 No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Love One Another

11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gaveus.

1 JOHN 3

1  t Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christt is, they don't know who we are. 2 My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is.

3 This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christt is holy.
4 Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law. 5 t You know Christ came to take away our sins. He isn't sinful,

6 and people who stay one in their hearts with him won't keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don't know Christ, and they have never seen him.
7 Children, don't be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself. 8 Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done. 9 God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving powert lives in them and makes them his children, so they cannot keep on sinning.

10 You can tell God's children from the devil's children, because those who belong to the devil refuse to do right or to love each other.

Love Each Other

14 t Our love for each other proves we have gone from death to life. But if you don't love each other, you are still under the power of death.
15 If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know murderers do not have eternal life. 16 We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. This is why we must give our lives for each other. 17 If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God.

18 Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.
19 When we love others, we know we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God. 20 But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. 22 He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him. 23 t God wants us to have faith in his Son Jesus Christ and to love each other. This is also what Jesus taught us to do. 24 If we obey God's commandments, we will stay one in our hearts with him, and he will stay one with us. The Spirit he has given us is proof that we are one with him.