章 |
3:1 |
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God;and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
|
3:2 |
Beloved, we are God's children now;it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
|
3:3 |
And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
|
3:4 |
Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness;sin is lawlessness.
|
3:5 |
You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
|
3:6 |
No one who abides in him sins;no one who sins has either seen him or known him.
|
3:7 |
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous.
|
3:8 |
He who commits sin is of the devil;for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared wasto destroy the works of the devil.
|
3:9 |
No one born of God commits sin;for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
|
3:10 |
By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right isnot of God, nor he who does not love his brother.
|
3:11 |
For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
|
3:12 |
and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deedswere evil and his brother's righteous.
|
3:13 |
Do not wonder, brethren, that the world hates you.
|
3:14 |
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
|
3:15 |
Any one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
|
3:16 |
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us;and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
|
3:17 |
But if any one has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
|
3:18 |
Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.
|
3:19 |
By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him
|
3:20 |
whenever our hearts condemn us;for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
|
3:21 |
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
|
3:22 |
and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
|
3:23 |
And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
|
3:24 |
All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us.
|