1 S ee what great love the Father has for us that He would call us His children. And that is what we are. For this reason the people of the world do not know who we are because they did not know Him.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

2 D ear friends, we are God’s children now. But it has not yet been shown to us what we are going to be. We know that when He comes again, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

3 T he person who is looking for this to happen will keep himself pure because Christ is pure.

And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Sin and the Child of God

4 T he person who keeps on sinning is guilty of not obeying the Law of God. For sin is breaking the Law of God.

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

5 Y ou know that Christ came to take away our sins. There is no sin in Him.

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

6 T he person who lives by the help of Christ does not keep on sinning. The person who keeps on sinning has not seen Him or has not known Him.

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7 M y children, let no one lead you in the wrong way. The man who does what is right, is right with God in the same way as Christ is right with God.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

8 T he person who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. The devil has sinned from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

9 N o person who has become a child of God keeps on sinning. This is because the Holy Spirit is in him. He cannot keep on sinning because God is his Father.

Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. The Imperative of Love

10 T his is the way you can know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. The person who does not keep on doing what is right and does not love his brother does not belong to God.

In 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.

11 T his is what you have heard from the beginning, that we should love each other.

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

12 D o not be like Cain. He was a child of the devil and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? It was because he did what was sinful and his brother did what was right.

not as Cain 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.

13 D o not be surprised if the world hates you, Christian brothers.

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

14 W e know we have passed from death into life. We know this because we love the Christians. The person who does not love has not passed from death into life.

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.

15 A man who hates his brother is a killer in his heart. You know that life which lasts forever is not in one who kills.

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. The Outworking of Love

16 W e know what love is because Christ gave His life for us. We should give our lives for our brothers.

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

17 W hat if a person has enough money to live on and sees his brother in need of food and clothing? If he does not help him, how can the love of God be in him?

But whoever 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?

18 M y children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do and in truth.

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

19 T his is how we know we are Christians. It will give our heart comfort for sure when we stand before Him.

And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

20 O ur heart may say that we have done wrong. But remember, God is greater than our heart. He knows everything.

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

21 D ear friends, if our heart does not say that we are wrong, we will have no fear as we stand before Him.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

22 W e will receive from Him whatever we ask if we obey Him and do what He wants.

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

23 T his is what He said we must do: Put your trust in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other. Christ told us to do this.

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

24 T he person who obeys Christ lives by the help of God and God lives in him. We know He lives in us by the Holy Spirit He has given us.

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