Children of God, Love One Another

1See [†]how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

4Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5And you know that He was manifested in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [†]has come to know Him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8The one who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9Everyone who has been [†]born of God does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been [†]born of God. 10By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother.

11For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death. 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his [†]heart [†]against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19And by this we will know that we are of the truth, and will [†]assure our heart before Him 20[†]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence [†]before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

23And this is His commandment, that we [†]believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave a commandment to us. 24And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us.