Wives and Husbands

^22 (A)Wives, ^(B)submit to your own husbands, ^(C)as to the Lord. ²³ For ^(D)the husband is the head of the wife even as ^(E)Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is ^(F)himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^(G)in everything to their husbands.

^25 (H)Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^(I)gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ^(J)the washing of water ^(K)with the word, ²⁷ so ^(L)that he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^(M)without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.^{[a] 28} In the same way ^(N)husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because ^(O)we are members of his body. ^31 (P)“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(Q)the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, ^(R)let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^(S)respects her husband.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(A)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(B)he appeared in order to ^(C)take away sins, and ^(D)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(E)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(F)let no one deceive you. ^(G)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (H)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(I)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (J)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[a] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(K)nor is the one who ^(L)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(M)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(N)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(O)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(P)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers,^{[b] (Q)}that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that ^(R)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ^15 (S)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(T)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(U)he laid down his life for us, and ^(V)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(W)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(X)closes his heart against him, ^(Y)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(Z)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(AA)in truth.

¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, ^(AB)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(AC)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(AD)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(AE)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(AF)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(AG)love one another, ^(AH)just as he has commanded us.