1 John 3:11-15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Love for One Another
11 [a]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another,(A) 12 unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous.(B) 13 Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you.(C) 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death.(D) 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.(E)
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- 3:11–18 Love, even to the point of self-sacrifice, is the point of the commandment. The story of Cain and Abel (1 Jn 3:12–15; Gn 4:1–16) presents the rivalry of two brothers, in a contrast of evil and righteousness, where envy led to murder. For Christians, proof of deliverance is love toward others, after the example of Christ. This includes concrete acts of charity, out of our material abundance.
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