God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(A)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(B)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

^8 (A)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(B)God is love.

^20 (A)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(B)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(C)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(D)this commandment we have from him: ^(E)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(F)Everyone who believes that ^(G)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(H)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for ^(A)a sincere brotherly love, ^(B)love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

²⁹ If you know that ^(A)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(B)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him^[a] there is no ^(A)cause for stumbling.

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, ^(A)nor is the one who ^(B)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

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

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(K)he laid down his life for us, and ^(L)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(M)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(N)closes his heart against him, ^(O)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(P)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(Q)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, ^(R)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(S)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(T)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(U)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(V)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(W)love one another, ^(X)just as he has commanded us.

^12 (A)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(B)his love is perfected in us.

⁹ Now concerning ^(A)brotherly love ^(B)you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ^(C)taught by God ^(D)to love one another, ¹⁰ for that indeed is what ^(E)you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ^(F)do this more and more,