1 John 2:28-5:3

English Standard Version

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(A)when he appears ^(B)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(C)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(D)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(E)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See ^(F)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(G)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(H)the world does not know us is that ^(I)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(J)God's children ^(K)now, and what we will be ^(L)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(M)when he appears^{[a] (N)}we shall be like him, because ^(O)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(P)thus hopes in him ^(Q)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(R)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(S)he appeared in order to ^(T)take away sins, and ^(U)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(V)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(W)let no one deceive you. ^(X)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (Y)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 ^(Z)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (AA)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[b] 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, ^(AB)nor is the one who ^(AC)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

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

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(AL)he laid down his life for us, and ^(AM)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(AN)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(AO)closes his heart against him, ^(AP)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(AQ)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(AR)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, ^(AS)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(AT)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(AU)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(AV)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(AW)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(AX)love one another, ^(AY)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (AZ)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[d] and God^[e] in him. And ^(BA)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(BB)do not believe every spirit, but ^(BC)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(BD)many ^(BE)false prophets ^(BF)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(BG)every spirit that confesses that ^(BH)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(BI)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(BJ)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(BK)he who is in you is greater than ^(BL)he who is in the world. ^5 (BM)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(BN)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(BO)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(BP)the Spirit of truth and ^(BQ)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(BR)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(BS)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (BT)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(BU)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(BV)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(BW)not that we have loved God ^(BX)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(BY)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (BZ)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(CA)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (CB)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(CC)we have seen and testify that ^(CD)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(CE)the world. ^15 (CF)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(CG)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(CH)God is love, and ^(CI)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(CJ)is love perfected with us, so that ^(CK)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(CL)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(CM)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(CN)been perfected in love. ^19 (CO)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (CP)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(CQ)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[f] love God ^(CR)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(CS)this commandment we have from him: ^(CT)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(CU)Everyone who believes that ^(CV)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(CW)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ^2 (CX)By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For ^(CY)this is the love of God, that we ^(CZ)keep his commandments. And ^(DA)his commandments are not burdensome.