²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.^(A)

Children of God

²⁹ If you perceive that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who does right has been born of him.^(B) 3 ¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he^[a] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.^{(C) 3} And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.^{(D) 5} You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.^{(E) 6} No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children,^[b] let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

¹⁶ We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.^{(A) 17} How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?^(B)

¹⁸ Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.^{(C) 19} And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him^{(D) 20} whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God, ²² and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.^(E)

²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.^{(F) 24} All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.^(G)