Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know^(A) that we have come to know him^(B) if we keep his commands.^{(C) 4} Whoever says, “I know him,”^(D) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.^{(E) 5} But if anyone obeys his word,^(F) love for God^[a] is truly made complete in them.^(G) This is how we know^(H) we are in him:

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world.^(A) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them.^{(B) 16} For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,^(C) the lust of the eyes,^(D) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away,^(E) but whoever does the will of God^(F) lives forever.

³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves,^(A) just as he is pure.^(B)

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.^{(C) 5} But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.^(D) And in him is no sin.^{(E) 6} No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.^(F) No one who continues to sin has either seen him^(G) or known him.^(H)

⁷ Dear children,^(I) do not let anyone lead you astray.^(J) The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.^{(K) 8} The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,^(L) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God^(M) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.^{(N) 9} No one who is born of God^(O) will continue to sin,^(P) because God’s seed^(Q) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God^(R) are and who the children of the devil^(S) are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love^(T) their brother and sister.^(U)

² This is how we know^(A) that we love the children of God:^(B) by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.^(C) And his commands are not burdensome,^(D)

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God^(A) does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one^(B) cannot harm them.^(C)