1 John 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
1 [a]See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.(A) 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed[b] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.(B) 3 Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.(C)
Avoiding Sin. 4 Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.[c] 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.(D) 6 No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. 7 Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil.(E) 9 No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.[d] 10 In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.
III. Love for One Another
11 [e]For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another,(F) 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.(G) 13 Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you.(H) 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death.(I) 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.(J) 16 The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.(K) 17 If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?(L) 18 Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.(M)
Confidence Before God.[f] 19 [Now] this is how we shall know that we[g] belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him 20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. 21 Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God 22 and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.(N) 23 And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.(O) 24 Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.(P)
Footnotes
- 3:1–3 The greatest sign of God’s love is the gift of his Son (Jn 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son.
- 3:2 When it is revealed: or “when he is revealed” (the subject of the verb could be Christ).
- 3:4 Lawlessness: a reference to the activity of the antichrist, so it is expressed as hostility toward God and a rejection of Christ. The author goes on to contrast the states of sin and righteousness. Christians do not escape sin but realize that when they sin they cease to have fellowship with God. Virtue and sin distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil.
- 3:9 A habitual sinner is a child of the devil, while a child of God, who by definition is in fellowship with God, cannot sin. Seed: Christ or the Spirit who shares the nature of God with the Christian.
- 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.
- 3:19–24 Living a life of faith in Jesus and of Christian love assures us of abiding in God no matter what our feelings may at times tell us. Our obedience gives us confidence in prayer and trust in God’s judgment. This obedience includes our belief in Christ and love for one another.
- 3:19b–20 This difficult passage may also be translated “we shall be at peace before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for…” or “and before God we shall convince our hearts, if our hearts condemn us, that God is greater than our hearts.”
1 Juan 3
Magandang Balita Biblia
Ang mga Anak ng Diyos
3 Tingnan(A) ninyo kung gaano kalaki ang pag-ibig sa atin ng Ama! Tinatawag tayong mga anak ng Diyos, at iyon nga ang totoo. Ang dahilan kung bakit hindi tayo nakikilala ng mga makasanlibutan ay hindi nila kinikilala ang Diyos. 2 Mga minamahal, mga anak na tayo ng Diyos ngayon, ngunit hindi pa nahahayag ang magiging kalagayan natin. Ngunit alam nating sa pagdating ni Cristo, tayo'y magiging katulad niya, sapagkat makikita natin kung sino talaga siya. 3 Kaya't ang sinumang may ganitong pag-asa kay Cristo ay nagsisikap na maging malinis tulad niyang malinis.
4 Ang bawat nagkakasala ay lumalabag sa kautusan ng Diyos, sapagkat ang kasalanan ay paglabag sa kautusan. 5 Nalalaman(B) ninyong naparito si Cristo upang pawiin ang ating mga kasalanan, at siya'y walang kasalanan. 6 Ang nananatili sa kanya ay hindi nagpapatuloy sa pagkakasala. Ang sinumang nagpapatuloy sa pagkakasala ay hindi nakakita ni nakakilala man sa kanya.
7 Mga anak, huwag kayong palinlang kaninuman! Ang sinumang gumagawa ng matuwid ay matuwid tulad ni Cristo. 8 Ang nagpapatuloy sa pagkakasala ay kampon ng diyablo, sapagkat sa simula pa'y nagkakasala na ang diyablo. Kaya't naparito ang Anak ng Diyos upang wasakin ang mga gawa ng diyablo.
9 Ang mga anak ng Diyos ay hindi nagpapatuloy sa pagkakasala, sapagkat nananatili sa kanila ang binhing mula sa Diyos. At dahil ang Diyos ang ama nila, hindi sila maaaring magpatuloy sa pagkakasala. 10 Dito natin makikilala kung sino ang mga anak ng Diyos at kung sino ang mga anak ng diyablo: ang sinumang hindi gumagawa ng ayon sa kalooban ng Diyos at hindi umiibig sa kanyang kapatid ay hindi anak ng Diyos.
Magmahalan Tayo
11 Ito(C) ang mensaheng narinig na ninyo sa simula pa: magmahalan tayo. 12 Huwag(D) tayong tumulad kay Cain na kampon ng diyablo. Pinaslang niya ang kanyang kapatid. Bakit? Sapagkat masama ang kanyang mga gawa, ngunit matuwid ang mga gawa ng kanyang kapatid.
13 Kaya, mga kapatid, huwag kayong magtaka kung kinapopootan kayo ng sanlibutan. 14 Nalalaman(E) nating lumipat na tayo sa buhay mula sa kamatayan, sapagkat iniibig natin ang mga kapatid. Ang hindi umiibig ay nananatili sa kamatayan. 15 Mamamatay-tao ang napopoot sa kanyang kapatid, at nalalaman ninyong ang buhay na walang hanggan ay wala sa mamamatay-tao. 16 Dito natin nalalaman ang pag-ibig: inialay ni Cristo ang kanyang buhay para sa atin. Kaya't dapat din nating ialay ang ating buhay para sa mga kapatid. 17 Kapag nakita ng isang maykaya sa buhay ang kanyang kapatid na nangangailangan, at pinagkaitan niya ito ng tulong, masasabi bang siya'y umiibig sa Diyos? 18 Mga anak, huwag tayong magmahal sa pamamagitan ng salita lamang, kundi patunayan natin ito sa pamamagitan ng gawa.
Panatag na Kalooban at Pananatili sa Diyos
19 Dito nga natin matitiyak na tayo'y nasa panig ng katotohanan, at matatahimik ang ating budhi sa harapan ng Diyos 20 sakali mang tayo'y usigin nito. Sapagkat ang Diyos ay higit sa ating budhi, at alam niya ang lahat ng bagay. 21 Mga minamahal, kung hindi tayo inuusig ng ating budhi, makakalapit tayo sa Diyos na panatag ang ating kalooban. 22 Tinatanggap natin ang anumang ating hilingin sa kanya dahil sinusunod natin ang kanyang mga utos at ginagawa ang nakalulugod sa kanya. 23 Ito(F) ang kanyang utos: sumampalataya tayo sa kanyang Anak na si Jesu-Cristo, at magmahalan tayo gaya ng iniutos ni Cristo sa atin. 24 Ang sumusunod sa mga utos ng Diyos ay nananatili sa Diyos, at nananatili naman sa kanya ang Diyos. At nalalaman nating nananatili siya sa atin sa pamamagitan ng Espiritung ipinagkaloob niya sa atin.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Magandang Balita Biblia, Copyright © Philippine Bible Society 2012.
