A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(A)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2 (B)Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^(C)milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have ^(D)tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone ^(E)rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5 (F)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^(G)a spiritual house, to be ^(H)a holy priesthood, ^(I)to offer spiritual sacrifices ^(J)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So the honor is for you who ^(M)believe, but for those who ^(N)do not believe,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^(Q)as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are ^(R)a chosen race, ^(S)a royal ^(T)priesthood, ^(U)a holy nation, ^(V)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(W)out of darkness into ^(X)his marvelous light. ^10 (Y)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you ^(Z)as sojourners and exiles ^(AA)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(AB)which wage war against your soul. ^12 (AC)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(AD)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(AE)the day of visitation.

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

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

Love One Another

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

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

To the Church in Sardis

3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him ^(A)who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation ^(B)of being alive, ^(C)but you are dead. ² Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works ^(D)complete in the sight of my God. ^3 (E)Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, ^(F)I will come ^(G)like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ⁴ Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not ^(H)soiled their garments, and they will walk with me ^(I)in white, for they are ^(J)worthy. ^5 (K)The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never ^(L)blot his name out of ^(M)the book of life. ^(N)I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ^6 (O)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia

⁷ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of ^(P)the holy one, ^(Q)the true one, ^(R)who has the key of David, ^(S)who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

⁸ “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you ^(T)an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ Behold, I will make those of ^(U)the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, ^(V)I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that ^(W)I have loved you. ^10 (X)Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try ^(Y)those who dwell on the earth. ^11 (Z)I am coming soon. ^(AA)Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize ^(AB)your crown. ^12 (AC)The one who conquers, I will make him ^(AD)a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him ^(AE)the name of my God, and ^(AF)the name of the city of my God, ^(AG)the new Jerusalem, ^(AH)which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own ^(AI)new name. ^13 (AJ)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴ “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the ^(AK)Amen, ^(AL)the faithful and true witness, ^(AM)the beginning of God's creation.

¹⁵ “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. ^(AN)Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ^17 (AO)For you say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, ^(AP)blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you ^(AQ)to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and ^(AR)white garments so that you may clothe yourself and ^(AS)the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, ^(AT)so that you may see. ^19 (AU)Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and ^(AV)knock. ^(AW)If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, ^(AX)I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ^21 (AY)The one who conquers, ^(AZ)I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as ^(BA)I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. ^22 (BB)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”