God’s Children and Sin

28 And now, dear children,(A) continue in him, so that when he appears(B) we may be confident(C) and unashamed before him at his coming.(D)

29 If you know that he is righteous,(E) you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.(F)

See what great love(G) the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!(H) And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.(I) Dear friends,(J) now we are children of God,(K) and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a](L) we shall be like him,(M) for we shall see him as he is.(N) All who have this hope in him purify themselves,(O) just as he is pure.(P)

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:2 Or when it is made known

Abide in Him

28 Even now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes. 29 Since you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by God.[a]

We are God’s Children

See what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God’s children—and that is what we are![b] For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.

Dear friends, we are now God’s children, but what we will be like has not been revealed yet. We know that when the Messiah[c] is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope based on him keeps himself pure, just as the Messiah[d] is pure.

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:29 Lit. by him
  2. 1 John 3:1 Other mss. lack And that is what we are!
  3. 1 John 3:2 Lit. he
  4. 1 John 3:3 Lit. as he