²³ He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are from this world, I am not from this world.^(A)

¹⁶ They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

The One Who Comes from Heaven

³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all.^(A)

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world,^{(A) 16} for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.

¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.^(A)

⁵ They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.^(A)

¹⁹ We know that we are God’s children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.^{(A) 20} And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true;^[a] and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.^(B)

⁴ Adulterers!^[a] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.^(A)

¹⁵ This is not wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.^{(A) 16} For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.^{(B) 17} But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.^(C)

⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot,^{(A) 8} and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.