The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it - we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.
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Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him - and in seeing him, become like him.
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Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.
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And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4 All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order.
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Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.
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And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backwards.
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Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7 So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.
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Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.
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He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
9 People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin.
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Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.
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In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11 For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other.
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For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous.
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Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
13 So don't be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.
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Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead.
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We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together.
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Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.
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Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.
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But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love.
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My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality.
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And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
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For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God!
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Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him.
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And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command.
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And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.
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And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.