New International Version NIV
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
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Consider this: The Father has given us his love. He loves us so much that we are actually called God's dear children. And that's what we are. For this reason the world doesn't recognize us, and it didn't recognize him either.
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
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Dear friends, now we are God's children. What we will be isn't completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is.
3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
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So all people who have this confidence in Christ keep themselves pure, as Christ is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
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Those who live sinful lives are disobeying God. Sin is disobedience.
5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
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You know that Christ appeared in order to take away our sins. He isn't sinful.
6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
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Those who live in Christ don't go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven't seen or known Christ.
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
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Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you. Whoever does what God approves of has God's approval as Christ has God's approval.
8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
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The person who lives a sinful life belongs to the devil, because the devil has been committing sin since the beginning. The reason that the Son of God appeared was to destroy what the devil does.
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
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Those who have been born from God don't live sinful lives. What God has said lives in them, and they can't live sinful lives. They have been born from God.
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
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This is the way God's children are distinguished from the devil's children. Everyone who doesn't do what is right or love other believers isn't God's child.
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
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The message that you have heard from the beginning is to love each other.
12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
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Don't be like Cain. He was a child of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain murder his brother? Because the things Cain did were evil and the things his brother did had God's approval.
13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
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Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
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We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love other believers. The person who doesn't grow in love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
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Everyone who hates another believer is a murderer, and you know that a murderer doesn't have eternal life.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
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We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
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Now, suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need. How can God's love be in that person if he doesn't bother to help the other believer?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
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Dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere, not through empty words.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:
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This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be reassured in his presence.
20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
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Whenever our conscience condemns us, we will be reassured that God is greater than our conscience and knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
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Dear friends, if our conscience doesn't condemn us, we can boldly look to God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
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and receive from him anything we ask. We receive it because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
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This is his commandment: to believe in his Son, the one named Jesus Christ, and to love each other as he commanded us.
24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
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Those who obey Christ's commandments live in God, and God lives in them. We know that he lives in us because he has given us the Spirit.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.