1 John 3 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

Children of God Love One Another

1See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

2Beloved, we are now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guiltless).

4Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

5You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

6No one who abides in Him practices sin. No one who habitually sins has seen Him or known Him.

7Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

8The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

9No one who is born of God practices sin, because God’s seed remains in him; and he cannot habitually sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him.

10By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

11For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love and seek the best for one another;

12and not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because Cain’s deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

13Do not be surprised, believers, if the world hates you.

14We know that we have passed out of death into Life, because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in death.

15Everyone who hates (works against) his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16By this we know love: that He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the believers.

17But whoever has the world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?

18Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love with word or with tongue, but in action and in truth.

19By this we will know that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him

20whenever our heart convicts us; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things.

21Beloved, if our heart does not convict us, we have confidence before God;

22and we receive from Him whatever we ask because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

23This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us.

24The one who habitually keeps His commandments remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.