1 John 3:4-15

New King James Version

Sin and the Child of God

⁴ Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ^(A)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ And you know ^(B)that He was manifested ^(C)to take away our sins, and ^(D)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ^8 (E)He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ^(F)that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been ^(G)born of God does not sin, for ^(H)His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love^(I)

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹ For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^(J)that we should love one another, ¹² not as ^(K)Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³ Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^(L)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[a]his brother abides in death. ^15 (M)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(N)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.