Font Size
1 John 3-5
New Life Version
1 John 3-5
New Life Version
We Are God’s Children
3 See what great love the Father has for us that He would call us His children. And that is what we are. For this reason the people of the world do not know who we are because they did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now. But it has not yet been shown to us what we are going to be. We know that when He comes again, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3 The person who is looking for this to happen will keep himself pure because Christ is pure.
4 The person who keeps on sinning is guilty of not obeying the Law of God. For sin is breaking the Law of God. 5 You know that Christ came to take away our sins. There is no sin in Him. 6 The person who lives by the help of Christ does not keep on sinning. The person who keeps on sinning has not seen Him or has not known Him. 7 My children, let no one lead you in the wrong way. The man who does what is right, is right with God in the same way as Christ is right with God. 8 The person who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. The devil has sinned from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No person who has become a child of God keeps on sinning. This is because the Holy Spirit is in him. He cannot keep on sinning because God is his Father. 10 This is the way you can know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. The person who does not keep on doing what is right and does not love his brother does not belong to God. 11 This is what you have heard from the beginning, that we should love each other. 12 Do not be like Cain. He was a child of the devil and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? It was because he did what was sinful and his brother did what was right.
13 Do not be surprised if the world hates you, Christian brothers. 14 We know we have passed from death into life. We know this because we love the Christians. The person who does not love has not passed from death into life. 15 A man who hates his brother is a killer in his heart. You know that life which lasts forever is not in one who kills.
16 We know what love is because Christ gave His life for us. We should give our lives for our brothers. 17 What if a person has enough money to live on and sees his brother in need of food and clothing? If he does not help him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 My children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do and in truth. 19 This is how we know we are Christians. It will give our heart comfort for sure when we stand before Him. 20 Our heart may say that we have done wrong. But remember, God is greater than our heart. He knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our heart does not say that we are wrong, we will have no fear as we stand before Him. 22 We will receive from Him whatever we ask if we obey Him and do what He wants. 23 This is what He said we must do: Put your trust in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other. Christ told us to do this. 24 The person who obeys Christ lives by the help of God and God lives in him. We know He lives in us by the Holy Spirit He has given us.
The Spirits Must Be Tested
4 Dear Christian friends, do not believe every spirit. But test the spirits to see if they are from God for there are many false preachers in the world. 2 You can tell if the spirit is from God in this way: Every spirit that says Jesus Christ has come in a human body is from God. 3 And every spirit that does not say Jesus has come in a human body is not from God. It is the teaching of the false-christ. You have heard that this teaching is coming. It is already here in the world. 4 My children, you are a part of God’s family. You have stood against these false preachers and had power over them. You had power over them because the One Who lives in you is stronger than the one who is in the world. 5 Those false teachers are a part of the world. They speak about the things of the world. The world listens to them. 6 We are a part of God’s family. The person who knows God will listen to us. The person who is not a part of God’s family will not listen to us. In this way, we can tell what is the spirit of truth and what is the spirit of false teaching.
Loving God Makes Us Love Our Christian Brothers
7 Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God. 8 Those who do not love do not know God because God is love. 9 God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ. 10 This is love! It is not that we loved God but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay for our sins with His own blood.
11 Dear friends, if God loved us that much, then we should love each other. 12 No person has ever seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us. His love is made perfect in us. 13 He has given us His Spirit. This is how we live by His help and He lives in us.
Love Gives Us More Faith in Christ
14 We have seen and are able to say that the Father sent His Son to save the world from the punishment of sin. 15 The person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God. 16 We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.
The Love of God Has Power Over Fear and Hate
17 Love is made perfect in us when we are not ashamed as we stand before Him on the day He judges. For we know that our life in this world is His life lived in us. 18 There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love. 19 We love Him because He loved us first. 20 If a person says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. If a person does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God Whom he has not seen? 21 We have these words from Him. If you love God, love your brother also.
5 The person who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. The person who loves the Father loves His children also. 2 This is the way we know we love God’s children. It is when we love God and obey His Word. 3 Loving God means to obey His Word, and His Word is not hard to obey. 4 Every child of God has power over the sins of the world. The way we have power over the sins of the world is by our faith. 5 Who could have power over the world except by believing that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 Jesus Christ came by water and blood. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. The Holy Spirit speaks about this and He is truth. 7 There are three Who speak of this in heaven: the Father and the Word and the Holy Spirit. These three are one. 8 There are three who speak of this on the earth: the Holy Spirit and the water and the blood. These three speak the same thing. 9 If we believe what men say, we can be sure what God says is more important. God has spoken as He has told us about His Son. 10 The person who puts his trust in God’s Son knows in his own heart that Jesus is the Son of God. The person who does not have his trust in God’s Son makes God a liar. It is because he has not believed the word God spoke about His Son. 11 This is the word He spoke: God gave us life that lasts forever, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Now you can know you have life that lasts forever. 14 We are sure that if we ask anything that He wants us to have, He will hear us. 15 If we are sure He hears us when we ask, we can be sure He will give us what we ask for. 16 You may see a Christian brother sinning in a way that does not lead to death. You should pray for him. God will give him life unless he has done that sin that leads to death. There is a sin that leads to death. There is no reason to pray for him if he has done that sin. 17 Every kind of wrong-doing is sin. But there is a sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that no child of God keeps on sinning. The Son of God watches over him and the devil cannot get near him. 19 We know that we belong to God, but the whole world is under the power of the devil. 20 We know God’s Son has come. He has given us the understanding to know Him Who is the true God. We are joined together with the true God through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the life that lasts forever. 21 My children, keep yourselves from false gods.
1 John 3-5
New International Version
1 John 3-5
New International Version
3 See what great love(A) the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!(B) And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.(C) 2 Dear friends,(D) now we are children of God,(E) and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a](F) we shall be like him,(G) for we shall see him as he is.(H) 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves,(I) just as he is pure.(J)
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.(K) 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.(L) And in him is no sin.(M) 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.(N) No one who continues to sin has either seen him(O) or known him.(P)
7 Dear children,(Q) do not let anyone lead you astray.(R) The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.(S) 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,(T) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God(U) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.(V) 9 No one who is born of God(W) will continue to sin,(X) because God’s seed(Y) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God(Z) are and who the children of the devil(AA) are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love(AB) their brother and sister.(AC)
More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard(AD) from the beginning:(AE) We should love one another.(AF) 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one(AG) and murdered his brother.(AH) And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.(AI) 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b] if the world hates you.(AJ) 14 We know that we have passed from death to life,(AK) because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.(AL) 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister(AM) is a murderer,(AN) and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.(AO)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.(AP) And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.(AQ) 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,(AR) how can the love of God be in that person?(AS) 18 Dear children,(AT) let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.(AU)
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends,(AV) if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God(AW) 22 and receive from him anything we ask,(AX) because we keep his commands(AY) and do what pleases him.(AZ) 23 And this is his command: to believe(BA) in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,(BB) and to love one another as he commanded us.(BC) 24 The one who keeps God’s commands(BD) lives in him,(BE) and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.(BF)
On Denying the Incarnation
4 Dear friends,(BG) do not believe every spirit,(BH) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.(BI) 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh(BJ) is from God,(BK) 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,(BL) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.(BM)
4 You, dear children,(BN) are from God and have overcome them,(BO) because the one who is in you(BP) is greater than the one who is in the world.(BQ) 5 They are from the world(BR) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.(BS) This is how we recognize the Spirit[c] of truth(BT) and the spirit of falsehood.(BU)
God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another,(BV) for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God(BW) and knows God.(BX) 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.(BY) 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son(BZ) into the world that we might live through him.(CA) 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us(CB) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.(CC) 11 Dear friends,(CD) since God so loved us,(CE) we also ought to love one another.(CF) 12 No one has ever seen God;(CG) but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.(CH)
13 This is how we know(CI) that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.(CJ) 14 And we have seen and testify(CK) that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.(CL) 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,(CM) God lives in them and they in God.(CN) 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love.(CO) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.(CP) 17 This is how love is made complete(CQ) among us so that we will have confidence(CR) on the day of judgment:(CS) In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,(CT) because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.(CU) 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister(CV) is a liar.(CW) For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,(CX) cannot love God, whom they have not seen.(CY) 21 And he has given us this command:(CZ) Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.(DA)
Faith in the Incarnate Son of God
5 Everyone who believes(DB) that Jesus is the Christ(DC) is born of God,(DD) and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.(DE) 2 This is how we know(DF) that we love the children of God:(DG) by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.(DH) And his commands are not burdensome,(DI) 4 for everyone born of God(DJ) overcomes(DK) the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.(DL)
6 This is the one who came by water and blood(DM)—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.(DN) 7 For there are three(DO) that testify: 8 the[d] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony,(DP) but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God,(DQ) which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.(DR) Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar,(DS) because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,(DT) and this life is in his Son.(DU) 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.(DV)
Concluding Affirmations
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God(DW) so that you may know that you have eternal life.(DX) 14 This is the confidence(DY) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.(DZ) 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know(EA) that we have what we asked of him.(EB)
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.(EC) I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.(ED) I am not saying that you should pray about that.(EE) 17 All wrongdoing is sin,(EF) and there is sin that does not lead to death.(EG)
18 We know that anyone born of God(EH) does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one(EI) cannot harm them.(EJ) 19 We know that we are children of God,(EK) and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.(EL) 20 We know also that the Son of God has come(EM) and has given us understanding,(EN) so that we may know him who is true.(EO) And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.(EP)
Footnotes
- 1 John 3:2 Or when it is made known
- 1 John 3:13 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 16.
- 1 John 4:6 Or spirit
- 1 John 5:8 Late manuscripts of the Vulgate testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8 And there are three that testify on earth: the (not found in any Greek manuscript before the fourteenth century)
New Life Version (NLV)
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.