1 John 2:15 - 3 John 9

English Standard Version

Do Not Love the World

^15 (A)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(B)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—^(C)the desires of the flesh and ^(D)the desires of the eyes and pride of life^[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And ^(E)the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(F)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(G)antichrist is coming, so now ^(H)many antichrists have come. ^(I)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (J)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(K)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(L)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(M)anointed by ^(N)the Holy One, and ^(O)you all have knowledge.^{[b] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(P)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(Q)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (R)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(S)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(T)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[c]—^(U)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(V)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(W)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(X)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(Y)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(Z)when he appears ^(AA)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(AB)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(AC)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(AD)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See ^(AE)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(AF)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(AG)the world does not know us is that ^(AH)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(AI)God's children ^(AJ)now, and what we will be ^(AK)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(AL)when he appears^{[d] (AM)}we shall be like him, because ^(AN)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(AO)thus hopes in him ^(AP)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(AQ)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(AR)he appeared in order to ^(AS)take away sins, and ^(AT)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(AU)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(AV)let no one deceive you. ^(AW)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (AX)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(AY)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (AZ)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[e] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(BA)nor is the one who ^(BB)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(BC)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(BD)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(BE)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(BF)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers,^{[f] (BG)}that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that ^(BH)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ^15 (BI)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(BJ)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(BK)he laid down his life for us, and ^(BL)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(BM)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(BN)closes his heart against him, ^(BO)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(BP)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(BQ)in truth.

¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, ^(BR)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(BS)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(BT)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(BU)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(BV)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(BW)love one another, ^(BX)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (BY)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[g] and God^[h] in him. And ^(BZ)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(CA)do not believe every spirit, but ^(CB)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(CC)many ^(CD)false prophets ^(CE)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(CF)every spirit that confesses that ^(CG)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(CH)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(CI)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(CJ)he who is in you is greater than ^(CK)he who is in the world. ^5 (CL)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(CM)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(CN)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(CO)the Spirit of truth and ^(CP)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(CQ)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(CR)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (CS)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(CT)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(CU)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(CV)not that we have loved God ^(CW)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(CX)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (CY)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(CZ)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (DA)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(DB)we have seen and testify that ^(DC)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(DD)the world. ^15 (DE)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(DF)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(DG)God is love, and ^(DH)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(DI)is love perfected with us, so that ^(DJ)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(DK)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(DL)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(DM)been perfected in love. ^19 (DN)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (DO)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(DP)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[i] love God ^(DQ)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(DR)this commandment we have from him: ^(DS)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(DT)Everyone who believes that ^(DU)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(DV)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ^2 (DW)By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For ^(DX)this is the love of God, that we ^(DY)keep his commandments. And ^(DZ)his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(EA)everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^(EB)our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^(EC)that Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

⁶ This is he who came ^(ED)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^(EE)the Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^(EF)the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. ^9 (EG)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^(EH)that he has borne concerning his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God ^(EI)has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^(EJ)has made him a liar, ^(EK)because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^(EL)eternal life, and ^(EM)this life is in his Son. ^12 (EN)Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

¹³ I write ^(EO)these things to you who ^(EP)believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is ^(EQ)the confidence that we have toward him, that ^(ER)if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and ^(ES)God^[j] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. ^(ET)There is sin that leads to death; ^(EU)I do not say that one should pray for that. ^17 (EV)All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that ^(EW)everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ^(EX)he who was born of God ^(EY)protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are from God, and ^(EZ)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and ^(FA)has given us understanding, so that we may know ^(FB)him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and ^(FC)eternal life. ²¹ Little children, ^(FD)keep yourselves from idols.

Greeting

^1 (FE)The elder to the elect lady and her children, ^(FF)whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^(FG)know ^(FH)the truth, ^2 (FI)because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

^3 (FJ)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

^4 (FK)I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, dear lady—^(FL)not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—^(FM)that we love one another. ⁶ And ^(FN)this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^(FO)as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ⁷ For ^(FP)many deceivers ^(FQ)have gone out into the world, ^(FR)those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, ^(FS)so that you may not lose what we^[k] have worked for, but ^(FT)may win a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^(FU)does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching ^(FV)has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(FW)do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him ^(FX)takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

^12 (FY)Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^(FZ)Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^(GA)so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children of your elect sister greet you.

Greeting

^1 (GB)The elder to the beloved Gaius, ^(GC)whom I love in truth.

² Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. ³ For ^(GD)I rejoiced greatly when the brothers^[l] came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that ^(GE)my children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

⁵ Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ^(GF)these brothers, ^(GG)strangers as they are, ⁶ who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner ^(GH)worthy of God. ⁷ For they have gone out for the sake of ^(GI)the name, ^(GJ)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹ I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.