1 John 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
1 See what love
the Father has bestowed on us,
enabling us to be called the children of God,
and that is what we are.
If the world does not recognize us,
that is because it did not know him.
2 Beloved,
we are God’s children now.
What we shall be
has not yet been revealed.
However, we do know that when he appears
we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he really is.
3 Everyone who has this hope in him
keeps himself pure,
just as he is pure.
The Rupture with Sin[a]
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law,
for sin is lawlessness.
5 You know that he appeared
in order to take away sins,
and that there is no sin in him.
6 Whoever remains in him does not sin,[b]
and whoever sins has not seen him
nor known him.
7 Dear children,
do not let anyone deceive you.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
8 Everyone who sins comes from the devil,
for the devil has been a sinner
from the very beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this very purpose:
to destroy the work of the devil.
9 Whoever is born of God
does not sin,
because his seed[c] remains in him.
He cannot sin
because he is begotten by God.
10 This is what distinguishes
the children of God from the children of the devil:
anyone who fails to live righteously
does not belong to God;
neither does anyone who fails to love a brother.
The Message of Love[d]
11 For from the beginning
you have heard the message
that we should love one another,
12 unlike Cain who was from the evil one
and slew his brother.
And why did he slay him?
Because his own deeds were evil
while those of his brother were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, my brethren,
if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed
from death to life
because we love our brethren.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates his brother
is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
16 This is how we know what love is:
he laid down his life for us,
and we in turn must be prepared
to lay down our lives for our brethren.
17 If anyone is rich in worldly possessions
and sees a brother in need
but refuses to open his heart,
how can the love of God abide in him?
18 Dear children,
let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.[e]
19 This is how we know
that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts in his presence
20 even if our hearts experience a sense of guilt.
For God is greater than our hearts,
and he knows everything.
21 Beloved,
if our hearts do not condemn us,
we can approach God with confidence
22 and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we obey his commandments
and do whatever is pleasing to him.[f]
23 And this is his commandment:
that we should believe
in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.[g]
24 All those who keep his commandments abide in him,
and he abides in them.
And the proof that he abides in us
is the Spirit that he has given us.
Footnotes
- 1 John 3:4 Breaking away from sin does not take place by delighting in sublime thoughts but by the action of God in Jesus Christ. For it is Christ alone who is without sin (see Jn 8:26). And it is not words but deeds that bear witness to this liberation. To what options or influences does our life cling? Is it in the grip of the devil or does it cling to the word of God? Certainly, sin is part of the daily life of believers (1 Jn 1:8-10), but we are speaking about the fundamental and general choice between sin and righteousness. Which do we choose?
- 1 John 3:6 Whoever remains in him does not sin: the author is not speaking about sinless perfection (see 1 Jn 1:8—2:1). He is simply asserting that the life of believers is dominated not by sin but by doing the right thing.
- 1 John 3:9 His seed: a reference to Christ (see 1 Jn 5:18; Gal 3:16) or to the Holy Spirit (see 1 Jn 2:20-27) or to the seed of Divine life that God introduced into us.
- 1 John 3:11 There are two attitudes toward life—hate and love, murder and the offering of one’s life. Cain is the Biblical prototype of all the homicidal impulses that arise in the human heart (see Gen 4; Heb 11:4); these come together in what the author’s language terms “the world.” This symbolizes death. Christian behavior—which is life, love, and offering of self—draws us away from the world. Christ gives us both the power to do so and the example to follow in the concrete reality of his Passion. Believers must do likewise. They can count on God’s mercy. Verse 23, which expresses the whole intent of the Letter, brings out clearly the mind of the author in regard to the growing Gnosticism.
- 1 John 3:18 Like James, John insists on the value of good works. Love is not a mere matter of lip service; it must be seen and known in actions. Beautiful words are meaningless if they are not accompanied by good deeds.
- 1 John 3:22 Believers who have a good conscience desire nothing that is contrary to God’s honor and glory. They will trust in God, who will give them the good things they request (see Ps 84:12).
- 1 John 3:23 This commandment has two parts: (1) belief in Christ (see Jn 6:29) and (2) love for one another (see Jn 13:34f). The Letter develops part one in 4:1-6 and the second part in 4:7-12.
1 John 3
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
3 1 See what love the Father has given 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. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he[a] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed abides in them;[b] they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. 10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.[c]
Love One Another
11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters,[d] that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 All who hate a brother or sister[e] are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister[f] in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
Footnotes
- 1 John 3:2 Or it
- 1 John 3:9 Or because the children of God abide in him
- 1 John 3:10 Gk his brother
- 1 John 3:13 Gk brothers
- 1 John 3:15 Gk his brother
- 1 John 3:17 Gk brother
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.