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1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! On account of this the world does not know you, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He appeared that He might take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Everyone who abides in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him nor has he known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Love One Another
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 Because this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his works were evil and the works of his brother were righteous.
13 Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we have come to know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives on behalf of our brothers. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother having need, and shuts off his compassion towards him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And in this we know that we are from the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 Because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we should ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and we do the things pleasing before Him. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and should love one another, just as He gave commandment.
The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error
24 And whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, from the Spirit whom He gave us.