3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^bkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^cis a liar, and ^cthe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^dkeeps his word, in him truly ^ethe love of God is perfected. ^fBy this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^gabides in him ^hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, I am writing you ⁱno new commandment, but ^jan old commandment ^kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{1 m}the darkness is passing away and ⁿthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him² there is no ^pcause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^jsin is lawlessness. 5 You know that ^khe appeared in order to ^ltake away sins, and ^min him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ⁿno one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, ^olet no one deceive you. ^pWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 ^qWhoever 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 ^rto destroy the works of the devil. 9 ^sNo one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s¹ 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, ^tnor is the one who ^udoes not love his brother.

Love One Another

11 For ^vthis is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^wthat we should love one another. 12 We should not be like ^xCain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^yBecause his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,^{2 z}that the world hates you. 14 We know that ^awe have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 ^bEveryone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^cno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that ^dhe laid down his life for us, and ^ewe ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But ^fif anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^gcloses his heart against him, ^hhow does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not ⁱlove in word or talk but in deed and ^jin 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, ^kif our heart does not condemn us, ^lwe have confidence before God; 22 and ^mwhatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ⁿdo what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, ^othat we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^plove one another, ^qjust as he has commanded us. 24 ^rWhoever keeps his commandments abides in God,³ and God⁴ in him. And ^sby this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

God Is Love

7 Beloved, ^jlet us love one another, for love is from God, and ^kwhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 ^lAnyone who does not love does not know God, because ^mGod is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ⁿGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, ^onot that we have loved God ⁿbut that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^pthe propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 ^qNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^rhis love is perfected in us.

13 ^sBy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And ^twe have seen and testify that ^uthe Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^vthe world. 15 ^wWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So ^xwe have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^yGod is love, and ^zwhoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this ^ais love perfected with us, so that ^bwe may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^cas he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but ^dperfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^abeen perfected in love. 19 ^eWe love because he first loved us. 20 ^fIf anyone says, “I love God,” and ^ghates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot¹ love God ^hwhom he has not seen. 21 And ⁱthis commandment we have from him: ^jwhoever loves God must also love his brother.