3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^wkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a ^xliar, and ^ythe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^zkeeps his word, in him truly the love of God is ^aperfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^babides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, ^cI am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^da new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{1 e}the darkness is passing away and ^fthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^ghates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever ^hloves his brother abides in the light, and in him² there is no cause for ⁱstumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^jwalks 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; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to ^mtake away sins, and ⁿin him there is no sin. 6 ^oNo one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either ^pseen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one ^qdeceive you. ^rWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 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 to ^sdestroy the works of the devil. 9 No 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, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Love One Another

11 For ^tthis is the message ^uthat you have heard from the beginning, that we should ^vlove one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and ^wmurdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s ^xrighteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,² that the world ^yhates you. 14 We know that we have ^zpassed out of death into life, ^abecause we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 ^bEveryone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 ^cBy this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But ^dif anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide ^ein him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are ^fof 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, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and ^gwhatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^hdo what pleases him. 23 And ⁱthis is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^jlove one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 ^kWhoever keeps his commandments abides in God,³ and God⁴ in him. ^lAnd by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been ^yborn of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 ^zIn this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the ^apropitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to ^blove one another. 12 ^cNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, ^dGod abides in us and his love is ^eperfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, ^fbecause he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and ^gtestify that the Father has sent his Son to be ^hthe Savior of the world. 15 ⁱWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have ^jconfidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, ^k“I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a ^lliar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot¹ love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.