1 John 3
1 [Think about] how much our [heavenly] Father loves us! He allows us to (say that we are/be called) his children! [And it is indeed true that] we are [his children. But people in] the world [MTY] [who are unbelievers] have not understood [who] God [is]. So they do not understand [who we are], that we [belong to God].
Seht, welch große Liebe uns der Vater erwiesen hat: Wir heißen Kinder Gottes und sind es in der Tat. Darum versteht die Welt uns nicht, weil sie ihn nicht verstanden hat.
2 Dear friends, even though (at present/now) we are God’s children, [he] has not yet (made clear/revealed) [to us] what we will be like [in the future]. However, we know that when [Christ] comes back again, we will be like him, because we will see what he is [really] like.
Geliebteste, jetzt sind wir Kinder Gottes, doch ist es noch nicht offenbar, was wir einst sein werden. Wir wissen aber, wenn er erscheint, werden wir ihm gleich sein, weil wir ihn schauen, wie er ist. -
3 [So], all those who confidently expect [to see Christ as he actually is/what Christ is like when he returns] must keep themselves pure in every way, just like Christ, who is pure in every way.
Jeder, der solche Hoffnung auf ihn hegt, der heiligt sich, so wie auch jener heilig ist.
4 But everyone who continues sinning is refusing to obey [God’s] laws, because that is what sin is, refusing to obey [God’s] laws.
Jeder, der die Sünde tut, begeht damit auch die Gesetzlosigkeit; die Sünde selber ist die Gesetzlosigkeit.
5 You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.
Nun wisset ihr, daß jener erschienen ist, die Sünden wegzunehmen, und daß keine Sünde in ihm ist.
6 Those who continue [doing what] Christ wants them to, do not continue sinning repeatedly. But those who repeatedly sin have not understood [who Christ is], nor have they had a close relationship with him.
Jeder, der in ihm bleibt, ist sündenfrei. Doch wer sündigt, hat ihn nicht gesehen noch verstanden.
7 [So I urge you, ] who are all very dear to me, do not let anyone deceive you [by telling you that it is all right to sin]. If you continue doing what is right, you are righteous, just like Christ is righteous.
Kinder! Niemand möge euch verführen. Wer die Gerechtigkeit tut, ist gerecht, wie er gerecht ist.
8 [But] if anyone continues sinning, he is like the devil, because the devil has always been sinning. [And] the reason why God’s Son became a human being was to destroy what the devil has done.
Doch wer die Sünde tut, stammt aus dem Teufel; denn der Teufel sündigt von Anfang an. Dazu ist der Sohn Gottes erschienen, die Werke des Teufels zu zerstören.
9 People do not continue sinning repeatedly if they have become children of God. Instead, [they] continue [to conduct their lives according to the character/nature that God produced in them] [MET]. They cannot continually sin because God has caused them to become his children.
Jeder, der aus Gott geboren ist, sündigt nicht; sein Lebenskeim bleibt ja in ihm. Er kann auch gar nicht sündigen, weil er aus Gott geboren ist.
10 Those who are God’s children are clearly different from those who are (the devil’s/Satan’s) children. [The way that we can know who are Satan’s children is this]: Those who do not do what is right are not God’s children. [Specifically], those who do not love their fellow believers are not [God’s children Instead, they are Satan’s children].
Die Kinder Gottes und des Teufels sind daran zu erkennen: Wer nicht Gerechtigkeit übt, ist nicht aus Gott, noch auch, wer seinen Bruder nicht liebt.
11 The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.
Denn diese Botschaft habt ihr von Anfang an vernommen: daß wir einander lieben sollen.
12 [We should] not [hate others] as did [Adam’s son], Cain, who belonged to [Satan], the evil one. [Because Cain hated his younger brother], he murdered him. (I will tell you about why he murdered his brother./Do you know why he murdered his brother [RHQ]?) It was because Cain habitually conducted his life in an evil way, and [he hated his younger brother] because his [younger] brother [conducted his life] righteously.
Nicht so, wie Kain gehandelt hat, der vom Bösen kam und seinen Bruder mordete. Warum hat er ihn gemordet? Seine Werke waren eben böse, die seines Bruders recht.
13 You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.
Ihr braucht euch nicht zu wundern, Brüder, wenn die Welt euch haßt.
14 We know that we have been changed from [being spiritually] dead [MET] to [being spiritually] alive. We know this because we love our fellow believers. [Those who] do not love [their fellow believers] are still [spiritually] [MET] dead.
Wir wissen, daß wir aus dem Tode zum Leben gekommen sind, weil wir die Brüder lieben. Wer nicht liebt, bleibt im Tode.
15 Those who hate [any of] their fellow believers, [God considers] [MET] them [to be] murderers. And you know that no murderer has eternal life. (aiōnios g166)
Jeder, der seinen Bruder haßt, ist ein Menschenmörder. Ihr wisset auch: In keines Mörders Innern bleibt das ewige Leben. (aiōnios g166)
16 The way that we now know [how to truly] love [our fellow believers is by remembering] that Christ (voluntarily died/gave his life) for us. So, [when our fellow believers need something, we should be willing to help them. We should even be willing to] die for them.
Daran erkennen wir die Liebe, daß jener sein Leben für uns hingegeben hat. So sind auch wir verpflichtet, das Leben für die Brüder hinzugeben.
17 Many [of us] have the things that are necessary for us to live in this world. If we become aware that any of our fellow believers do not have what they need and [if we] refuse to ([provide for them/give to them what they need]), it is clear that we do not love God [as we claim/say that we do].
Wenn einer Güter dieser Welt besitzt und seinen Bruder in bitterer Not sieht und doch sein Herz vor ihm verschließt, wie kann in einem solchen noch die Liebe Gottes bleiben?
18 [I say to] all of you whom I love dearly, let us not merely say [MTY] that [we love our fellow believers!] Let us genuinely/really love them by doing things [to help them]!
O Kinder, nicht in Worten laßt uns lieben, nicht mit der Zunge nur, sondern in Tat und Wahrheit.
19 When we [truly love our fellow believers], we can be sure that we are [conducting our lives according to] the true message. [As a result], we will not feel guilty/ashamed [when we talk] [MTY] to God.
Daraus werden wir ersehen, daß wir aus der Wahrheit sind, und werden unser Herz vor ihm beruhigen.
20 [We can pray confidently], because [although] we might feel guilty/ashamed [about our sins], God is (greater/more worthy to be trusted) than what we feel. He knows everything [about us].
Denn mag auch unser Herz uns verdammen, noch größer als unser Herz ist Gott; er weiß ja alles.
21 Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.
Geliebteste, wenn unser Herz uns nicht verdammt, alsdann beseelt uns frohe Zuversicht auf Gott,
22 And, when we confidently pray to him and request [something from him], we receive it because we do what he commands [us to do], and because we do what pleases him.
und alles, was wir von ihm erbitten, werden wir empfangen, weil wir seine Gebote bewahren und tun, was vor ihm wohlgefällig ist.
23 [I will tell you] what he commands [us to do]: [We must] believe that Jesus Christ is (his Son/the one who is also God). [We must] also love each other, just like he commanded [us to do].
Und dies ist sein Gebot: Wir müssen an den Namen seines Sohnes Jesus Christus glauben und einander lieben, wie er es uns geboten hat.
24 Those who do what God commands are ones who have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them. [I will tell you how] we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us: It is because [we have] his Spirit, whom he gave to us, that we can be sure that God has a close relationship with us.
Wer seine Gebote hält, der bleibt in ihm und er in diesem. Daß er in uns verbleibt, das erkennen wir aus dem Geiste, den er uns gegeben hat.
