1 John 3

1 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him.

[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].

2 Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is.

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.

3 Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

[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.

4 Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.

But everyone who continues sinning is refusing to obey [God’s] laws, because that is what sin is, refusing to obey [God’s] laws.

5 You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him.

You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.

6 Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.

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.

7 Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

[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.

8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil.

[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.

9 Whoever is born of God doesn’t commit sin, because his seed remains in him, and he can’t sin, because he is born of God.

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.

10 In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.

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].

11 For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another—

The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.

12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

[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.

13 Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.

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.

15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. (aiōnios g166)

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)

16 By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

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.

17 But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain in him?

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].

18 My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.

[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]!

19 And by this we know that we are of the truth and persuade our hearts before him,

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.

20 because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

[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].

21 Beloved, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness toward God;

Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.

22 so whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

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.

23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.

[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].

24 He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

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.