Iohannis I 3
1 Videte qualem charitatem dedit nobis Pater, ut filii Dei nominemur et simus. Propter hoc mundus non novit nos: quia non novit eum.
[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 Charissimi, nunc filii Dei sumus: et nondum apparuit quid erimus. Scimus quoniam cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus: quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est.
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 Et omnis, qui habet hanc spem in eo, sanctificat se, sicut et ille sanctus est.
[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 Omnis, qui facit peccatum, et iniquitatem facit: et peccatum est iniquitas.
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 Et scitis quia ille apparuit ut peccata nostra tolleret: et peccatum in eo non est.
You know that Christ came in order to completely remove [the guilt of] our sins. You know also that he never sinned.
6 Omnis, qui in eo manet, non peccat: et omnis, qui peccat, non vidit eum, nec cognovit eum.
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 Filioli, nemo vos seducat. Qui facit iustitiam, iustus est: sicut et ille iustus est.
[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 Qui facit peccatum, ex diabolo est: quoniam ab initio diabolus peccat. In hoc apparuit Filius Dei, ut dissolvat opera diaboli.
[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 Omnis, qui natus est ex Deo, peccatum non facit: quoniam semen ipsius in eo manet, et non potest peccare, quoniam ex Deo natus est.
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 hoc manifesti sunt filii Dei, et filii diaboli. Omnis qui non est iustus, non est ex Deo, et qui non diligit fratrem suum:
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 quoniam hæc est annunciatio, quam audistis ab initio, ut diligatis alterutrum.
The message that you heard when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ] is that we should love each other.
12 Non sicut Cain, qui ex maligno erat, et occidit fratrem suum. Et propter quid occidit eum? Quoniam opera eius maligna erant: fratris autem eius, iusta.
[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 Nolite mirari fratres, si odit vos mundus.
You should not be amazed/surprised, my fellow believers, when [unbelievers] [MTY] hate you.
14 Nos scimus quoniam translati sumus de morte ad vitam, quoniam diligimus fratres. Qui non diligit, manet in morte:
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 omnis, qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est. Et scitis quoniam omnis homicida non habet vitam æternam in semetipso manentem. (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 In hoc cognovimus charitatem Dei, quoniam ille animam suam pro nobis posuit: et nos debemus pro fratribus animas ponere.
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 Qui habuerit substantiam huius mundi, et viderit fratrem suum necessitatem habere, et clauserit viscera sua ab eo: quomodo charitas Dei manet in eo?
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 Filioli mei, non diligamus verbo, neque lingua, sed opere et veritate.
[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 in hoc cognoscimus quoniam ex veritate sumus: et in conspectu eius suadebimus corda nostra.
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 Quoniam si reprehenderit nos cor nostrum: maior est Deus corde nostro, et novit omnia.
[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 Charissimi, si cor nostrum non reprehenderit nos, fiduciam habemus ad Deum:
Dear friends, when we do not feel guilty [because of our sins], we can pray to God confidently.
22 et quidquid petierimus, accipiemus ab eo: quoniam mandata eius custodimus, et ea, quæ sunt placita coram eo, facimus.
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 Et hoc est mandatum eius: Ut credamus in nomine Filii eius Iesu Christi: et diligamus alterutrum, sicut dedit mandatum nobis.
[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 Et qui servat mandata eius, in illo manet, et ipse in eo: et in hoc scimus quoniam manet in nobis de Spiritu, quem dedit nobis.
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.
