New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
1 John 3
1
How great is the love the Father has given us so freely! Now we can be called children of God. And that's what we really are! The world doesn't know us because it didn't know him.
Reference
Love
John 3:16
Romans 5:8
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 6:18
John 17:25
Galatians 3:29
John 16:3
Romans 8:32
References God
John 1:12
Galatians 3:26
Revelation 21:7
2
Dear friends, now we are children of God. He still hasn't let us know what we will be. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is.
Reference
6
No one who remains joined to him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him.
Reference
Parallel theme
3 John 1:11
1 John 2:4
1 John 4:8
1 John 3:2
2 Corinthians 4:6
1 John 2:28
Sin
1 John 3:9
1 John 5:18
7
Dear children, don't let anyone lead you down the wrong path. Those who do what is right are holy, just as Christ is holy.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 3:3
1 John 2:26
Righteousness
1 John 2:29
Romans 2:13
Psalm 45:7
1 John 2:1
Acts 10:35
Psalm 106:3
Ephesians 5:9
1 Corinthians 6:9
8
Those who do what is sinful belong to the devil. They are just like him. He has been sinning from the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the devil's work.
Reference
Evil
Hebrews 2:14
John 8:44
Parallel theme
Colossians 2:15
John 16:11
John 12:31
Ephesians 2:2
Isaiah 27:1
References God
Romans 16:20
Mark 1:24
Sin
2 Peter 2:4
9
Those who are born again because of what God has done will not keep on sinning. God's very nature remains in them. They can't go on sinning. They have been born again because of what God has done.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 2:29
Galatians 5:17
References God
1 Peter 1:23
John 1:13
1 John 5:1
John 3:3
1 John 5:4
1 John 4:7
Sin
1 John 5:18
Romans 6:2
10
Here is how you can tell the difference between the children of God and the children of the devil. Those who don't do what is right do not belong to God. Those who don't love their brothers and sisters do not belong to him either.
Reference
Evil
Matthew 13:38
John 8:44
Love
1 John 4:8
1 John 4:21
3 John 1:11
Luke 6:35
1 John 5:2
References God
1 John 4:6
Ephesians 5:1
John 8:47
12
Don't be like Cain. He belonged to the evil one. He murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because the things Cain had done were wrong. But the things his brother had done were right.
Reference
Evil
1 Peter 4:4
Parallel theme
Genesis 4:25
Luke 11:51
Jude 1:11
Righteousness
Hebrews 11:4
Proverbs 29:27
Matthew 23:35
14
We know that we have left our old dead condition and entered into new life. We know it because we love one another. Those who do not are still living in their old condition.
Reference
15
Those who hate their brothers and sisters are murderers. And you know that murderers do not have eternal life in their hearts.
Reference
16
We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Reference
Love
Ephesians 5:2
John 13:34
John 3:16
Romans 5:8
Revelation 1:5
Ephesians 5:25
Parallel theme
Matthew 20:28
References God
1 Peter 3:18
Acts 20:28
Titus 2:13
17
Suppose someone sees a brother or sister in need and is able to help them. If he doesn't take pity on them, how can the love of God be in him?
Reference
Good
Hebrews 13:16
Love
1 John 4:20
1 John 5:1
Parallel theme
Luke 3:11
Proverbs 19:17
James 2:15
Proverbs 28:9
2 Corinthians 8:9
Proverbs 12:10
18
Dear children, don't just talk about love. Put your love into action. Then it will truly be love.
Reference
Love
Romans 12:9
1 Peter 1:22
Galatians 5:13
Ephesians 4:15
1 Thessalonians 1:3
Ezekiel 33:31
Parallel theme
1 John 2:1
19
That's how we know that we hold to the truth. And that's how we put our hearts at rest, knowing that God is watching.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 3:21
Isaiah 32:17
Romans 4:21
John 13:35
2 Timothy 1:12
Truth
Hebrews 10:22
John 18:37
20
Our hearts may judge us. But God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 17:10
Hebrews 4:13
1 Corinthians 4:4
Jeremiah 23:24
Job 27:6
John 21:17
References God
1 John 4:4
Job 33:12
21
Dear friends, if our hearts do not judge us, we can be bold with God.
Reference
Love
1 John 4:17
Parallel theme
1 John 2:28
Hebrews 4:16
Psalm 101:2
1 John 5:14
Hebrews 10:22
Job 27:6
1 Corinthians 4:4
References God
2 Corinthians 1:12
Job 22:26
22
And he will give us anything we ask. That's because we obey his commands. We do what pleases him.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 21:22
1 John 5:14
Mark 11:24
Proverbs 15:29
John 14:13
Psalm 34:4
James 1:5
John 8:29
Sin
John 9:31
Word
John 15:7
23
God has commanded us to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has also commanded us to love one another.
Reference
24
Those who obey his commands remain joined to him. And he remains joined to them. How do we know that God lives in us? We know it because of the Holy Spirit he gave us.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 2:6
1 John 4:7
John 17:21
2 Corinthians 6:16
Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16
2 Timothy 1:14
1 Corinthians 6:19
Word
1 John 3:22
Summary of 1 John 3
1 John 3 teaches that God's extraordinary love makes believers His children and gives them hope of becoming like Christ when He appears, so Christians should pursue purity, reject a continuing lifestyle of sin, practice righteousness, love fellow believers through genuine actions and sacrificial care, resist hatred and selfishness, maintain confidence before God, and recognize the Holy Spirit's presence as evidence that they remain in Him.
John begins with amazement at the great love of God, who allows believers to be called His children.
This new identity is so significant that the world may not understand or recognize Christians because it does not recognize God Himself.
Believers already possess this identity as God's children, but John explains that their future condition has not yet been completely revealed.
When Christ appears, believers will become like Him because they will see Him as He truly is.
This future hope should produce present holiness.
John explains that anyone who possesses the hope of becoming like Christ should continually purify their life because Christ Himself is pure.
The chapter then gives a strong teaching about sin and spiritual identity.
Sin is described as lawlessness because it represents rebellion against God's righteous standards.
Christ came to deal with sin, and because there is no sin in Him, people who genuinely remain in Christ should not deliberately continue living in a pattern of rebellion.
John is not presenting Christians as people who never make mistakes, but he strongly rejects the idea that someone can knowingly maintain a sinful lifestyle while claiming that their relationship with Christ remains unaffected.
John therefore warns believers not to be deceived by people who separate Christian claims from Christian behavior.
A person's consistent conduct provides evidence of their spiritual identity.
Those who practice righteousness demonstrate that Christ's righteousness is influencing their lives, while those who continually practice sin are described as following the pattern of the devil.
John then identifies one of the clearest differences between God's children and those who reject His ways: love for other believers.
The command to love one another has existed from the beginning of Christian teaching, but John illustrates the opposite attitude through the story of Cain and Abel.
Cain's hatred toward his righteous brother eventually resulted in murder, demonstrating how destructive hatred can become when it is allowed to control the heart.
John therefore tells Christians not to be surprised when the world hates them because believers belong to a different moral and spiritual order.
The evidence that someone has passed from spiritual death into spiritual life is that they love fellow believers.
John goes so far as to compare hatred with murder because both attitudes reject the value and well-being of another person.
He then presents Jesus as the ultimate example of genuine love.
Christ demonstrated His love by giving His life for believers, so Christians should be willing to sacrifice themselves for others when necessary.
This love must become practical.
If someone has material resources and sees another believer in genuine need but refuses to help, John questions whether God's love is truly operating within that person's heart.
Christian love therefore cannot remain merely in words or affectionate statements.
It must be demonstrated through actions, generosity, compassion, and truth.
John then provides reassurance for believers whose conscience troubles them.
When Christians honestly examine their lives, they may sometimes feel guilty or uncertain, but God knows everything and is greater than their feelings.
When believers are walking faithfully in love and truth, they can approach God with greater confidence because their relationship with Him is not based simply on their changing emotions.
John connects this confidence with prayer, explaining that believers who remain obedient to God can approach Him confidently and ask according to His will.
The chapter concludes by summarizing God's command in two closely connected requirements: believe in Jesus Christ and love one another.
Faith in Christ and love for other believers cannot be separated because genuine faith produces genuine love.
Those who keep God's commands remain in Him, and the presence of the Holy Spirit provides evidence that God continues to live within them.
The central message of 1 John 3 is that God's great love has made believers His children and given them the future hope of becoming like Christ, so they should allow that identity and hope to transform their present lives by rejecting deliberate patterns of sin, practicing righteousness, loving fellow believers through sacrificial and practical actions rather than empty words, resisting hatred and selfishness, approaching God with confidence, and remaining faithful to Christ through the Holy Spirit who lives within them.
John begins with amazement at the great love of God, who allows believers to be called His children.
This new identity is so significant that the world may not understand or recognize Christians because it does not recognize God Himself.
Believers already possess this identity as God's children, but John explains that their future condition has not yet been completely revealed.
When Christ appears, believers will become like Him because they will see Him as He truly is.
This future hope should produce present holiness.
John explains that anyone who possesses the hope of becoming like Christ should continually purify their life because Christ Himself is pure.
The chapter then gives a strong teaching about sin and spiritual identity.
Sin is described as lawlessness because it represents rebellion against God's righteous standards.
Christ came to deal with sin, and because there is no sin in Him, people who genuinely remain in Christ should not deliberately continue living in a pattern of rebellion.
John is not presenting Christians as people who never make mistakes, but he strongly rejects the idea that someone can knowingly maintain a sinful lifestyle while claiming that their relationship with Christ remains unaffected.
John therefore warns believers not to be deceived by people who separate Christian claims from Christian behavior.
A person's consistent conduct provides evidence of their spiritual identity.
Those who practice righteousness demonstrate that Christ's righteousness is influencing their lives, while those who continually practice sin are described as following the pattern of the devil.
John then identifies one of the clearest differences between God's children and those who reject His ways: love for other believers.
The command to love one another has existed from the beginning of Christian teaching, but John illustrates the opposite attitude through the story of Cain and Abel.
Cain's hatred toward his righteous brother eventually resulted in murder, demonstrating how destructive hatred can become when it is allowed to control the heart.
John therefore tells Christians not to be surprised when the world hates them because believers belong to a different moral and spiritual order.
The evidence that someone has passed from spiritual death into spiritual life is that they love fellow believers.
John goes so far as to compare hatred with murder because both attitudes reject the value and well-being of another person.
He then presents Jesus as the ultimate example of genuine love.
Christ demonstrated His love by giving His life for believers, so Christians should be willing to sacrifice themselves for others when necessary.
This love must become practical.
If someone has material resources and sees another believer in genuine need but refuses to help, John questions whether God's love is truly operating within that person's heart.
Christian love therefore cannot remain merely in words or affectionate statements.
It must be demonstrated through actions, generosity, compassion, and truth.
John then provides reassurance for believers whose conscience troubles them.
When Christians honestly examine their lives, they may sometimes feel guilty or uncertain, but God knows everything and is greater than their feelings.
When believers are walking faithfully in love and truth, they can approach God with greater confidence because their relationship with Him is not based simply on their changing emotions.
John connects this confidence with prayer, explaining that believers who remain obedient to God can approach Him confidently and ask according to His will.
The chapter concludes by summarizing God's command in two closely connected requirements: believe in Jesus Christ and love one another.
Faith in Christ and love for other believers cannot be separated because genuine faith produces genuine love.
Those who keep God's commands remain in Him, and the presence of the Holy Spirit provides evidence that God continues to live within them.
The central message of 1 John 3 is that God's great love has made believers His children and given them the future hope of becoming like Christ, so they should allow that identity and hope to transform their present lives by rejecting deliberate patterns of sin, practicing righteousness, loving fellow believers through sacrificial and practical actions rather than empty words, resisting hatred and selfishness, approaching God with confidence, and remaining faithful to Christ through the Holy Spirit who lives within them.