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1 John 3 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

The Command to Love

1Jo 3:1

1Jo 3:1Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God![fn] Therefore the world does not know us,[fn] because it did not know Him.

1Jo 3:2

1Jo 3:2Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

1Jo 3:3

1Jo 3:3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sin and the Child of God

1Jo 3:4

1Jo 3:4Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

1Jo 3:5

1Jo 3:5And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

1Jo 3:6

1Jo 3:6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

1Jo 3:7

1Jo 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1Jo 3:8

1Jo 3:8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

1Jo 3:9

1Jo 3:9Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
The Imperative of Love
(Matt. 22:39 )

1Jo 3:10

1Jo 3:10In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

1Jo 3:11

1Jo 3:11For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

1Jo 3:12

1Jo 3:12not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

1Jo 3:13

1Jo 3:13Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.

1Jo 3:14

1Jo 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother[fn] abides in death.

1Jo 3:15

1Jo 3:15Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
The Outworking of Love

1Jo 3:16

1Jo 3:16By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1Jo 3:17

1Jo 3:17But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1Jo 3:18

1Jo 3:18My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1Jo 3:19

1Jo 3:19And by this we know[fn] that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

1Jo 3:20

1Jo 3:20For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

1Jo 3:21

1Jo 3:21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

1Jo 3:22

1Jo 3:22And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

1Jo 3:23

1Jo 3:23And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us[fn] commandment.
The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

1Jo 3:24

1Jo 3:24Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
NU-Text adds And we are.
M-Text reads you.
NU-Text omits his brother.
NU-Text reads we shall know.
M-Text omits us.
Translation Copyright Logo

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.

1 John Chapter 3 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

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