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General Letters · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

1 John 3

Assurance is tested through truth about Jesus, obedience, and practical love.

New Testament

1 John 3

1See 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.

2Beloved, 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.

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

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

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

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

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

8He 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.

9Whoever 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.

10In 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.

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

12unlike 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.

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

14We 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.

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

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

17But 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

24He 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.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Assurance is tested through truth about Jesus, obedience, and practical love. Read 1 John 3 within the complete 1 John overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in 1 John 3

1 John 3 contains 24 verses and about 518 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “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.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 24 closes: “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.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include know, love, doesn’t, children, whoever, revealed. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About 1 John 3

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, 1 John 3:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer