1 John 3:11-24

Love One Another

11 For ¹this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ²that we should love one another.

12 We should not be like ³Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ⁴Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers,^[a]⁵that the world hates you.

14 We know that ⁶we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

15 ⁷Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ⁸no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that ⁹he laid down his life for us, and ¹⁰we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

17 But ¹¹if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ¹²closes his heart against him, ¹³how does God's love abide in him?

18 Little children, let us not ¹⁴love in word or talk but in deed and ¹⁵in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.

21 Beloved, ¹⁶if our heart does not condemn us, ¹⁷we have confidence before God;

22 and ¹⁸whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ¹⁹do what pleases him.

23 And this is his commandment, ²⁰that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ²¹love one another, ²²just as he has commanded us.

24 ²³Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[b] and God^[c] in him. And ²⁴by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

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Cross References 24

1. 1 John 1:5; 1 John 2:24
2. See John 13:34
3. Genesis 4:4, 8; Hebrews 11:4; Jude 11
4. Psalms 38:20; Proverbs 29:10
5. John 15:18; John 17:14
6. John 5:24
7. Matthew 5:21, 22
8. Galatians 5:21; Revelation 21:8
9. See John 15:13
10. [Philippians 2:17]
11. James 2:15, 16
12. Deuteronomy 15:7
13. [1 John 4:20]
14. Ezekiel 33:31; Ephesians 4:15
15. 2 John 1; 3 John 1
16. [1 Corinthians 4:4]
17. 1 John 5:14; [Job 11:15; Job 22:26; Romans 14:22]
18. See Matthew 7:7
19. John 8:29
20. John 6:29; [Acts 18:8]
21. ver. 11
22. [1 John 2:8]
23. [John 6:56; John 14:20; John 15:4, 5; John 17:21]
24. 1 John 4:13; Romans 8:9

Footnotes 3

[a]. Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated "brothers") refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church; also verses 14, 16
[b]. Greek him
[c]. Greek he

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.