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Children of God Love One Another

¹ See ^(C1)what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would be permitted to be named and called and counted the ^(C2)children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because ^(C3)it did not know Him.^2 (C1)Beloved, we are even here and now ^(C2)children of God, and ^(C3)it is not yet made clear what we will be after His coming. We know that when He ^(C4)comes and is revealed, we will as His children ^(C5)be like Him, because we will ^(C6)see Him just as He is in all His glory.³ And everyone who has this ^(C1)hope confidently placed in Him ^(C2)purifies himself, just as He is pure (holy, undefiled, guiltless).

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^(C1)sin is lawlessness ignoring God's law by action or neglect or by tolerating wrongdoing—being unrestrained by His commands and His will.⁵ You know that He ^(C1)appeared in visible form as a man in order to ^(C2)take away sins; and ^(C3)in Him there is absolutely no sin for He has neither the sin nature nor has He committed sin or acts worthy of blame.⁶ No one who abides in Him who remains united in fellowship with Him—deliberately, knowingly, and habitually ^(C1)practices sin. No one who habitually sins has seen Him or ^(C2)known Him.^7 (C1)Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone ^(C2)lead you astray. ^(C3)The one who practices righteousness the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God's precepts is righteous, just as He is righteous.⁸ The one who practices sin separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion is ^(C1)of the devil and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God; for the devil has sinned and violated God's law from the beginning. ^(C2)The Son of God ^(C3)appeared for this purpose, ^(C4)to destroy the works of the devil.⁹ No one who is ^(C1)born of God deliberately, knowingly, and habitually ^(C2)practices sin, because ^(F1)God's seed His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character remains permanently in him who is born again—who is reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose; and he who is born again cannot habitually live a life characterized by sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him.¹⁰ By this the ^(C1)children of God and the ^(C2)children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness who does not seek God's will in thought, action, and purpose is not of God, nor is the one who ^(C3)does not unselfishly ^(F1)love his believing ^(C4)brother.

^11 (C1)For this is the message ^(C2)which you believers have heard from the beginning of your relationship with Christ, ^(C3)that we should unselfishly love and seek the best for one another;¹² and not be like ^(C1)Cain, who was of ^(C2)the evil one and murdered his brother Abel. And why did he murder him? Because ^(C3)Cain's deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous.

¹³ Do not be surprised, believers, if ^(C1)the world hates you.¹⁴ We know that we have ^(C1)passed out of death into Life, ^(C2)because we love the brothers and sisters. He who does not love remains in spiritual death.¹⁵ Everyone who ^(C1)hates (works against) his brother in Christ is at heart a murderer by God's standards; and you know that ^(C2)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ^(VR1)16 By this we know and have come to understand the depth and essence of His precious love: that ^(C1)He willingly laid down His life for us because He loved us. And ^(C2)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(C3)believers.¹⁷ But ^(C1)whoever has the ^(F1)world's goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but ^(C2)has no compassion for him, ^(C3)how does the love of God live in him?^18 (C1)Little children (believers, dear ones), let us not love merely in theory with word or with tongue giving lip service to compassion, but in action and in ^(C2)truth in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words.¹⁹ By this we will know without any doubt that we are ^(C1)of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him²⁰ whenever our heart convicts us in guilt; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things nothing is hidden from Him because we are in His hands.^21 (C1)Beloved, if our heart does not convict us of guilt, we have ^(C2)confidence complete assurance and boldness before God;²² and we receive from Him ^(C1)whatever we ask because we carefully and consistently ^(C2)keep His commandments and do ^(C3)the things that are pleasing in His sight habitually seeking to follow His plan for us.

²³ This is His commandment, that we ^(C1)believe with personal faith and confident trust in ^(C2)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we unselfishly love and seek the best for one another, just as ^(C3)He commanded us.²⁴ The one who habitually ^(C1)keeps His commandments obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and ^(C2)remains in Him, and He in him. ^(C3)By this we know and have the proof that ^(C4)He really abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us as a gift.