Behold, how great the love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! For this reason the world does not know us, because it didn’t know him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God, and it is not yet revealed what we will be. But we know that, when he1 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 in him is no sin. 6Whoever resides in him does not sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him, neither knows 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 Iblis2, for Iblis has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the SON OF GOD3 was revealed, that he might destroy the works of Iblis. 9Whoever is born of God does not commit sin, because his seed resides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of Iblis. Whoever does not do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who does not love his brother. 11For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12unlike Qabil4, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
13Do not 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 does not love his brother resides in death. 15Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing 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, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God reside in him?
18My little children, let us not love in word only, neither 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, God5 is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness toward God; 22and 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, ‘ISA6 AL-MASIH7, and love one another, even as he commanded.
24He who keeps his commandments resides in him, and he in him. By this we know that he resides in us, by the Spirit8 which he gave us.
- 3:2 he, that is, ‘ISA AL-MASIH at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 3:8 Iblis, derived from the Greek diabolos, which also gives rise to the English word, devil. ↩︎
- 3:8 SON OF GOD, a title of the Messiah, ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed through Prophet Dawud in the Zabur 2:7-9, which says: I will tell of the decree. YAHWEH said to me, “You are my SON. Today I have become your FATHER. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, The ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” ↩︎
- 3:12 Qabil, or Cain. ↩︎
- 3:20 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 3:23 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 3:23 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 3:24 Spirit, or Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God; not an angel, created being, nor an impersonal force, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself. The Spirit was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2), and today lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎