1 John 3

1 Behold (in the face of Jesus Christ the width, the length, the depth, and height of) the love that the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be surnamed by Him, the sons of (the living) God: therefore, the world does not recognize us as sons because it never knew the One whom He sent.

2 Beloved, right now in this world we are the sons of God, possessing His life and fellowship, filled with the glory and honor from our Father, and though it has not yet what we shall be: we know with certainty, that when He appears in all His glory, we shall also, appear in His likeness; for we shall see ourselves in His face, as the beloved sons of God and as He is fashioned in His glorious body, so shall we be also.

3 And every man that has their hope settled in Him, in the certainty of the same life and immortality that came out of the grave in immortal flesh and bone, rests in the only hope that can purify his own heart, even as He is pure, holy, and undefiled by the death and corruption in the world.

4 Whosoever rejects Christ as the only Word that can serve us with eternal life, practices lawlessness, and transgresses the teaching and instruction of God unto life: because to reject Christ is the lawlessness that perishes in death.

5 And we know that He was manifested to send our death away; and in Him is no death or darkness at all.

6 Whosoever abides in Him, goes to rest, ceasing from their own works to establish their life in the world, the life that perishes in death: whosoever labors and toils to build his own life has not seen that in Him their death has been sent away, neither have they known Him who has promised and desires to freely give them His blessing and life as a gift.

7 Little children, let no man deceive you, robbing you of this truth: he who believes that there is only One who is the true witness and testimony of his life (the Lord Jesus Christ), has the certainty of partaking of the same life, and just as He is the possessor of an incorruptible life at the Father’s right hand, even so, are you in the world.

8 He who goes about to establish and preserve his own life in the world through the strength contained in his flesh misses the mark of eternal life; forfeiting the life and immortality of God as his inheritance, perishing in death, being born from the corrupt wisdom of the serpent; who was a liar from the beginning, telling man that he would not die in trying to establish a life apart from God, but in fact, that life only ever served man with death. For this reason, the Son of God came as a man in dying flesh, refusing to establish or preserve His own life in the world, being put to death in the flesh, but was quickened by the Spirit and has come out from the grave in flesh that cannot ever die, destroying this wisdom along with the death it served us with.

9 Whosoever believes Jesus is the Christ is born of the Spirit of God and does not need to enlist their members to establish their own life, but their flesh rests in the certainty of His blessing and life as a gift; and because His Spirit remains in them, death has no more dominion over them, being dead to death and alive to God.

10 In this saying are those who are born of God, and those animated by the wisdom of the serpent manifest: whosoever does not rest in God and His promise to give him eternal life as a gift is not born of God, neither does he find love for his brother born in him.

11 For this is eternal life, the message that you have heard from the beginning, and has manifested in immortal flesh in the resurrection of Jesus, it is God clothing you in the fruit of His indestructible life whereby you have love one for another.

12 Unlike Cain, who was born from the corrupt wisdom of that wicked one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his works to produce a good life were filled with labors and annoyances to gather fruit unto himself, which brings forth hatred, backbiting, and murder, and his brother trusted in God to freely clothe him with all the fruit of His life, which brings forth love, joy, and peace.

13 Knowing this, marvel not, my brethren, if the world hates you also.

14 Because we know that we have passed from death unto the life that cannot be hurt or injured by the death and corruption in the world, wherein we love all the brethren. He that does not love his brother abides in darkness, not knowing his death has been sent away.

15 Whosoever abides in darkness, under the influence of death, hates his brother and is a murderer like his father the devil: and you know that no one abiding in eternal life is a murderer.

16 Here is how we can have intimacy and experience the love of God, because He came as a man with all His divinity, laying down His life in flesh for us all, and has freely given us the life where we prefer one another, laying down our lives for the brethren.

17 But if someone has worldly possessions and sees his brother in need of such and closes off their true heart of compassion for him, how does that allow him to experience intimacy with the love of God?

18 My little children, let us not just talk about love, but abiding in Him, let us find our hearts saturated in the truth so that we can experience the overflow of His love in us toward others.

19 And by abiding in Him, we can have intimacy with the only truth that assures our hearts (of His perfect love, where we are able) to stand before Him with confidence.

20 Because if our heart condemns us, (we know that) God is greater than our heart and He knows all things (so that by abiding in Him will our hearts be assured of His love and not condemned).

21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, then (is the love of God perfected in us, where) we have confidence to stand before Him in love.

22 And we know that all that He has is ours, so that whatever we ask is received from Him, and because we have kept His commandment to abide in Him and His promise to clothe us in His light and life, which is the command that is pleasing in His sight.

23 And this is His commandment that (by beholding the promise that was from the beginning in the face of Jesus Christ His Son, who has served our humanity with His divinity), you (are persuaded to) believe on Him whereby you partake of His life as your inheritance, so that you love one another, just as He gave commandment.

24 And he who allows himself to be served by Him with eternal life keeps His commandment and dwells in Him, and He in him. And this is how we know that His life abides in us, by His Spirit which He has given us.