HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1510
1 JOHN 3
you have received the Holy Spirit,* and he
lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to
teach you what is true. For the Spirit* teaches
you everything you need to know, and what he
teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has
taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
Living as Children of God
28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship
with Christ so that when he returns, you will be
full of courage and not shrink back from him
in shame.
29 Since we know that Christ is righteous,
we also know that all who do what is right are
God’s children.
3
See how very much our Father loves us, for
he calls us his children, and that is what
we are! But the people who belong to this world
don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we
are already God’s children, but he has not yet
shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him,
for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who
have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for
all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you
know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and
there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to
live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps
on sinning does not know him or understand
who he is.
7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you
about this: When people do what is right, it
shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is
righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning,
it shows that they belong to the devil, who has
been sinning since the beginning. But the Son
of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
9 Those who have been born into God’s family do
not make a practice of sinning, because God’s
life* is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning,
• Selfishness
1 JO H N 3 :1 7
Selfishness cannot coexist with the love
of God. Selfishness keeps God’s love
from becoming real in our lives and the
lives of those we encounter. This passage
suggests that one cure for a selfish
heart is giving money to meet a financial
need when it presents itself. Given your
situation and what you know about the
needs of people around you, how might
you express God’s love this week?
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because they are children of God. 10 So now we
can tell who are children of God and who are
children of the devil. Anyone who does not live
righteously and does not love other believers*
does not belong to God.
Love One Another
11 This is the message you have heard from the
beginning: We should love one another. 12 We
must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil
one and killed his brother. And why did he kill
him? Because Cain had been doing what was
evil, and his brother had been doing what was
righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers
and sisters,* if the world hates you.
14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are
believers,* it proves that we have passed from
death to life. But a person who has no love is
still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother
or sister* is really a murderer at heart. And you
know that murderers don’t have eternal life
within them.
16 We know what real love is because Jesus
gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give
up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If
someone has enough money to live well and
sees a brother or sister* in need but shows no
compassion—how can God’s love be in that
person?
18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we
love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong
to the truth, so we will be confident when we
stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God
is greater than our feelings, and he knows
everything.
21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can
come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we
will receive from him whatever we ask because
we obey him and do the things that please him.
23 And this is his commandment: We must
believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another, just as he commanded
us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them.
And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he
gave us lives in us.
Discerning False Prophets
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who
claims to speak by the Spirit. You must
test them to see if the spirit they have comes
from God. For there are many false prophets in
the world. 2 This is how we know if they have
the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a
prophet* acknowledges that Jesus Christ came
in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
4
2:27a Greek the anointing from him. 2:27b Greek the
anointing. 3:9 Greek because his seed. 3:10 Greek does
not love his brother. 3:13 Greek brothers. 3:14 Greek the
brothers; similarly in 3:16. 3:15 Greek hates his brother.
3:17 Greek sees his brother. 4:2 Greek If a spirit; similarly
in 4:3.