1. You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God's children -- which is what we are! The reason why the world does not acknowledge us is that it did not acknowledge him.

2. My dear friends, we are already God's children, but what we shall be in the future has not yet been revealed. We are well aware that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.

3. Whoever treasures this hope of him purifies himself, to be as pure as he is.

4. Whoever sins, acts wickedly, because all sin is wickedness.

5. Now you are well aware that he has appeared in order to take sins away, and that in him there is no sin.

6. No one who remains in him sins, and whoever sins has neither seen him nor recognised him.

7. Children, do not let anyone lead you astray. Whoever acts uprightly is upright, just as he is upright.

8. Whoever lives sinfully belongs to the devil, since the devil has been a sinner from the beginning. This was the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of the devil.

9. No one who is a child of God sins because God's seed remains in him. Nor can he sin, because he is a child of God.

10. This is what distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil: whoever does not live uprightly and does not love his brother is not from God.

11. This is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we must love one another,

12. not to be like Cain, who was from the Evil One and murdered his brother. And why did he murder his brother? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's upright.

13. Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

14. We are well aware that we have passed over from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love, remains in death.

15. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you are well aware that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

16. This is the proof of love, that he laid down his life for us, and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

17. If anyone is well-off in worldly possessions and sees his brother in need but closes his heart to him, how can the love of God be remaining in him?

18. Children, our love must be not just words or mere talk, but something active and genuine.

19. This will be the proof that we belong to the truth, and it will convince us in his presence,

20. even if our own feelings condemn us, that God is greater than our feelings and knows all things.

21. My dear friends, if our own feelings do not condemn us, we can be fearless before God,