1 John 3 MSG/NIV - Online Parallel Bible

The Message (MSG) New International Version (NIV)
2 But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him - and in seeing him, become like him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
3 All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
4 All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
5 Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
6 No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backwards. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7 So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
8 Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
9 People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
10 Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
11 For this is the original message we heard: We should love each other. 11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
12 We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
13 So don't be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
14 The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together. 15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
16 This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18 My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
19 This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence
20 It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22 We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
23 Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.