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.
(v10, NIV)
Those who do what is sinful are of the devil. Those who are born of God will not continue in sin. Therefore, this is how we know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. So we know that those who do not do what is right are not children of God.
Another test can be applied by whether a person loves his brother or not. John adds that in addition to not doing what is right, those who do not love their brother is not a child of God. This idea carries from chapter two. In part of chapter two, John is talking about the commandment to love one another. You cannot be in the light and hate your brother. However, if you love your brother, you live in the light.
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
(v11, NIV)
The idea of loving one another is not only in chapter two. In the next verse, John brings up this message to love one another. Similar to what John says in chapter two, this is something they had from the beginning. The command to love one another is not something they are hearing for the first time from John, but they had heard it before. We should love one another.
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