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1 John 3:11-13
New Catholic Bible
1 John 3:11-13
New Catholic Bible
The Message of Love[a]
11 For from the beginning
you have heard the message
that we should love one another,
12 unlike Cain who was from the evil one
and slew his brother.
And why did he slay him?
Because his own deeds were evil
while those of his brother were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, my brethren,
if the world hates you.
Footnotes
- 1 John 3:11 There are two attitudes toward life—hate and love, murder and the offering of one’s life. Cain is the Biblical prototype of all the homicidal impulses that arise in the human heart (see Gen 4; Heb 11:4); these come together in what the author’s language terms “the world.” This symbolizes death. Christian behavior—which is life, love, and offering of self—draws us away from the world. Christ gives us both the power to do so and the example to follow in the concrete reality of his Passion. Believers must do likewise. They can count on God’s mercy. Verse 23, which expresses the whole intent of the Letter, brings out clearly the mind of the author in regard to the growing Gnosticism.
