The person who perseveres under trials is blessed, because when he has been approved by God, he will receive the crown of [never ending] life, which God has promised to those who love Him.

Listen, my dearly loved brothers; did not God choose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be wealthy in faith and to inherit the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Although you have not seen Jesus, you [still] love Him and believe in Him, and this causes you to have an indescribable, glorious joy.

We love [God and others] because God has first loved us.

This is [one] way we know that we love God's [spiritually reborn] children: [It is] when we love God and obey what He commands us to do.

Hate

For I do not [really] understand what I am doing; I practice what I do not want to and I hate what I do. [Note: This highly controversial section (verses 14b-25) is here viewed as the struggles of the apostle Paul after his conversion, and by extension, of all Christians. See Bruce, pages 150ff; Murray, pages 255ff; Lard, pages 236ff].

Let [your] love be sincere. Hate whatever is evil. Cling to whatever is good.

Preserveth

Thomas replied to Him, "My Lord and my God."

And we know that God works out everything for the good of those who love Him and are called [to serve Him] in harmony with His purpose [for them].

Through God's power you are protected by [your] faith, so that you can expect to be saved in the end.

Delivereth

And then the lawless person [See verse 3] will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the brilliant appearance of His presence [i.e., at His second coming].

And [pray] that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, because not everyone has faith.

We know that every person who has been [spiritually] conceived [by God and eventually born] does not continue in [a life of] sin, but God's one and only conceived [Son] keeps him [from continuing to sin], and the evil one [i.e., Satan] does not continue to touch him [i.e., continue to control his life].

And everyone who lives on earth will worship the beast, [even those] people whose names had not been recorded in the book of life belonging to the Lamb, who was killed [in prospect] from the creation of the world. [Note: This sentence could also read "...not been recorded from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed"].