I John 1-3

I John 1

¹That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.

²And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

⁴We write these things so that our joy may be complete.

⁵And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

⁶If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

⁷But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

I John 2

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

²He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

³By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.

⁴If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

⁵But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:

⁶Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.

⁷Beloved, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old one, which you have had from the beginning. This commandment is the message you have heard.

⁸Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining.

⁹If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.

¹⁰Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.

¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.

¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁵Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

¹⁷The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

¹⁸Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

²⁰You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

²¹I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

²²Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.

²³Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

²⁴As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.

²⁵And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.

²⁶I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

²⁷And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

²⁸And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

²⁹If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.

I John 3

¹Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

²Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.

³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

⁴Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.

⁵But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.

⁶No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

⁸The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.

⁹Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

¹⁰By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

¹¹This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

¹²Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.

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

¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

¹⁵Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.

¹⁶By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

¹⁷If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.

¹⁹And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence:

²⁰Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.

²¹Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God,

²²and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.

²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.

²⁴Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.