The Word of Life

1 ^aThat which was ^bfrom the beginning, ^cwhich we have heard, ^dwhich we have seen with our eyes, ^ewhich we looked upon and ^fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 ^gthe life ^hwas made manifest, and we have seen it, and ⁱtestify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, ^awhich was with the Father and ^hwas made manifest to us— 3 ^cthat which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed ^jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so ^kthat our¹ joy may be complete.

Walking in the Light

5 ^lThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^mGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 ⁿIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^odo not practice the truth. 7 But ^pif we walk in the light, ^qas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^rthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ^sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ^tthe truth is not in us. 9 ^uIf we confess our sins, he is ^vfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^rto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, ^wwe make him a liar, and ^xhis word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 ^zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^aalso for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^bkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^cis a liar, and ^cthe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^dkeeps his word, in him truly ^ethe love of God is perfected. ^fBy this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^gabides in him ^hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, I am writing you ⁱno new commandment, but ^jan old commandment ^kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because^{2 m}the darkness is passing away and ⁿthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^ohates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him³ there is no ^pcause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Do Not Love the World

15 ^vDo not love the world or the things in the world. ^wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—^xthe desires of the flesh and ^ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life⁴—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And ^zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

18 Children, ^ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^bantichrist is coming, so now ^cmany antichrists have come. ^dTherefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 ^eThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^gthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been ^hanointed by ⁱthe Holy One, and ^jyou all have knowledge.⁵ 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but ^khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 ^lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let ^mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ⁿyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us⁶—^oeternal life.

26 I write these things to you about ^pthose who are trying to deceive you. 27 But ^qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^sis true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^twhen he appears ^uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^vcoming. 29 If you know that ^whe is righteous, you may be sure that ^xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the ^xservant of the Lord.