3 May grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus, the Son of the Father, in truth and in love.
4 I was very glad because I discovered some of your sons walking in the truth, just as we received the commandment from the Father.
5 And now I petition you, Lady, not as if writing a new commandment to you, but instead that commandment which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.
6 And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. For this is the commandment that you have heard in the same way from the beginning, and in which you should walk.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has arrived in the flesh. Such a one as this is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Be cautious for yourselves, lest you lose what you have accomplished, and so that, instead, you may receive a full reward.
9 Everyone who withdraws and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God. Whoever remains in the doctrine, such a one as this has both the Father and the Son.