1 My dear children, I'm writing this to you so that you will not sin. But suppose someone does sin. Then we have one who speaks to the Father for us. He stands up for us. He is Jesus Christ, the Blameless One.
2 He gave his life to pay for our sins. But he not only paid for our sins. He also paid for the sins of the whole world.
3 We know that we have come to know God if we obey his commands.
4 Suppose someone says, "I know him." But suppose that person does not do what God commands. Then that person is a liar and is not telling the truth.
5 But if anyone obeys God's word, then God's love is truly made complete in that person. Here is how we know we belong to him.
6 Those who claim to belong to him must live just as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I'm not writing you a new command. Instead, I'm writing one you have heard before. You have had it since the beginning.
8 But I am writing what amounts to a new command. Its truth was shown in how Jesus lived. It is also shown in how you live. The darkness is passing away. The true light is already shining.
9 Suppose someone claims to be in the light but hates his brother or sister. Then he is still in the darkness.
10 Those who love their brothers and sisters are living in the light. There is nothing in them to make them fall into sin.
11 But those who hate a brother or sister are in the darkness. They walk around in the darkness. They don't know where they are going. The darkness has made them blind.
12 Dear children, I'm writing to you because your sins have been forgiven. They have been forgiven because of what Jesus has done.
13 Fathers, I'm writing to you because you have known the One who is from the beginning. Young people, I'm writing to you because you have won the battle over the evil one. Dear children, I'm writing to you because you have known the Father.
14 Fathers, I'm writing to you because you have known the One who is from the beginning. Young people, I'm writing to you because you are strong. God's word lives in you. You have won the battle over the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or anything in it. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you.
16 Here is what people who belong to this world do. They try to satisfy what their sinful natures want to do. They long for what their sinful eyes look at. They brag about what they have and what they do. All of this comes from the world. It doesn't come from the Father.
17 The world and its evil longings are passing away. But those who do what God wants them to do live forever.
18 Dear children, we are living in the last days. You have heard that the great enemy of Christ is coming. But even now many enemies of Christ have already come. That's how we know that these are the last days.
19 The enemies left our group. They didn't really belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by leaving they showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 You have received the Spirit from the Holy One. And all of you know the truth.
21 I'm not writing to you because you don't know the truth but because you do know it. I'm writing to you because no lie comes from the truth.
22 Who is the liar? The person who says that Jesus is not the Christ. People who say that are the enemies of Christ. They say no to the Father and the Son.
23 Those who say no to the Son don't belong to the Father. But anyone who says yes to the Son belongs to the Father also.
24 Make sure that you don't forget what you have heard from the beginning. Then you will remain joined to the Son and to the Father.
25 That's what God has promised us. We have eternal life.
26 I'm writing these things to warn you about those who are trying to lead you down the wrong path.
27 But you have received the Holy Spirit from God. He continues to live in you. So you don't need anyone to teach you. God's Spirit teaches you about everything. What he says is true. He doesn't lie. Remain joined to Christ, just as you have been taught by the Spirit.
28 Dear children, remain joined to Christ. Then when he comes, we can be bold. We will not be ashamed to meet him when he comes.