1 John 1:1-2:11

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) The Word that gives life
was from the beginning,
and this is the one
our message is about.

Our ears have heard,
our eyes have seen,
and our hands have touched
this Word.

²^(B) The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us. ³We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴We are writing to tell you these things, because this makes us^[a] truly happy.

God Is Light

⁵Jesus told us God is light and doesn't have any darkness in him. Now we are telling you.

⁶If we say we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth. ⁷^(C) But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. ⁸If we say we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. ⁹But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

¹⁰If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.^[b]

Christ Helps Us

2 My children, I am writing this so you won't sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us. ²Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people.

³When we obey God, we are sure we know him. ⁴But if we claim to know him and don't obey him, we are lying and the truth isn't in our hearts. ⁵We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know we belong to him. ⁶If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

The New Commandment

⁷^(D) My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one you were first given, and it is the message you heard. ⁸But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.

⁹If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. ¹⁰But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them.^[c] ¹¹If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.

Footnotes

1.4 us: Some manuscripts have “you.”
1.10 and his message isn't in our hearts: Or “because we have not accepted his message.”
2.10 and we don't cause problems for them: Or “and we can see anything that might make us fall.”