1 John 1:5-2:11

Contemporary English Version

God Is Light

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

⁶ If 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 (A) 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. ⁸ If we say we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. ⁹ But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

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

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. ² Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people.

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

The New Commandment

^7 (B) 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. ⁸ But 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.

⁹ If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. ¹⁰ But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don't cause problems for them.^{[b] 11} If 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.