The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning,^(A) which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,^(B) which we have looked at and our hands have touched^(C)—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared;^(D) we have seen it and testify to it,^(E) and we proclaim to you the eternal life,^(F) which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,^(G) so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.^{(H) 4} We write this^(I) to make our^[a] joy complete.^(J)

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

⁵ This is the message we have heard^(K) from him and declare to you: God is light;^(L) in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,^(M) we lie and do not live out the truth.^{(N) 7} But if we walk in the light,^(O) as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[b] sin.^(P)

⁸ If we claim to be without sin,^(Q) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.^{(R) 9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins^(S) and purify us from all unrighteousness.^{(T) 10} If we claim we have not sinned,^(U) we make him out to be a liar^(V) and his word is not in us.^(W)

2 My dear children,^(X) I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate^(Y) with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,^(Z) and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.^(AA)

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know^(AB) that we have come to know him^(AC) if we keep his commands.^{(AD) 4} Whoever says, “I know him,”^(AE) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.^{(AF) 5} But if anyone obeys his word,^(AG) love for God^[c] is truly made complete in them.^(AH) This is how we know^(AI) we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.^(AJ)

⁷ Dear friends,^(AK) I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.^(AL) This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command;^(AM) its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing^(AN) and the true light^(AO) is already shining.^(AP)

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister^[d](AQ) is still in the darkness.^{(AR) 10} Anyone who loves their brother and sister^[e] lives in the light,^(AS) and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.^{(AT) 11} But anyone who hates a brother or sister^(AU) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.^(AV) They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.^(AW)

Reasons for Writing

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world.^(BI) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[f] is not in them.^{(BJ) 16} For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,^(BK) the lust of the eyes,^(BL) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away,^(BM) but whoever does the will of God^(BN) lives forever.

Warnings Against Denying the Son

¹⁸ Dear children, this is the last hour;^(BO) and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming,^(BP) even now many antichrists have come.^(BQ) This is how we know it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us,^(BR) but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.^(BS)

²⁰ But you have an anointing^(BT) from the Holy One,^(BU) and all of you know the truth.^{[g](BV) 21} I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it^(BW) and because no lie comes from the truth. ²² Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.^{(BX) 23} No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.^(BY)

²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning^(BZ) remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.^{(CA) 25} And this is what he promised us—eternal life.^(CB)

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.^{(CC) 27} As for you, the anointing^(CD) you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things^(CE) and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.^(CF)

God’s Children and Sin

²⁸ And now, dear children,^(CG) continue in him, so that when he appears^(CH) we may be confident^(CI) and unashamed before him at his coming.^(CJ)

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous,^(CK) you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.^(CL)

3 See what great love^(CM) the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!^(CN) And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.^{(CO) 2} Dear friends,^(CP) now we are children of God,^(CQ) and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,^[h](CR) we shall be like him,^(CS) for we shall see him as he is.^{(CT) 3} All who have this hope in him purify themselves,^(CU) just as he is pure.^(CV)

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.^{(CW) 5} But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.^(CX) And in him is no sin.^{(CY) 6} No one who lives in him keeps on sinning.^(CZ) No one who continues to sin has either seen him^(DA) or known him.^(DB)

⁷ Dear children,^(DC) do not let anyone lead you astray.^(DD) The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.^{(DE) 8} The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,^(DF) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God^(DG) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.^{(DH) 9} No one who is born of God^(DI) will continue to sin,^(DJ) because God’s seed^(DK) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God^(DL) are and who the children of the devil^(DM) are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love^(DN) their brother and sister.^(DO)

More on Love and Hatred

¹¹ For this is the message you heard^(DP) from the beginning:^(DQ) We should love one another.^{(DR) 12} Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one^(DS) and murdered his brother.^(DT) And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.^{(DU) 13} Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,^[i] if the world hates you.^{(DV) 14} We know that we have passed from death to life,^(DW) because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.^{(DX) 15} Anyone who hates a brother or sister^(DY) is a murderer,^(DZ) and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.^(EA)

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.^(EB) And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.^{(EC) 17} If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,^(ED) how can the love of God be in that person?^{(EE) 18} Dear children,^(EF) let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.^(EG)

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends,^(EH) if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God^{(EI) 22} and receive from him anything we ask,^(EJ) because we keep his commands^(EK) and do what pleases him.^{(EL) 23} And this is his command: to believe^(EM) in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,^(EN) and to love one another as he commanded us.^{(EO) 24} The one who keeps God’s commands^(EP) lives in him,^(EQ) and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.^(ER)

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends,^(ES) do not believe every spirit,^(ET) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^{(EU) 2} This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh^(EV) is from God,^{(EW) 3} but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,^(EX) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.^(EY)

⁴ You, dear children,^(EZ) are from God and have overcome them,^(FA) because the one who is in you^(FB) is greater than the one who is in the world.^{(FC) 5} They are from the world^(FD) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.^(FE) This is how we recognize the Spirit^[j] of truth^(FF) and the spirit of falsehood.^(FG)

God’s Love and Ours

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another,^(FH) for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God^(FI) and knows God.^{(FJ) 8} Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.^{(FK) 9} This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^(FL) into the world that we might live through him.^{(FM) 10} This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us^(FN) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.^{(FO) 11} Dear friends,^(FP) since God so loved us,^(FQ) we also ought to love one another.^{(FR) 12} No one has ever seen God;^(FS) but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.^(FT)

¹³ This is how we know^(FU) that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.^{(FV) 14} And we have seen and testify^(FW) that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.^{(FX) 15} If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,^(FY) God lives in them and they in God.^{(FZ) 16} And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love.^(GA) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.^{(GB) 17} This is how love is made complete^(GC) among us so that we will have confidence^(GD) on the day of judgment:^(GE) In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,^(GF) because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.^{(GG) 20} Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister^(GH) is a liar.^(GI) For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,^(GJ) cannot love God, whom they have not seen.^{(GK) 21} And he has given us this command:^(GL) Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.^(GM)

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes^(GN) that Jesus is the Christ^(GO) is born of God,^(GP) and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.^{(GQ) 2} This is how we know^(GR) that we love the children of God:^(GS) by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands.^(GT) And his commands are not burdensome,^{(GU) 4} for everyone born of God^(GV) overcomes^(GW) the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.^(GX)

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood^(GY)—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.^{(GZ) 7} For there are three^(HA) that testify: ⁸ the^[k] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept human testimony,^(HB) but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God,^(HC) which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.^(HD) Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar,^(HE) because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life,^(HF) and this life is in his Son.^{(HG) 12} Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.^(HH)

Concluding Affirmations

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God^(HI) so that you may know that you have eternal life.^{(HJ) 14} This is the confidence^(HK) we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.^{(HL) 15} And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know^(HM) that we have what we asked of him.^(HN)

¹⁶ If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.^(HO) I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.^(HP) I am not saying that you should pray about that.^{(HQ) 17} All wrongdoing is sin,^(HR) and there is sin that does not lead to death.^(HS)

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God^(HT) does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one^(HU) cannot harm them.^{(HV) 19} We know that we are children of God,^(HW) and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.^{(HX) 20} We know also that the Son of God has come^(HY) and has given us understanding,^(HZ) so that we may know him who is true.^(IA) And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.^(IB)

²¹ Dear children,^(IC) keep yourselves from idols.^(ID)

¹ The elder,^(A)

To the lady chosen by God^(B) and to her children, whom I love in the truth^(C)—and not I only, but also all who know the truth^(D)— ² because of the truth,^(E) which lives in us^(F) and will be with us forever:

³ Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ,^(G) the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth,^(H) just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning.^(I) I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love:^(J) that we walk in obedience to his commands.^(K) As you have heard from the beginning,^(L) his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ^(M) as coming in the flesh,^(N) have gone out into the world.^(O) Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.^{(P) 8} Watch out that you do not lose what we^[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.^{(Q) 9} Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ^(R) does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.^{(S) 10} If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.^{(T) 11} Anyone who welcomes them shares^(U) in their wicked work.

¹² I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face,^(V) so that our joy may be complete.^(W)

¹³ The children of your sister, who is chosen by God,^(X) send their greetings.

¹ The elder,^(A)

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

² Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. ³ It gave me great joy when some believers^(B) came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.^{(C) 4} I have no greater joy than to hear that my children^(D) are walking in the truth.^(E)

⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters,^[a](F) even though they are strangers to you.^{(G) 6} They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way^(H) in a manner that honors^(I) God. ⁷ It was for the sake of the Name^(J) that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans.^{(K) 8} We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. ¹⁰ So when I come,^(L) I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers.^(M) He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.^(N)

¹¹ Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.^(O) Anyone who does what is good is from God.^(P) Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.^{(Q) 12} Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone^(R)—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.^(S)

¹³ I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.^(T)

¹⁵ Peace to you.^(U) The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.^(V)