1 John 2:17-5:14

English Standard Version

¹⁷ And ^(A)the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(B)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(C)antichrist is coming, so now ^(D)many antichrists have come. ^(E)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (F)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(G)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(H)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(I)anointed by ^(J)the Holy One, and ^(K)you all have knowledge.^{[a] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(L)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(M)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (N)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(O)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(P)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[b]—^(Q)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(R)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(S)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(T)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(U)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(V)when he appears ^(W)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(X)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(Y)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(Z)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See ^(AA)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(AB)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(AC)the world does not know us is that ^(AD)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(AE)God's children ^(AF)now, and what we will be ^(AG)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(AH)when he appears^{[c] (AI)}we shall be like him, because ^(AJ)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(AK)thus hopes in him ^(AL)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(AM)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(AN)he appeared in order to ^(AO)take away sins, and ^(AP)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(AQ)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(AR)let no one deceive you. ^(AS)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (AT)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(AU)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (AV)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[d] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(AW)nor is the one who ^(AX)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(AY)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(AZ)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(BA)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(BB)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers,^{[e] (BC)}that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that ^(BD)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ^15 (BE)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(BF)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(BG)he laid down his life for us, and ^(BH)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(BI)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(BJ)closes his heart against him, ^(BK)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(BL)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(BM)in truth.

¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, ^(BN)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(BO)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(BP)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(BQ)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(BR)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(BS)love one another, ^(BT)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (BU)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[f] and God^[g] in him. And ^(BV)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(BW)do not believe every spirit, but ^(BX)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(BY)many ^(BZ)false prophets ^(CA)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(CB)every spirit that confesses that ^(CC)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(CD)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(CE)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(CF)he who is in you is greater than ^(CG)he who is in the world. ^5 (CH)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(CI)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(CJ)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(CK)the Spirit of truth and ^(CL)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(CM)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(CN)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (CO)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(CP)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(CQ)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(CR)not that we have loved God ^(CS)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(CT)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (CU)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(CV)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (CW)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(CX)we have seen and testify that ^(CY)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(CZ)the world. ^15 (DA)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(DB)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(DC)God is love, and ^(DD)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(DE)is love perfected with us, so that ^(DF)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(DG)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(DH)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(DI)been perfected in love. ^19 (DJ)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (DK)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(DL)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[h] love God ^(DM)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(DN)this commandment we have from him: ^(DO)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(DP)Everyone who believes that ^(DQ)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(DR)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ^2 (DS)By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For ^(DT)this is the love of God, that we ^(DU)keep his commandments. And ^(DV)his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(DW)everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^(DX)our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^(DY)that Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

⁶ This is he who came ^(DZ)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^(EA)the Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^(EB)the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. ^9 (EC)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^(ED)that he has borne concerning his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God ^(EE)has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^(EF)has made him a liar, ^(EG)because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^(EH)eternal life, and ^(EI)this life is in his Son. ^12 (EJ)Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

¹³ I write ^(EK)these things to you who ^(EL)believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is ^(EM)the confidence that we have toward him, that ^(EN)if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.