1 John 2
Expanded Bible
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My ·dear children [L little children; C a term of endearment], I write ·this letter [L these things] to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a ·helper [counselor; advocate; Rom. 8:34] in the presence of the Father—Jesus Christ, ·the One who does what is right [or the Righteous One]. 2 He ·died in our place to take away [is the atoning sacrifice/T propitiation for] our sins [C his death pays the penalty and removes God’s anger from us; 4:10; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17], and not only our sins but the sins of ·all people [L the whole world].
3 We ·can be sure [know] that we know ·God [L him] if we ·obey [keep] his commands. 4 Anyone who says, “I know ·God [L him],” but does not ·obey [keep] ·God’s [L his] commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if someone ·obeys [keeps] ·God’s teaching [L his word], then in that person ·God’s love [or love for God] has ·truly reached its goal [been fulfilled/perfected/completed]. This is how we can be sure we are ·living in God [L in him]: 6 Whoever says that he ·lives [abides; remains] in God must ·live [L walk] as ·Jesus lived [L he walked].
The Command to Love Others
7 ·My dear friends [L Beloved], I am not writing a new command to you but an old command you have had from the beginning [3:23; John 13:34]. It is the ·teaching [L word] you have already heard. 8 But also I am writing a new command to you, ·and you can see its truth in Jesus [L which is true in him] and in you, ·because [or that] the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who ·says [claims; C as do the false teachers; see 2:18–19], “I am in the light,” [C following God’s goodness and truthfulness] but hates a brother or sister [C fellow Christian], is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves a brother or sister ·lives [abides; remains] in the light and ·will not cause anyone to stumble in his faith [or he will not stumble in his faith; L there is no cause of stumbling in him; C the “stumbling” may be either by apostasy or sin; John 6:61; 16:1; Rom. 14:13; Rev. 2:14]. 11 But whoever hates a brother or sister is in darkness, ·lives [L walks] in darkness, and does not know where to go, because the darkness has ·made that person blind [L blinded his eyes].
12 I write to you, dear children [2:1],
because your sins are forgiven ·through Christ [L on account of his name; C the name represents the person].
13 I write to you, fathers [C probably senior members of the congregation],
·because [or that] you know the One who existed from the beginning [C Christ; John 1:1].
I write to you, young people,
·because [or that] you have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] the Evil One.
14 I ·write [or have written] to you, children,
·because [or that] you ·know [have come to know] the Father.
I ·write [or have written] to you, fathers,
·because [or that] you ·know [have come to know] the One who existed from the beginning [2:13].
I ·write [or have written] to you, young people,
·because [or that] you are strong;
the ·teaching [L word] of God ·lives [abides; remains] in you,
and you have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] the Evil One.
15 Do not love the world or the things ·in [associated with] the world. If you love the world, the love ·of [or for] the Father is not in you [James 4:4]. 16 [L For] ·These are the ways of [All that is in/associated with] the world: ·wanting to please our sinful selves [L the desire/lust of the flesh], ·wanting the sinful things we see [L the desire/lust of the eyes], and ·being too proud of what we have [L the pride of life/possessions]. None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world. 17 The world and ·everything that people want in it [L its desire/lust] are passing away [1 Cor. 7:31], but the person who does ·what God wants [the will of God] ·lives [abides; remains] forever.
Reject the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children [2:1], ·these are the last days [L it is the last hour; C suggesting urgency, though not claiming the end was near]. [L Just as] You have heard that the ·enemy of Christ [L antichrist] is coming, and now many ·enemies of Christ [L antichrists; C false teachers; 2:22; 2 John 7] are already here. This is how we know that ·these are the last days [L it is the last hour]. 19 ·These enemies of Christ were in our fellowship, but they left us [L They went out from us; C probably to form a rival fellowship]. They never really belonged to us [L But they were not of us]; [L For] if they had been a part of us, they would have ·stayed [remained; abided] with us. But they left, ·and this shows [or so that it would be shown] that none of them really belonged to us.
20 You have the ·gift [L anointing; C probably the Holy Spirit and/or the spiritual gift of the Word of God applied to their hearts; v. 24; 1 Sam. 16:13; Is. 61:1; John 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:21–22] that the Holy One gave you [L from the Holy One; C a reference to God the Father (Ps. 71:22) or more likely Jesus Christ (Mark 1:24; John 6:69)], so you all ·know the truth[a] [or have knowledge; L know]. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 Who is the liar? It is the person who ·does not accept [denies; repudiates] Jesus as the ·Christ [Messiah; Anointed One]. This is the ·enemy of Christ [L antichrist]: the person who ·does not accept [denies; repudiates] the Father and ·his [the] Son. 23 Whoever ·does not accept [denies; repudiates] the Son does not have the Father. But whoever ·confesses [acknowledges; accepts] the Son has the Father, too.
24 [L As for you] Be sure you ·continue to follow [abide/remain in] ·the teaching [L what] you heard from the beginning [C when they first became Christians; 1 Tim. 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; Titus 1:9; 2 Pet. 3:2; Jude 17, 20]. If you ·continue to follow [abide/remain in] what you heard from the beginning, you will [L also; indeed] ·stay [abide; remain] in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is ·what the Son [L the promise which he himself] promised to us—·life forever [eternal life; 1 Tim. 4:8; 2 Tim. 1:1].
26 I ·am writing [or have written] ·this letter [L these things] about those people who are ·trying to lead you the wrong way [deceiving you; leading you astray]. 27 [L As for you] ·Christ gave you a special gift that is still in you [L The anointing that you received from him abides/remains in you; 2:20], so you do not need ·any other teacher [L anyone to teach you; Jer. 31:34]. [L But just as] His ·gift [L anointing] teaches you about everything, and it is true, not false. So ·continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you [L just as he taught you, abide/remain in him].
28 ·Yes [Now], my dear children [2:1], ·live [abide; remain] in him so that when ·Christ comes back [L he appears/is revealed], we can be ·without fear [confident] and not be ashamed [L of him] ·in his presence [at his coming]. 29 ·Since [If] you know that ·Christ [L he] is righteous, you know that all who ·do right [practice righteousness] ·are God’s children [L have been born of/begotten by him].
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:20 you … truth Some Greek copies read “so you know all things.”
1 John 2
International Standard Version
The Messiah is Our Advocate
2 My little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you might not sin. Yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus, the Messiah,[a] one who is righteous. 2 It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world’s.
3 This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we continually keep his commandments. 4 The person who says, “I have come to know him,” but does not continually keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth has no place in that person. 5 But whoever continually keeps his commandments is the kind of person in whom God’s love has truly been perfected. This is how we can be sure that we are in union with God:[b] 6 The one who says that he abides in him must live the same way he himself lived.
We Must Obey God’s Commandments
7 Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard. 8 On the other hand, I am writing to you a new commandment that is truly in him and in you. For the darkness is fading away, and the true light is already shining.
9 The person who says that he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble. 11 But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness and lives in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have known the one who
has existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I have written to you, little children,
because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have known the one who
has existed from the beginning.
I have written to you, young people,
because you are strong
and because God’s word remains in you
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Stop loving[c] the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. 16 For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification,[d] the desire for possessions,[e] and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever.
Live in the Messiah
18 Little children, it is the last hour. Just as you heard that an antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.
20 You have an anointing from the Holy One and know all things.[f] 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because lies don’t come from truth. 22 Who is a liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Messiah?[g] The person who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. The person who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.
24 What you have heard from the beginning must abide in you. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you will also abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 The message that the Son[h] himself declared to us is eternal life. 26 I have written[i] to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 The anointing you received from God[j] abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you this.[k] Instead, because God’s[l] anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not a lie, abide in him, as he taught you to do.[m]
Abide in Him
28 Even now, little children, abide in him. Then, when he appears, we will have confidence and will not turn away from him in shame when he comes. 29 Since you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by God.[n]
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:1 Or Christ
- 1 John 2:5 Lit. him
- 1 John 2:15 Or Don’t love
- 1 John 2:16 Lit. for the flesh
- 1 John 2:16 Lit. of the eyes
- 1 John 2:20 Other mss. read and all of you know
- 1 John 2:22 Or Christ
- 1 John 2:25 Lit. that he
- 1 John 2:26 Lit. written these things
- 1 John 2:27 Lit. him
- 1 John 2:27 The Gk. lacks this
- 1 John 2:27 Lit. his
- 1 John 2:27 The Gk. lacks to do
- 1 John 2:29 Lit. by him
1 John 2
King James Version
2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
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