1 John 1-5

New American Standard Bible

The Incarnate Word

1 What was ^(A)from the beginning, what we have ^(B)heard, what we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, what we ^(D)have looked at and ^(E)touched with our hands, concerning the ^(F)Word of Life— ² and ^(G)the life was revealed, and we have ^(H)seen and ^(I)testify and proclaim to you ^(J)the eternal life, which was ^(K)with the Father and was ^(L)revealed to us— ³ what we have ^(M)seen and ^(N)heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^(O)fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ^4 (P)These things we write, so that our ^(Q)joy may be made complete.

God Is Light

^5 (R)This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that ^(S)God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ^6 (T)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^(U)lie and ^(V)do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we ^(W)walk in the Light as ^(X)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Y)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (Z)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^(AA)truth is not in us. ^9 (AB)If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and ^(AC)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^10 (AD)If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(AE)make Him a liar and ^(AF)His word is not in us.

Christ Is Our Advocate

2 ^(AG)My little children, I am ^(AH)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(AI)we have an ^[a](AJ)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is ^(AK)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also ^(AL)for the sins of the whole world.

^3 (AM)By this we know that we have come to ^(AN)know Him, if we ^(AO)keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “^(AP)I have come to ^(AQ)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(AR)liar, and ^(AS)the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever ^(AT)follows His word, in him the ^(AU)love of God has truly been perfected. ^(AV)By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he ^(AW)remains in Him ^(AX)ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.

^7 (AY)Beloved, I am ^(AZ)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(BA)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ^8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing ^(BB)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^(BC)the darkness is passing away and ^(BD)the true Light is already shining. ⁹ The one who says that he is in the Light and yet ^(BE)hates his ^(BF)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. ^10 (BG)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. ¹¹ But the one who ^(BH)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and ^(BI)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has ^(BJ)blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, ^(BK)little children, because ^(BL)your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(BM)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^(BN)you have overcome ^(BO)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because ^(BP)you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(BQ)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^(BR)strong, and the ^(BS)word of God remains in you, and ^(BT)you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love ^(BU)the world nor the things in the world. ^(BV)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, ^(BW)the lust of the flesh and ^(BX)the lust of the eyes and ^(BY)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ^17 (BZ)The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who ^(CA)does the will of God continues to live forever.

¹⁸ Children, ^(CB)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^(CC)antichrist is coming, ^(CD)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (CE)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^(CF)so that ^[d]it would be evident that they all are not of us. ^20 [e]But you have an ^(CG)anointing from ^(CH)the Holy One, and ^(CI)you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^(CJ)because you do know it, and ^[f]because no lie is ^(CK)of the truth. ²² Who is the liar except ^(CL)the one who denies that Jesus is the ^[g]Christ? This is ^(CM)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (CN)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, see that what you heard ^(CO)from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also ^(CP)will remain in the Son and in the Father.

The Promise Is Eternal Life

^25 (CQ)This is the promise which He Himself ^[h]made to us: eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to ^(CR)deceive you. ²⁷ And as for you, the ^(CS)anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing ^(CT)teaches you about all things, and is ^(CU)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, ^[i]you remain in Him.

²⁸ Now, ^(CV)little children, remain in Him, so that when He ^(CW)appears, we may have ^(CX)confidence and ^(CY)not ^[j]draw back from Him in shame ^[k]at His ^(CZ)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(DA)He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness also ^(DB)has been born of Him.

Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[l](DC)how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called ^(DD)children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because ^(DE)it did not know Him. ^2 (DF)Beloved, now we are ^(DG)children of God, and ^(DH)it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He ^(DI)appears, we will be ^(DJ)like Him, because we will ^(DK)see Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this ^(DL)hope set on Him ^(DM)purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^(DN)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He ^(DO)appeared in order to ^(DP)take away sins; and ^(DQ)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who remains in Him ^(DR)sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or ^[m](DS)knows Him. ^7 (DT)Little children, make sure no one ^(DU)deceives you; ^(DV)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is ^(DW)of the devil; for the devil ^[n]has been sinning from the beginning. ^(DX)The Son of God ^(DY)appeared for this purpose, ^(DZ)to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who has been ^(EA)born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this the ^(EB)children of God and the ^(EC)children of the devil are obvious: ^[o]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who ^(ED)does not love his ^(EE)brother and sister.

^11 (EF)For this is the message ^(EG)which you have heard from the beginning, ^(EH)that we are to love one another; ¹² not as ^(EI)Cain, who was of ^(EJ)the evil one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because ^(EK)his own deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if ^(EL)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have ^(EM)passed out of death into life, ^(EN)because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who ^(EO)hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that ^(EP)no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that ^(EQ)He laid down His life for us; and ^(ER)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(ES)brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ But ^(ET)whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and ^(EU)closes his ^[p]heart ^[q]against him, ^(EV)how does the love of God remain in him? ^18 (EW)Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and ^(EX)truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are ^(EY)of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him, ²⁰ that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. ^21 (EZ)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have ^(FA)confidence ^[r]before God; ²² and ^(FB)whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we ^(FC)keep His commandments and do ^(FD)the things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³ This is His commandment, that we ^[s](FE)believe in ^(FF)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as ^(FG)He ^[t]commanded us. ²⁴ The one who ^(FH)keeps His commandments ^(FI)remains in Him, and He in him. ^(FJ)We know by this that ^(FK)He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(FL)Beloved, do not believe every ^(FM)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(FN)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(FO)every spirit that ^(FP)confesses that ^(FQ)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(FR)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(FS)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and ^(FT)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(FU)little children, and ^(FV)have overcome them; because ^(FW)greater is He who is in you than ^(FX)he who is in the world. ^5 (FY)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (FZ)We are from God. ^(GA)The one who knows God listens to us; ^(GB)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(GC)the spirit of truth and ^(GD)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (GE)Beloved, let’s ^(GF)love one another; for love is from God, and ^(GG)everyone who loves has been ^(GH)born of God and ^(GI)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, because ^(GJ)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was revealed ^[u](GK)in us, that ^(GL)God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(GM)not that we loved God, but that ^(GN)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(GO)the ^[v]propitiation for our sins. ^11 (GP)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(GQ)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (GR)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His ^(GS)love is perfected in us. ^13 (GT)By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(GU)testify that the Father has ^(GV)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (GW)Whoever confesses that ^(GX)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(GY)remains in him, and he in God. ^16 (GZ)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[w](HA)for us. ^(HB)God is love, and the one who ^(HC)remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(HD)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(HE)confidence in ^(HF)the day of judgment; because ^(HG)as He is, we also are in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(HH)perfect love drives out fear, because fear ^[x]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(HI)perfected in love. ^19 (HJ)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (HK)If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he ^(HL)hates his brother or sister, he is a ^(HM)liar; for ^(HN)the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, ^(HO)cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(HP)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(HQ)must also love his brother and sister.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(HR)Everyone who believes that Jesus is the ^[y]Christ has been ^(HS)born of God, and everyone who loves the ^[z]Father ^(HT)loves the child born of Him. ^2 (HU)By this we know that ^(HV)we love the children of God, when we love God and ^[aa]follow His commandments. ³ For ^(HW)this is the love of God, that we ^(HX)keep His commandments; and ^(HY)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^[ab]whoever has been ^(HZ)born of God ^(IA)overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who ^(IB)believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ⁶ This is the One who came ^(IC)by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not ^[ac]with the water only, but ^[ad]with the water and ^[ae]with the blood. It is ^(ID)the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are ^(IE)three that testify: ^8 [af]the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are ^[ag]in agreement. ^9 (IF)If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that ^(IG)He has testified concerning His Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God ^(IH)has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has ^(II)made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. ¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us ^(IJ)eternal life, and ^(IK)this life is in His Son. ^12 (IL)The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know

^13 (IM)These things I have written to you who ^(IN)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have ^(IO)eternal life. ¹⁴ This is ^(IP)the confidence which we have ^[ah]before Him, that, ^(IQ)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, ^(IR)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother or sister ^[ai]committing a sin not leading to death, ^(IS)he shall ask and ^[aj]God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(IT)There is sin leading to death; ^(IU)I am not saying that he should ask about that. ^17 (IV)All unrighteousness is sin, and ^(IW)there is sin not leading to death.

^18 (IX)We know that ^(IY)no one who has been born of God ^[ak]sins; but He who was born of God ^(IZ)keeps him, and ^(JA)the evil one does not ^(JB)touch him. ^19 (JC)We know that ^(JD)we are of God, and that ^(JE)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And ^(JF)we know that ^(JG)the Son of God has come, and has ^(JH)given us understanding so that we may know ^(JI)Him who is true; and we ^(JJ)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(JK)This is the true God and ^(JL)eternal life.

^21 (JM)Little children, guard yourselves from ^(JN)idols.