Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

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

⁸ If we claim to be without sin,^(G) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.^{(H) 9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins^(I) and purify us from all unrighteousness.^{(J) 10} If we claim we have not sinned,^(K) we make him out to be a liar^(L) and his word is not in us.^(M)

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

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know^(R) that we have come to know him^(S) if we keep his commands.^{(T) 4} Whoever says, “I know him,”^(U) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.^{(V) 5} But if anyone obeys his word,^(W) love for God^[b] is truly made complete in them.^(X) This is how we know^(Y) we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.^(Z)

⁷ Dear friends,^(AA) I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.^(AB) This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command;^(AC) its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing^(AD) and the true light^(AE) is already shining.^(AF)

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister^[c](AG) is still in the darkness.^{(AH) 10} Anyone who loves their brother and sister^[d] lives in the light,^(AI) and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.^{(AJ) 11} But anyone who hates a brother or sister^(AK) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.^(AL) They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.^(AM)

Reasons for Writing

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world.^(AY) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[e] is not in them.^{(AZ) 16} For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,^(BA) the lust of the eyes,^(BB) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away,^(BC) but whoever does the will of God^(BD) lives forever.

More on Love and Hatred

¹¹ For this is the message you heard^(A) from the beginning:^(B) We should love one another.^{(C) 12} Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one^(D) and murdered his brother.^(E) And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.^{(F) 13} Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,^[a] if the world hates you.^{(G) 14} We know that we have passed from death to life,^(H) because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.^{(I) 15} Anyone who hates a brother or sister^(J) is a murderer,^(K) and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.^(L)

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

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.

God’s Love and Ours

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another,^(A) for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God^(B) and knows God.^{(C) 8} Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.^{(D) 9} This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son^(E) into the world that we might live through him.^{(F) 10} This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us^(G) and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.^{(H) 11} Dear friends,^(I) since God so loved us,^(J) we also ought to love one another.^{(K) 12} No one has ever seen God;^(L) but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.^(M)

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

God is love.^(T) Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.^{(U) 17} This is how love is made complete^(V) among us so that we will have confidence^(W) on the day of judgment:^(X) In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,^(Y) 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.^{(Z) 20} Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister^(AA) is a liar.^(AB) For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen,^(AC) cannot love God, whom they have not seen.^{(AD) 21} And he has given us this command:^(AE) Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.^(AF)