2 My dear children,^(A) I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate^(B) with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

⁷ Dear friends,^(A) I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.^(B) This old command is the message you have heard.

⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command;^(A) its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing^(B) and the true light^(C) is already shining.^(D)

Reasons for Writing

²¹ I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it^(A) and because no lie comes from the truth.

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.^(A)