The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning,^(A) which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,^(B) which we have looked at and our hands have touched^(C)—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared;^(D) we have seen it and testify to it,^(E) and we proclaim to you the eternal life,^(F) which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,^(G) so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.^{(H) 4} We write this^(I) to make our^[a] joy complete.^(J)

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

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

⁸ If we claim to be without sin,^(Q) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.^{(R) 9} If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins^(S) and purify us from all unrighteousness.^{(T) 10} If we claim we have not sinned,^(U) we make him out to be a liar^(V) and his word is not in us.^(W)

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

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

³ We know^(AB) that we have come to know him^(AC) if we keep his commands.^{(AD) 4} Whoever says, “I know him,”^(AE) but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.^{(AF) 5} But if anyone obeys his word,^(AG) love for God^[c] is truly made complete in them.^(AH) This is how we know^(AI) we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.^(AJ)

⁷ Dear friends,^(AK) I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.^(AL) This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸ Yet I am writing you a new command;^(AM) its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing^(AN) and the true light^(AO) is already shining.^(AP)

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister^[d](AQ) is still in the darkness.^{(AR) 10} Anyone who loves their brother and sister^[e] lives in the light,^(AS) and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.^{(AT) 11} But anyone who hates a brother or sister^(AU) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.^(AV) They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.^(AW)

Reasons for Writing

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world.^(BI) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[f] is not in them.^{(BJ) 16} For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,^(BK) the lust of the eyes,^(BL) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away,^(BM) but whoever does the will of God^(BN) lives forever.

Warnings Against Denying the Son

¹⁸ Dear children, this is the last hour;^(BO) and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming,^(BP) even now many antichrists have come.^(BQ) This is how we know it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us,^(BR) but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.^(BS)

²⁰ But you have an anointing^(BT) from the Holy One,^(BU) and all of you know the truth.^{[g](BV) 21} I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it^(BW) and because no lie comes from the truth. ²² Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.^{(BX) 23} No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.^(BY)

²⁴ As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning^(BZ) remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.^{(CA) 25} And this is what he promised us—eternal life.^(CB)

²⁶ I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.^{(CC) 27} As for you, the anointing^(CD) you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things^(CE) and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.^(CF)

God’s Children and Sin

²⁸ And now, dear children,^(CG) continue in him, so that when he appears^(CH) we may be confident^(CI) and unashamed before him at his coming.^(CJ)

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous,^(CK) you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.^(CL)