Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options Listen to 1 John 1-5
Close NASB

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.

Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:1 Or Intercessor
  2. 1 John 2:2 I.e., means of reconciliation with God by atoning for sins; or sin-offering
  3. 1 John 2:8 Lit Again
  4. 1 John 2:19 Lit they would be revealed
  5. 1 John 2:20 Lit And
  6. 1 John 2:21 Or you know that no lie
  7. 1 John 2:22 I.e., Messiah
  8. 1 John 2:25 Lit promised us
  9. 1 John 2:27 Or remain in Him (a command)
  10. 1 John 2:28 Lit be put to shame from Him
  11. 1 John 2:28 Or in His presence
  12. 1 John 3:1 Lit what kind of love
  13. 1 John 3:6 Or has known
  14. 1 John 3:8 Lit sins
  15. 1 John 3:10 Lit everyone
  16. 1 John 3:17 Lit inward parts
  17. 1 John 3:17 Lit from
  18. 1 John 3:21 Lit toward
  19. 1 John 3:23 Or believe the name
  20. 1 John 3:23 Lit gave us a commandment
  21. 1 John 4:9 Or among us; or in our case
  22. 1 John 4:10 I.e., means of reconciliation with God by atoning for sins; or sin-offering
  23. 1 John 4:16 Lit in
  24. 1 John 4:18 Lit has
  25. 1 John 5:1 I.e., Messiah
  26. 1 John 5:1 Lit one who has fathered
  27. 1 John 5:2 Lit do
  28. 1 John 5:4 Lit everything that
  29. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  30. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  31. 1 John 5:6 Lit in
  32. 1 John 5:8 A few late mss add ...in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth, the Spirit
  33. 1 John 5:8 Lit for the one thing
  34. 1 John 5:14 Lit toward
  35. 1 John 5:16 Lit sinning
  36. 1 John 5:16 Or God will give him life, that is, to those who...
  37. 1 John 5:18 Or sins continually
Close NLT

1 John 1-5
New Living Translation

Introduction

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b]

Living in the Light

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

A New Commandment

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer,[d] that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer[e] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

12 I am writing to you who are God’s children
    because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.[f]
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith[g]
    because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
    because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children
    because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith
    because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
    because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
    and you have won your battle with the evil one.

Do Not Love This World

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Warning about Antichrists

18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit,[h] and all of you know the truth. 21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. 22 And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.[i] Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.[j] 23 Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

24 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. 25 And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

26 I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit,[k] and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit[l] teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

Living as Children of God

28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life[m] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers[n] does not belong to God.

Love One Another

11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,[o] if the world hates you.

14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers,[p] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister[q] is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister[r] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

Discerning False Prophets

4 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet[s] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

Loving One Another

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other[t] because he loved us first.

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,[u] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.[v]

Faith in the Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ[w] has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross[x]—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. 7 So we have these three witnesses[y]— 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. 9 Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. 10 All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

11 And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

Conclusion

13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

16 If you see a fellow believer[z] sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. 17 All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

18 We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 19 We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.[aa] And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.[ab]

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Greek What was from the beginning.
  2. 1:4 Or so that our joy may be complete; some manuscripts read your joy.
  3. 1:5 Greek from him.
  4. 2:9 Greek hates his brother; also in 2:11.
  5. 2:10 Greek loves his brother.
  6. 2:12 Greek through his name.
  7. 2:13 Or to you fathers; also in 2:14.
  8. 2:20 Greek But you have an anointing from the Holy One.
  9. 2:22a Or not the Messiah.
  10. 2:22b Or the antichrist.
  11. 2:27a Greek the anointing from him.
  12. 2:27b Greek the anointing.
  13. 3:9 Greek because his seed.
  14. 3:10 Greek does not love his brother.
  15. 3:13 Greek brothers.
  16. 3:14 Greek the brothers; similarly in 3:16.
  17. 3:15 Greek hates his brother.
  18. 3:17 Greek sees his brother.
  19. 4:2 Greek If a spirit; similarly in 4:3.
  20. 4:19 Greek We love. Other manuscripts read We love God; still others read We love him.
  21. 4:20 Greek hates his brother.
  22. 4:21 Greek The one who loves God must also love his brother.
  23. 5:1 Or the Messiah.
  24. 5:6 Greek This is he who came by water and blood.
  25. 5:7 A few very late manuscripts add in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.
  26. 5:16 Greek a brother.
  27. 5:20 Greek the one who is true.
  28. 5:21 Greek keep yourselves from idols.
Next
2 Peter 3
2 John 1
Next
dropdown
New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.