1 John 2:16 - 3 John 9

English Standard Version

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—^(A)the desires of the flesh and ^(B)the desires of the eyes and pride of life^[a]—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And ^(C)the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸ Children, ^(D)it is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^(E)antichrist is coming, so now ^(F)many antichrists have come. ^(G)Therefore we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (H)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(I)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^(J)that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰ But you have been ^(K)anointed by ^(L)the Holy One, and ^(M)you all have knowledge.^{[b] 21} I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(N)he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^(O)the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (P)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ Let ^(Q)what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^(R)you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is the promise that he made to us^[c]—^(S)eternal life.

²⁶ I write these things to you about ^(T)those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ But ^(U)the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^(V)you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^(W)is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^(X)when he appears ^(Y)we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^(Z)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(AA)he is righteous, you may be sure that ^(AB)everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

3 See ^(AC)what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^(AD)children of God; and so we are. The reason why ^(AE)the world does not know us is that ^(AF)it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are ^(AG)God's children ^(AH)now, and what we will be ^(AI)has not yet appeared; but we know that ^(AJ)when he appears^{[d] (AK)}we shall be like him, because ^(AL)we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who ^(AM)thus hopes in him ^(AN)purifies himself as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^(AO)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that ^(AP)he appeared in order to ^(AQ)take away sins, and ^(AR)in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^(AS)no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, ^(AT)let no one deceive you. ^(AU)Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. ^8 (AV)Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^(AW)to destroy the works of the devil. ^9 (AX)No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's^[e] seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰ By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^(AY)nor is the one who ^(AZ)does not love his brother.

Love One Another

¹¹ For ^(BA)this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, ^(BB)that we should love one another. ¹² We should not be like ^(BC)Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? ^(BD)Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. ¹³ Do not be surprised, brothers,^{[f] (BE)}that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that ^(BF)we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. ^15 (BG)Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(BH)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

¹⁶ By this we know love, that ^(BI)he laid down his life for us, and ^(BJ)we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But ^(BK)if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet ^(BL)closes his heart against him, ^(BM)how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not ^(BN)love in word or talk but in deed and ^(BO)in truth.

¹⁹ By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; ²⁰ for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, ^(BP)if our heart does not condemn us, ^(BQ)we have confidence before God; ²² and ^(BR)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(BS)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(BT)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(BU)love one another, ^(BV)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (BW)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[g] and God^[h] in him. And ^(BX)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(BY)do not believe every spirit, but ^(BZ)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(CA)many ^(CB)false prophets ^(CC)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(CD)every spirit that confesses that ^(CE)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(CF)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(CG)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(CH)he who is in you is greater than ^(CI)he who is in the world. ^5 (CJ)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(CK)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(CL)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(CM)the Spirit of truth and ^(CN)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(CO)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(CP)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (CQ)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(CR)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(CS)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(CT)not that we have loved God ^(CU)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(CV)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (CW)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(CX)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (CY)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(CZ)we have seen and testify that ^(DA)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(DB)the world. ^15 (DC)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(DD)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(DE)God is love, and ^(DF)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(DG)is love perfected with us, so that ^(DH)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(DI)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(DJ)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(DK)been perfected in love. ^19 (DL)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (DM)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(DN)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[i] love God ^(DO)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(DP)this commandment we have from him: ^(DQ)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(DR)Everyone who believes that ^(DS)Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and ^(DT)everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. ^2 (DU)By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³ For ^(DV)this is the love of God, that we ^(DW)keep his commandments. And ^(DX)his commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(DY)everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—^(DZ)our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes ^(EA)that Jesus is the Son of God?

Testimony Concerning the Son of God

⁶ This is he who came ^(EB)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And ^(EC)the Spirit is the one who testifies, because ^(ED)the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. ^9 (EE)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God ^(EF)that he has borne concerning his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God ^(EG)has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God ^(EH)has made him a liar, ^(EI)because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony, that God gave us ^(EJ)eternal life, and ^(EK)this life is in his Son. ^12 (EL)Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

That You May Know

¹³ I write ^(EM)these things to you who ^(EN)believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is ^(EO)the confidence that we have toward him, that ^(EP)if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and ^(EQ)God^[j] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. ^(ER)There is sin that leads to death; ^(ES)I do not say that one should pray for that. ^17 (ET)All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that ^(EU)everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but ^(EV)he who was born of God ^(EW)protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are from God, and ^(EX)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and ^(EY)has given us understanding, so that we may know ^(EZ)him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and ^(FA)eternal life. ²¹ Little children, ^(FB)keep yourselves from idols.

Greeting

^1 (FC)The elder to the elect lady and her children, ^(FD)whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who ^(FE)know ^(FF)the truth, ^2 (FG)because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

^3 (FH)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

Walking in Truth and Love

^4 (FI)I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. ⁵ And now I ask you, dear lady—^(FJ)not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—^(FK)that we love one another. ⁶ And ^(FL)this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just ^(FM)as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ⁷ For ^(FN)many deceivers ^(FO)have gone out into the world, ^(FP)those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch yourselves, ^(FQ)so that you may not lose what we^[k] have worked for, but ^(FR)may win a full reward. ⁹ Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, ^(FS)does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching ^(FT)has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(FU)do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, ¹¹ for whoever greets him ^(FV)takes part in his wicked works.

Final Greetings

^12 (FW)Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. ^(FX)Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, ^(FY)so that our joy may be complete.

¹³ The children of your elect sister greet you.

Greeting

^1 (FZ)The elder to the beloved Gaius, ^(GA)whom I love in truth.

² Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. ³ For ^(GB)I rejoiced greatly when the brothers^[l] came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that ^(GC)my children are walking in the truth.

Support and Opposition

⁵ Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for ^(GD)these brothers, ^(GE)strangers as they are, ⁶ who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner ^(GF)worthy of God. ⁷ For they have gone out for the sake of ^(GG)the name, ^(GH)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹ I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.