1 John 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Is Our Helper
2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He always did what was right, so he is able to defend us before God the Father. 2 Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.
3 If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we know him. 4 If we say we know God but do not obey his commands, we are lying. The truth is not in us. 5 But when we obey God’s teaching, his love is truly working in us. This is how we know that we are living in him. 6 If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived.
Jesus Told Us to Love Others
7 My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard. 8 But what I write is also a new command. It is a true one; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9 Someone might say, “I am in the light,” but if they hate any of their brothers or sisters in God’s family, they are still in the darkness. 10 Those who love their brothers and sisters live in the light, and there is nothing in them that will make them do wrong. 11 But whoever hates their brother or sister is in darkness. They live in darkness. They don’t know where they are going, because the darkness has made them blind.
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
13 I write to you, fathers,
because you know the one who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you have defeated the Evil One.
14 I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know the one who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you are strong.
The word of God lives in you,
and you have defeated the Evil One.
15 Don’t love this evil world or the things in it. If you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 This is all there is in the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. But none of these comes from the Father. They come from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever.
Don’t Follow the Enemies of Christ
18 My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. 19 These enemies were in our group, but they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20 You have the gift[a] that the Holy One[b] gave you. So you all know the truth. 21 Do you think I am writing this letter because you don’t know the truth? No, I am writing because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22 So who is the liar? It is the one who says Jesus is not the Messiah. Whoever says that is the enemy of Christ—the one who does not believe in the Father or in his Son. 23 Whoever does not believe in the Son does not have the Father, but whoever accepts the Son has the Father too.
24 Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you do that, you will always be in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what the Son promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing this letter about those who are trying to lead you into the wrong way. 27 Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you don’t need anyone to teach you. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. It is a true gift, not a false one. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.
28 Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes again. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes. 29 You know that Christ always did what was right. So you know that all those who do what is right are God’s children.
Footnotes
- 1 John 2:20 gift Literally, “anointing.” This might mean the Holy Spirit. Or it might mean teaching or truth as in verse 24. Also in verse 27.
- 1 John 2:20 Holy One God or Christ.
1 John 2
EasyEnglish Bible
God forgives our sins because of Jesus' death
2 I am writing this letter to you, my friends who are like my little children. I am writing to you because I do not want you to do wrong things. But if anyone among you does something wrong, there is someone who will speak to God on our behalf. That person is Jesus Christ, who always does only what is right. He will ask our Father God to forgive you. 2 Jesus died as a sacrifice to take the punishment for our sin. Then God could forgive us. Jesus did that not only for us. He did it for all people in the world, so that God could forgive them for their sins.
3 This is how we can be sure that we know God: If we obey God's commands, we know that we belong to him. 4 Someone may say, ‘I belong to God.’ But if he does not obey God's commands, that person is telling a lie. He is not living in the way that God's true message teaches us. 5 But anyone who obeys God's message shows that he really loves God completely. So this is how we know that we belong to God. 6 If we say that we are living in God's true way, then we must live in the way that Jesus lived.[a]
God tells us to love each other
7 My friends, I am telling you to love one another. When I write this to you, I am not giving you a new rule. It is an old rule that you have had for a long time. We gave it to you when you began to obey Christ. It is the same message that you have already heard. 8 But there is something new about it. This rule has become true in the way that Christ lived. Now it has also become true in your lives. God's true message has brought light to shine in your lives. You no longer live in the dark where you do bad things. 9 A person may say that he is living in the light. But if that person hates another believer, then he is telling a lie. He is still living in the dark. 10 Anyone who loves other believers shows that he is living in the light. There is nothing that will make him turn away from God. 11 But if someone hates other believers, he is still living in a bad way. He is like someone who is walking in the dark. He cannot see where he is going. He is like a blind person. He cannot understand God's true message.[b]
12 My little children, I am writing to you because God has forgiven your sins. He has done this because of Christ.
13 You who are older, like fathers, I am writing to you because you know Christ. He has always been there, since before the world began.
You who are young men, I am writing to you because you have won against Satan.
14 Yes, my children, I have written to you because you know God, our Father.
Fathers, I have written to you because you know Christ. He was already there before the world began.
Young men, I have written to you because you are strong. You continue to obey God's message, and you have won against Satan.
15 Do not live like people who do not know God. Do not love the wrong things that belong to this world. If anyone loves those things, it shows that they do not love God, their Father. 16 What are the wrong things that belong to this world? People want to do bad things to make themselves happy. People want to have things that they see, even bad things. People want to show other people how rich they are. These ideas do not come from God, our Father. They are the thoughts of people who belong to the world. 17 One day, those people and the things that they want will not be there any longer. But those who continue to do what God wants will live for ever.
People who are against Christ
18 My children, the world will soon end.[c] You have heard that the enemy of Christ will appear. You can see that many enemies of Christ have already appeared. This shows us that the world will end soon. 19 These people used to be in our group of believers. But they left us. They never really belonged to our group. If they had been true believers, they would have remained with us. When they left us, it showed clearly that none of them really belonged to us.
20 But Christ, the Holy One, has given you the Holy Spirit. As a result, you all know what is true. 21 That is why I am writing to you. It is not because you do not yet know God's true message. I am writing to you because you do know that true message. And you can be sure that there are no lies in it.
22 Who is the one who tells the worst lies? It is anyone who says that Jesus is not the Messiah. A person like that is the enemy of Christ. He is speaking against God, the Father, and against Jesus, his Son. 23 Anyone who says that Jesus is not God's Son does not belong to the Father. But anyone who accepts Jesus as the Son of God also belongs to the Father.[d]
24 As for you, always remember the true message that you heard at the beginning. If you continue to believe that message, you will continue to live with the Son and with the Father. 25 That is the real life that continues for ever. And that is what God has promised to give to us.
26 Some people are trying to lead you away from God's true message. I am writing these things to you so that you know about these people. 27 But Christ has given the Holy Spirit to you, and he continues to help you. So you do not need people to teach you what is true. The Holy Spirit himself teaches you everything about God's message. He helps you to know what is true. He does not tell you any lies. So you must remember what he has taught you. Continue to live together with Christ.
28 Yes, my children, continue to live with Christ. Then we will not be ashamed when he returns to this world. We will not be afraid to meet him.
29 You know that Christ only does what is right. So you should know this: Everyone who continues to do what is right has become a child of God.
Footnotes
- 2:6 If we believe in Jesus Christ and we trust God, this means that we belong to God. We are united with God and with Jesus. The way that we live shows whether we are true believers.
- 2:11 John tells Christians that they must live ‘in the light’. He means that they should live in a way that God says is right.
- 2:18 John was an old man. He wrote to his readers as if they were his children.
- 2:23 Some people say that they are Christians, but they do not believe in Jesus. John tells us what true Christians believe.
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