The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the one our message is about. Our ears have heard, our eyes have seen, and our hands have touched this Word.

The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us.

We are telling you what we have seen and heard, so you may share in this life with us. And we share in it with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

If we say we share in life with God and keep on living in the dark, we are lying and are not living by the truth.

But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away.

If we say we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts.

But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts.

Christ Helps Us

My children, I am writing this so you won't sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us.

Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people.

When we obey God, we are sure we know him.

We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know we belong to him.

If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

The New Commandment

My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one you were first given, and it is the message you heard.

But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining.

If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark.

If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don't know where we are going, because we can't see in the dark.

Children, I am writing you, because your sins have been forgiven in the name of Christ.

Children, I am writing you, because you have known the Father. Parents, I am writing you, because you have known the one who was there from the beginning. Young people, I am writing you, because you are strong. God's message is firm in your hearts, and you have defeated the evil one.

Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father.

The Enemy of Christ

Children, this is the last hour. You heard that the enemy of Christ would appear at this time, and many of Christ's enemies have already appeared. So we know the last hour is here.

These people came from our own group, yet they were not really part of us. If they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, which proves they did not belong to our group.

I did not need to write you about the truth, since you already know it. You also know that liars do not belong to the truth.

And a liar is anyone who says Jesus isn't truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son.

If we reject the Son, we reject the Father. But if we say we accept the Son, we have the Father.