Book of Common Prayer

1 The Word of life always was living, even from the beginning. We heard him. We saw him with our own eyes. We looked at him, and we touched him with our own hands. We are writing to you about this Word of life.

² This life came to earth. We saw him, and we know about him. And we tell you about this life that lives for ever. This life was with the Father and came to us.

³ We tell you also what we have seen and heard. We tell you so that you also will belong with us. And we belong with the Father and the Son.

⁴ We write these things to you so that we all will be very happy.

⁵ God is like light and he is not dark at all. That is the message we heard from him. That is the message we are telling you.

⁶ Do we say that we belong with him? And at the same time, do we live in the dark? Then what we say is not true, and what we do is not right.

⁷ Do we live in the light, as God is in the light? Then we belong with others who belong to him. And the blood of the death of Jesus Christ makes us clean from all the wrong things we have done.

⁸ Do we say, `We have no wrong ways'? Then we are fooling ourselves, and we do not know what is true.

⁹ Let us tell God about our wrong ways. God can be trusted. He does what is right. He will forgive us for the wrong things we have done. He will make us clean from all that was wrong.

¹⁰ Do we say, `We have not done anything wrong'? This is like saying that God is not true. That means we do not accept God's word.

17 When Jesus had said these things, he looked up to heaven and said, `Father, the time has come now. Make your Son's name great, so that your Son may make your name great.

² You have given your Son power over all people. So all those you have given him will live for ever.

³ You are the only true God. If they know you, and Jesus Christ whom you sent, they will live for ever.

⁴ I made your name great on earth. I have done the work you gave me to do.

⁵ So now, Father, let my name be great with you. Make my name as great as it was when I was with you before the world was made.

⁶ `I have shown these men who you really are. They are men whom you gave me from the world. They belonged to you and you gave them to me. They have obeyed you.

⁷ Now they really know that everything you gave me comes from you.

⁸ I have told them the things that you told me to tell them. And they have believed my words. They know it is true that I was with you before I came. They have believed that you sent me.

⁹ It is these men I am asking you for. I am not asking you for the people of the world. But I am asking for those you gave me, because they belong to you.

¹⁰ All those I have are yours. And all you have are mine. And they make my name great.

¹¹ `I am not in the world any longer. But they are in the world. And I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me. Then they will be one, just as you and I are one.