1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin,yRom. 8:34; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 7:25 we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 zch. 4:10; Rom. 3:25; [2 Cor. 5:18, 19; Col. 1:20] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only butach. 4:14; John 1:29; 4:42; 11:51, 52; 12:32 also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if webJohn 14:15; 15:10 keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him ” but does not keep his commandmentscch. 1:8; John 8:44 is a liar, andcch. 1:8; John 8:44 the truth is not in him, 5 but whoeverdch. 5:3; John 14:23 keeps his word, in him trulyech. 4:12 the love of God is perfected.fch. 3:24; 4:13; 5:2 By this we may be sure that we are in him: 6 whoever says hegJohn 15:4, 5, 7 abides in himhSee Matt. 11:29 ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
7 Beloved, I am writing youi2 John 5 no new commandment, butjLev. 19:18 an old commandmentk[ver. 24; ch. 3:11; 2 John 5, 6] that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it islSee John 13:34 a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1Or thatmRom. 13:12; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:4, 5 the darkness is passing away andnJohn 1:9; 8:12 the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light andoch. 4:20; [ch. 3:14, 15; Titus 3:3] hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him1Or it there is nopJohn 11:10; [Prov. 4:19; 2 Pet. 1:10] cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness andqSee ch. 1:6 walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
becauserLuke 24:47; Acts 10:43; 13:38 your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you knows[ch. 1:1] him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
becausetEph. 6:10; [ch. 5:4, 5] you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
becauseuJohn 14:7 you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you knows[See ver. 13 above] him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
becauset[See ver. 13 above] you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 v[Rom. 12:2; 2 Tim. 4:10] Do not love the world or the things in the world.wSee James 4:4 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—xRom. 13:14; Eph. 2:3; 1 Pet. 4:2; 2 Pet. 2:18 the desires of the flesh andyEccles. 4:8; 5:11 the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 AndzSee 1 Cor. 7:31 the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
18 Children,a[2 Tim. 3:1; James 5:3; 2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18] it is the last hour, and as you have heard thatbver. 22; ch. 4:3; 2 John 7; [Matt. 24:5, 24] antichrist is coming, so nowc[ch. 4:1; Matt. 24:5] many antichrists have come.d1 Tim. 4:1 Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 eDeut. 13:13; Acts 20:30 They went out from us, but they were not of us; forfSee John 17:12 if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out,g1 Cor. 11:19 that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have beenhver. 27; [2 Cor. 1:21] anointed byiSee Mark 1:24 the Holy One, andjver. 27; See John 14:26 you all have knowledge. 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 butkch. 4:3; 2 John 7 he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This isb[See ver. 18 above] the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 lch. 4:15; 5:1; 2 John 9 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Letmch. 3:11; 2 John 6 what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, thenn[John 14:23]; See ch. 1:3 you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us —oJohn 17:2 eternal life.
26 I write these things to you aboutpch. 3:7; 2 John 7 those who are trying to deceive you. 27 Butqver. 20 the anointing that you received from him abides in you, andrJer. 31:34; Heb. 8:11 you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything—andsJohn 14:17 is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you—abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so thattch. 3:2; [Col. 3:4] when he appearsuch. 3:21; 4:17; 5:14 we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at hisvSee 1 Thess. 2:19 coming. 29 If you know thatwch. 3:7 he is righteous, you may be sure thatxch. 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; 3 John 11 everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.