1 John 2:3–17

³And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. ⁴The one who says “I have come to know him,” and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in this person. ⁵But whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. ⁶The one who says that he resides in him ought also to walk^c just as that one walked.

⁷Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message which you have heard. ⁸Again, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because^d the darkness is passing away and the true light already is shining. ⁹The one who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness until now. ¹⁰The one who loves his brother resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Encouragement and Assurance

¹²I am writing to you, little children, because^e your sins have been forgiven you on account of his name. ¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because^f you have known the One who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because^g you have conquered the evil one. ¹⁴I have written to you, children, because^h you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, becauseⁱ you have known the One who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because^j you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, ¹⁶because everything that is in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance of material possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, and its desire,^k but the one who does the will of God remains forever^l.