1 John 2–5

2My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^awe have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And ^bHe Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^calso for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^dliar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But ^ewhoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ¹is perfected ^fin him. By this we know that we are in Him. ^6gHe who says he abides in Him ^hought himself also to walk just as He walked.

⁷²Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ⁱfrom the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ³from the beginning. ⁸Again, ^ja new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, ^kbecause the darkness is passing away, and ^lthe true light is already shining.

^9mHe who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰ⁿHe who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^othere is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who ^phates his brother is in darkness and ^qwalks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

¹²I write to you, little children,

Because ^ryour sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

¹³I write to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is ^sfrom the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

Because you have overcome the wicked one.

I write to you, little children,

Because you have ^tknown the Father.

¹⁴I have written to you, fathers,

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

I have written to you, young men,

Because ^uyou are strong, and the word of God abides in you,

And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

^15vDo not love the world or the things in the world. ^wIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, ^xthe lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And ^ythe world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

^18zLittle children, ^ait is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^bthe ⁴Antichrist is coming, ^ceven now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^dthat it is the last hour. ^19eThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^fif they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^gthat they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰But ^hyou have an anointing ⁱfrom the Holy One, and ^jyou ⁵know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

^22kWho is a liar but he who denies that ^lJesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ^23mWhoever denies the Son does not have the ⁿFather either; ^ohe who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴Therefore let that abide in you ^pwhich you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^qyou also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ^25rAnd this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ⁶deceive you. ²⁷But the ^sanointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and ^tyou do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing ^uteaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ⁷will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that ⁸when He appears, we may have ^vconfidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ^29wIf you know that He is righteous, you know that ^xeveryone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

3Behold ^awhat manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that ^bwe should be called children of ¹God! Therefore the world does not know ²us, ^cbecause it did not know Him. ²Beloved, ^dnow we are children of God; and ^eit has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, ^fwe shall be like Him, for ^gwe shall see Him as He is. ^3hAnd everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

⁴Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and ⁱsin is lawlessness. ⁵And you know ^jthat He was manifested ^kto take away our sins, and ^lin Him there is no sin. ⁶Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

⁷Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ^8mHe who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, ⁿthat He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹Whoever has been ^oborn of God does not sin, for ^pHis seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love

¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^qthat we should love one another, ¹²not as ^rCain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^sthe world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ³his brother abides in death. ^15tWhoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^uno murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

^16vBy this we know love, ^wbecause He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷But ^xwhoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, ^ylet us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹And by this we ⁴know ^zthat we are of the truth, and shall ⁵assure our hearts before Him. ^20aFor if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, ^bwe have confidence toward God. ²²And ^cwhatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments ^dand do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ^eand love one another, as He gave ⁶us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴Now ^fhe who keeps His commandments ^gabides in Him, and He in him. And ^hby this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

4Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^atest the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^bmany false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^cEvery spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess ¹that Jesus ²Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ^dhe who is in the world. ^5eThey are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ^fthe world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ^gBy this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love

^7hBeloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ⁱloves is born of God and knows God. ⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ^9jIn this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ^kSon into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, ^lnot that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ^mto be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, ⁿif God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

^12oNo one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ^13pBy this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴And ^qwe have seen and testify that ^rthe Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ^15sWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ^the who abides in love abides in God, and God ^uin him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that ^vwe may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ^19wWe love ³Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

^20xIf someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ⁴how can he love God ^ywhom he has not seen? ²¹And ^zthis commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

5Whoever believes that ^aJesus is the Christ is ^bborn of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ^ckeep His commandments. ^3dFor this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And ^eHis commandments are not burdensome. ⁴For ^fwhatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that ^ghas overcome the world—¹our faith. ⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^hhe who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness…