Christ Our Advocate

¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ywe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²zHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but aalso for the sins of the whole world. ³And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we bkeep his commandments. ⁴Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments cis a liar, and cthe truth is not in him, ⁵but whoever dkeeps his word, in him truly ethe love of God is perfected. fBy this we may know that we are in him: ⁶whoever says he gabides in him hought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

⁷Beloved, I am writing you ino new commandment, but jan old commandment kthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. ⁸At the same time, it is la new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1 mthe darkness is passing away and nthe true light is already shining. ⁹Whoever says he is in the light and ohates his brother is still in darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him2 there is no pcause for stumbling. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and qwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, little children,

because ryour sins are forgiven for his name's sake.

¹³I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know shim who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because tyou have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children,

because uyou know the Father.

¹⁴I write to you, fathers,

because you know shim who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because tyou are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil 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—xthe desires of the flesh and ythe desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷And zthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

¹⁸Children, ait is the last hour, and as you have heard that bantichrist is coming, so now cmany antichrists have come. dTherefore we know that 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 it might become plain that they all are not of us. ²⁰But you have been hanointed by ithe Holy One, and jyou all have knowledge.4 ²¹I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²²Who is the liar but khe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is bthe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. ²³lNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴Let mwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then nyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵And this is the promise that he made to us5—oeternal life.

²⁶I write these things to you about pthose who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷But qthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ryou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and sis true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in him, so that twhen he appears uwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his vcoming. ²⁹If you know that whe is righteous, you may be sure that xeveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.