Introduction, The Incarnate Word

1 What was ^(A)from the beginning, what we have ^(B)heard, what we have ^(C)seen with our eyes, what we ^(D)have looked at and ^(E)touched with our hands, concerning the ^(F)Word of Life— ² and ^(G)the life was manifested, and we have ^(H)seen and ^(I)testify and proclaim to you ^(J)the eternal life, which was ^(K)with the Father and was ^(L)manifested to us— ³ what we have ^(M)seen and ^(N)heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^(O)fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ^4 (P)These things we write, so that our ^(Q)joy may be made complete.

God Is Light

^5 (R)This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that ^(S)God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ^6 (T)If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^(U)lie and ^(V)do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we ^(W)walk in the Light as ^(X)He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(Y)the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^8 (Z)If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the ^(AA)truth is not in us. ^9 (AB)If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and ^(AC)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^10 (AD)If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(AE)make Him a liar and ^(AF)His word is not in us.

Christ Is Our Advocate

2 ^(A)My little children, I am ^(B)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(C)we have an ^[a](D)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is ^(E)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also ^(F)for those of the whole world.

^3 (G)By this we know that we have come to ^(H)know Him, if we ^(I)keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “^(J)I have come to ^(K)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(L)liar, and ^(M)the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever ^(N)keeps His word, in him the ^(O)love of God has truly been perfected. ^(P)By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says he ^(Q)abides in Him ^(R)ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

^7 (S)Beloved, I am ^(T)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(U)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ^8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing ^(V)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^(W)the darkness is passing away and ^(X)the true Light is already shining. ⁹ The one who says he is in the Light and yet ^(Y)hates his ^(Z)brother is in the darkness until now. ^10 (AA)The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹ But the one who ^(AB)hates his brother is in the darkness and ^(AC)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has ^(AD)blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, ^(AE)little children, because ^(AF)your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AG)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^(AH)you have overcome ^(AI)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because ^(AJ)you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AK)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^(AL)strong, and the ^(AM)word of God abides in you, and ^(AN)you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love ^(AO)the world nor the things in the world. ^(AP)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, ^(AQ)the lust of the flesh and ^(AR)the lust of the eyes and ^(AS)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ^17 (AT)The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who ^(AU)does the will of God lives forever.

¹⁸ Children, ^(AV)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^(AW)antichrist is coming, ^(AX)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (AY)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^(AZ)so that ^[d]it would be shown that they all are not of us. ^20 [e]But you have an ^(BA)anointing from ^(BB)the Holy One, and ^(BC)you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^(BD)because you do know it, and ^[f]because no lie is ^(BE)of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but ^(BF)the one who denies that Jesus is the ^[g]Christ? This is ^(BG)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (BH)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, let that abide in you which you heard ^(BI)from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also ^(BJ)will abide in the Son and in the Father.

The Promise Is Eternal Life

^25 (BK)This is the promise which He Himself ^[h]made to us: eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to ^(BL)deceive you. ²⁷ As for you, the ^(BM)anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing ^(BN)teaches you about all things, and is ^(BO)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, ^[i]you abide in Him.

²⁸ Now, ^(BP)little children, abide in Him, so that when He ^(BQ)appears, we may have ^(BR)confidence and ^(BS)not ^[j]shrink away from Him in shame ^[k]at His ^(BT)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(BU)He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness ^(BV)is ^[l]born of Him.

Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[a](A)how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called ^(B)children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because ^(C)it did not know Him. ^2 (D)Beloved, now we are ^(E)children of God, and ^(F)it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He ^(G)appears, we will be ^(H)like Him, because we will ^(I)see Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this ^(J)hope fixed on Him ^(K)purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^(L)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He ^(M)appeared in order to ^(N)take away sins; and ^(O)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in Him ^(P)sins; no one who sins has seen Him or ^[b](Q)knows Him. ^7 (R)Little children, make sure no one ^(S)deceives you; ^(T)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is ^(U)of the devil; for the devil ^[c]has sinned from the beginning. ^(V)The Son of God ^(W)appeared for this purpose, ^(X)to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who is ^[d](Y)born of God ^(Z)practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is ^[e]born of God. ¹⁰ By this the ^(AA)children of God and the ^(AB)children of the devil are obvious: ^[f]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who ^(AC)does not love his ^(AD)brother.

^11 (AE)For this is the message ^(AF)which you have heard from the beginning, ^(AG)that we should love one another; ¹² not as ^(AH)Cain, who was of ^(AI)the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because ^(AJ)his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

¹³ Do not be surprised, brethren, if ^(AK)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have ^(AL)passed out of death into life, ^(AM)because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who ^(AN)hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that ^(AO)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that ^(AP)He laid down His life for us; and ^(AQ)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(AR)brethren. ¹⁷ But ^(AS)whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and ^(AT)closes his ^[g]heart ^[h]against him, ^(AU)how does the love of God abide in him? ^18 (AV)Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and ^(AW)truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are ^(AX)of the truth, and will ^[i]assure our heart before Him ^20 [j]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. ^21 (AY)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have ^(AZ)confidence ^[k]before God; ²² and ^(BA)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we ^(BB)keep His commandments and do ^(BC)the things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³ This is His commandment, that we ^[l](BD)believe in ^(BE)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as ^(BF)He ^[m]commanded us. ²⁴ The one who ^(BG)keeps His commandments ^(BH)abides in Him, and He in him. ^(BI)We know by this that ^(BJ)He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³ and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. ⁴ You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. ^5 (N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ^6 (O)We are from God; ^(P)he who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

^7 (T)Beloved, let us ^(U)love one another, for love is from God; and ^(V)everyone who loves is ^[a](W)born of God and ^(X)knows God. ⁸ The one who does not love does not know God, for ^(Y)God is love. ⁹ By this the love of God was manifested ^[b](Z)in us, that ^(AA)God has sent His ^[c]only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(AB)not that we loved God, but that ^(AC)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(AD)the propitiation for our sins. ^11 (AE)Beloved, if God so loved us, ^(AF)we also ought to love one another. ^12 (AG)No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His ^(AH)love is perfected in us. ^13 (AI)By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and ^(AJ)testify that the Father has ^(AK)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (AL)Whoever confesses that ^(AM)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(AN)abides in him, and he in God. ^16 (AO)We have come to know and have believed the love which God has ^[d](AP)for us. ^(AQ)God is love, and the one who ^(AR)abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, ^(AS)love is perfected with us, so that we may have ^(AT)confidence in ^(AU)the day of judgment; because ^(AV)as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but ^(AW)perfect love casts out fear, because fear ^[e]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not ^(AX)perfected in love. ^19 (AY)We love, because He first loved us. ^20 (AZ)If someone says, “I love God,” and ^(BA)hates his brother, he is a ^(BB)liar; for ^(BC)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^(BD)cannot love God whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(BE)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(BF)should love his brother also.

Overcoming the World

5 ^(A)Whoever believes that Jesus is the ^[a]Christ is ^[b](B)born of God, and whoever loves the ^[c]Father ^(C)loves the child ^[d]born of Him. ^2 (D)By this we know that ^(E)we love the children of God, when we love God and ^[e]observe His commandments. ³ For ^(F)this is the love of God, that we ^(G)keep His commandments; and ^(H)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is ^[f](I)born of God ^(J)overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who ^(K)believes that Jesus is the Son of God? ⁶ This is the One who came ^(L)by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not ^[g]with the water only, but ^[h]with the water and ^[i]with the blood. It is ^(M)the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are ^(N)three that testify: ^8 [j]the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are ^[k]in agreement. ^9 (O)If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that ^(P)He has testified concerning His Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God ^(Q)has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has ^(R)made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. ¹¹ And the testimony is this, that God has given us ^(S)eternal life, and ^(T)this life is in His Son. ^12 (U)He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This Is Written That You May Know

^13 (V)These things I have written to you who ^(W)believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have ^(X)eternal life. ¹⁴ This is ^(Y)the confidence which we have ^[l]before Him, that, ^(Z)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, ^(AA)we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother ^[m]committing a sin not leading to death, ^(AB)he shall ask and ^[n]God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(AC)There is a sin leading to death; ^(AD)I do not say that he should make request for this. ^17 (AE)All unrighteousness is sin, and ^(AF)there is a sin not leading to death.

^18 (AG)We know that ^(AH)no one who is ^[o]born of God sins; but He who was ^[p]born of God ^(AI)keeps him, and ^(AJ)the evil one does not ^(AK)touch him. ^19 (AL)We know that ^(AM)we are of God, and that ^(AN)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And ^(AO)we know that ^(AP)the Son of God has come, and has ^(AQ)given us understanding so that we may know ^(AR)Him who is true; and we ^(AS)are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(AT)This is the true God and ^(AU)eternal life.

^21 (AV)Little children, guard yourselves from ^(AW)idols.

Walk According to His Commandments

^1 (A)The elder to the ^(B)chosen ^(C)lady and her children, whom I ^(D)love in truth; and not only I, but also all who ^(E)know the truth, ² for ^(F)the sake of the truth which abides ^(G)in us and will be ^(H)with us forever: ^3 (I)Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

^4 (J)I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. ⁵ Now I ask you, lady, ^(K)not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had ^(L)from the beginning, that we ^(M)love one another. ⁶ And ^(N)this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, ^(O)just as you have heard ^(P)from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

⁷ For ^(Q)many deceivers have ^(R)gone out into the world, those who ^(S)do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is ^(T)the deceiver and the ^(U)antichrist. ^8 (V)Watch yourselves, ^(W)that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. ^9 [a]Anyone who ^[b]goes too far and ^(X)does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, ^(Y)do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; ¹¹ for the one who gives him a greeting ^(Z)participates in his evil deeds.

^12 (AA)Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that ^[c]your ^(AB)joy may be made full.

¹³ The children of your ^(AC)chosen sister greet you.

You Walk in the Truth

^1 (A)The elder to the beloved ^(B)Gaius, whom I ^(C)love in truth.

² Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. ³ For I ^(D)was very glad when ^(E)brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you ^(F)are walking in truth. ⁴ I have no greater joy than ^[a]this, to hear of ^(G)my children ^(H)walking in the truth.

⁵ Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the ^(I)brethren, and ^[b]especially when they are ^(J)strangers; ⁶ and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to ^(K)send them on their way in a manner ^(L)worthy of God. ⁷ For they went out for the sake of ^(M)the Name, ^(N)accepting nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ Therefore we ought to ^[c]support such men, so that we may ^[d]be fellow workers ^[e]with the truth.

⁹ I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ^(O)be first among them, does not accept ^[f]what we say. ¹⁰ For this reason, ^(P)if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not ^(Q)receive the ^(R)brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and ^(S)puts them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, ^(T)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^(U)The one who does good is of God; ^(V)the one who does evil has not seen God. ¹² Demetrius ^(W)has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our testimony, and ^(X)you know that our testimony is true.

^13 (Y)I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; ¹⁴ but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.

^15 (Z)Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends ^(AA)by name.