for the sake of the truth which is continually in our hearts and will be with us for ever.

It is an intense joy to me to have found some of your children living true Christian lives, in obedience to the command which we have received from the Father.

And now, dear lady, I pray you--writing to you, as I do, not a new command, but the one which we have had from the very beginning--let us love one another.

The love of which I am speaking consists in our living in obedience to God's commands. God's command is that you should live in obedience to what you all heard from the very beginning.