Now, may there be honor and majesty and power to God, who is able to guard you people from stumbling [and falling away from Him, See Gal. 5:4], and [who is able] to place you before His glorious presence without any [moral] blemish, but with great joy.

The person who knows [what] my commandments [are] and obeys them is the one who [truly] loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.

"Just as the Father has loved me, [so] I have also loved you. You should continue to receive [or, respond to] my love. [Note: The next verse tells how this can be done].

When he got there and saw how God was favoring the people [with salvation] he was very happy and [stayed on and] encouraged everyone to remain close to the Lord with a heartfelt purpose.

And we have known [with certainty] and have believed [with assurance] that God has truly loved us. God's [very nature] is love and the person who [continually] loves [Him and others] lives in [fellowship with] God [continually], and God [continually] lives in that person's heart.

We know that every person who has been [spiritually] conceived [by God and eventually born] does not continue in [a life of] sin, but God's one and only conceived [Son] keeps him [from continuing to sin], and the evil one [i.e., Satan] does not continue to touch him [i.e., continue to control his life].

And they [i.e., the brothers. See 6:9-11] gained the victory over Satan by the blood of the Lamb, and by [remaining true to] the message of their testimony. And they did not love their lives [so much that they refused] to die [for their faith].

The mercy

For the law was given through Moses; [but] God's favor and truth came through Jesus Christ.

[It is being sent] to Timothy, my true son in the faith [i.e., in the realm of Christianity, not in a physical sense]. May you have unearned favor, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

[It is being sent] to Timothy, my dearly loved son. May you have unearned favor, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Unto

This was so that just as sin ruled [over mankind], causing [physical] death, even so God's unearned favor would rule [over mankind], providing [them with] righteousness, and leading to never ending life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For the wages for sinning is [spiritual] death, but God's free gift is never ending life in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus our Lord.

The person who [sincerely] believes in God's Son has the evidence [of it] within his heart, [confirming God's testimony]. The person who does not believe God [i.e., what He says about Jesus], accuses Him of lying, because he has not accepted the [irrefutable] testimony of God concerning [the identity and mission of] His Son.

General references

And this is the promise which Christ [or, "God"] has given to us: [It is] never ending life. [Note: This passage may mean that God promised us "the Eternal Life," that is, Christ, See John 3:16].