What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched, concerning the word of life--

And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light and there [is] no darkness in him at all.

But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us [our] sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the message which you have heard.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known the [One who is] from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.

I have written to you, children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known the [One who is] from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

because everything [that is] in the world--the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance of material possessions--is not from the Father, but is from the world.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But [they went out], in order that it might be shown that all of them are not of us.

And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

[As for] you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

And [as for] you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you do not have need that anyone teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all [things], and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you reside in him.

The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this [reason] the Son of God was revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil.

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another,

We know that we have passed over from death to life because we love the brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do [what is] pleasing {in his sight}.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one [who is] in you is greater than the one [who is] in the world.

They are from the world; {therefore} they speak from the world and the world listens to them.

We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.

And this [is] the commandment we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

And if we know that he hears us [in] whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.