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 the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us--

what we have seen and heard, we announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship [is] with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

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.

If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

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 say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these [things] to you in order that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous [one],

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

The one who says "I have come to know him," and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in this person.

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, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you on account of his name.

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.

Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, by which we know that it is the last hour.

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.

I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because every lie is not of the truth.

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father [either]; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

[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.

These [things] I have written to you concerning the ones who are trying to deceive you.

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.

And now, little children, remain in him, so that whenever he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

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.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life residing in him.

We have come to know love by this: that {he} laid down his life on behalf of us, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers.

Dear friends, if our heart does not condemn [us], we have confidence before God,

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.

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.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son [to be the] propitiation for our sins.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [to be the] Savior of the world.

And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him.

By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as that one is, [so] also are we in this world.

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

The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

These [things] I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

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.