It is what existed from the beginning, that we announce; what we have heard, what we have seen with our own eyes, what we have beheld, and touched with our hands; it is the very message of life??2 for life has been revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it and announce to you that eternal life that was with the Father and has been revealed to us??3 it is what we have seen and heard that we announce to you also, so that you may share our fellowship, for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,

If we say, "We have fellowship with him," and yet live in darkness, we are lying and not living the truth.

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

If we say, "We have not sinned," we are making him a liar, and his message is not in our hearts.

My dear children, I am writing you this so that you may not sin; yet if anyone does sin, we have in Jesus Christ one who is upright and will intercede for us with the Father.

Dear friends, it is no new command that I am writing you, but an old one that you have had from the beginning. That old command is the same as the message you have heard.

I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven for his sake.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have been victorious over the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who has existed from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and God's message is always in your hearts, and you have been victorious over the evil one.

Children, it is the last hour. You have heard that Antichrist is coming, and many Antichrists have indeed appeared. So we may be sure that it is the last hour.

They have gone out from our number, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had, they would have stayed with us. It was to make it clear that none of them really belonged to us that they withdrew.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One. You all know the truth;

No one who disowns the Son can have the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father too.

Keep what you have heard from the beginning in your hearts; then you will always be in union with the Son and the Father.

You still retain in your hearts the anointing with the Spirit that you received from him, and you do not need to have anyone teach you. But just as that anointing of his teaches you about everything, and as it is true and no falsehood, keep in union with him just as it has taught you to do.

Now, dear children, keep in union with him, so that if he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame when he comes.

For the message you have heard from the beginning is this: We must love one another.

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love is still in death.

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer can have eternal life remain in his heart.

But if someone who is rich sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can he have any love for God in his heart?

Dear friends, do not believe every inspired utterance, but test the utterances to see whether they come from God, for many false prophets have come out into the world.

and any inspired utterance that does not acknowledge Jesus does not come from God; it is the inspiration of the Antichrist. You have heard that it was coming, and here it is already in the world.

You are children of God, dear children, and you have been victorious over these men, for he who is in our hearts is greater than he who is in the world.

God's love for us has been revealed in this way??hat God has sent his only Son into the world, to let us have life through him.

We have seen and can testify that the Father has sent the Son to be Savior of the world.

Love attains perfection in us, when we have perfect confidence about the Day of Judgment, because here in this world we are living as he lives.

I have written this so that you who believe in the Son of God may know that you have eternal life.

And we have confidence in him, that if we ask him for anything that is in accordance with his will, he will listen to us.

And if we know that he listens to whatever we ask him for, we know that the requests we have made of him are granted.