This is what we proclaim to you: 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 that was with the Father and was revealed to us).

What we have seen and heard we announce to you too, so that you may have fellowship with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ).

Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.

But if we walk in the light as he himself 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 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 so that you may not sin.) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One,

Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments.

The one who says "I have come to know God" and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a 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 word that you have already heard.

I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one.

I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, that 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 heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour.

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.

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

I have not written to you that you do not know the truth, but that you do know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person 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 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 about those who are trying to deceive you.

Now as for you, the anointing that you received from him resides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you reside in him.

And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back.

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

We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death.

We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians.

Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of 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.

but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now 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 atoning sacrifice 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 to believe 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 Jesus is, so also are we in this world.

And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too.

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

I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

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

And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.