What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah.

But, if we live in the light [of righteousness] just like God [constantly] lives in the light [of righteousness], we can truly share a relationship with one another and [can know that] the blood of Jesus, God's Son, continues to cleanse [our spirits] from all of our sins.

If we acknowledge our sins, he is upright and can be depended on to forgive our sins and cleanse us from everything wrong.

My children, I am writing to you to keep you from sinning; but if any one should sin, we have one who can plead for us with the Father--Jesus Christ, the Righteous--

This is how we can be sure that we have come to know him: if we continually keep his commandments.

But whoever obeys His Message, in him love for God has in very deed reached perfection. By this we can know that we are in Him.

Do not love the world or what the world can offer. When any one loves the world, there is no love for the Father in him;

for all that the world can offer--the gratification of the earthly nature, the gratification of the eye, the pretentious life--belongs, not to the Father, but to the world.

They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.

You all know--But I am not writing to you because you do not know the Truth, but because you do know it, and because nothing false can come from the Truth.

No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.

Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, because his seed remains in him; and he can't sin, because he is born of God.

By this we can distinguish God's children and the Devil's children: no one who fails to act righteously is a child of God, nor he who does not love his brother man.

for this is the injunction which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another: not as Cain who was of the evil one, and slew his brother;

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

[For] we [can] know that we have passed out of [the realm of spiritual] death and into [spiritual] life, because we [show] love for the brothers [and sisters]. The person who does not love [them] continues to be [spiritually] dead.

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

Here is how we can know what genuine love really is: It was [demonstrated by] Jesus laying down His life [on the cross] for us. And [because of that] we [too] should [be willing to] lay down our lives for [the sake of helping] our brothers [and sisters].

But whoever has the world’s goods (adequate resources), and sees his brother in need, but has no compassion for him, how does the love of God live in him?

By this we will know [without any doubt] that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart and quiet our conscience before Him

Loved ones, if our hearts do not condemn us [i.e., because we are showing love by helping the needy], we can have boldness before God [in prayer for our own needs];

and can receive whatever we ask from Him because we keep His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight.

The man who obeys His commands continues in union with God, and God continues in union with him; and through His Spirit whom He has given us we can know that He continues in union with us.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

This is how you can recognize God's Spirit: Every spirit who acknowledges that Jesus the Messiah has become human and remains so is from God.

and no spiritual utterance which disowns Jesus can come from God; it is the utterance of Antichrist. You have heard that it is coming, and right now it is already in the world.

The man who is beginning to know God listens to us, but he who is not a child of God does not listen to us. By this test we can distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

We can know that we are continuing in union with Him and that He is continuing in union with us, by the fact that He has given us a portion of His Spirit.

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

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

This is how we can be sure that we love the children of God: it is by loving God and obeying his commands.

For whoever [Note: The Greek says "whatever"] is [spiritually] conceived [and eventually born] by God will overcome [the evil influence of] the world. And this is [how] that victory can be gained over the world: [It is through] our faith [in God].

And who is the person who can overcome [the evil influence of] the world? [It is] the one who [truly] believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

I have written these things to you people, who believe in the name [i.e., in the person and work] of the Son of God, so that you can have assurance that you have [the hope of] never ending life. [See Titus 1:2; 3:7; Mark 10:30].

And this is [how we can express] boldness in our relationship with God: Whatever we ask [of God, in prayer], so long as it is in harmony with His will for us, [we know] He hears our request.

And if we know that he listens to our requests, we can be sure that we have what we ask him for.

And [in addition], we know that the Son of God has come [in a physical body, See 4:2] and has given us understanding, so that we can know the True One [i.e., God], and that we are in [fellowship with] the True One, even His Son Jesus Christ. This Son is the true God and eternal life.