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

(the Life has appeared; we saw it, we testify to it, we bring you word of that eternal Life which existed with the Father and was disclosed to us) ??3 it is of what we heard and saw that we bring you word, so that you may share our fellowship; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that ye also may have fellowship with us. Even also our fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

This, then, is the message that we have heard from him, and are announcing to you, that God is light, and no darkness what ever is in him.

And here is how we can be assured that we know Jesus [i.e., that we are saved]: [It is] by obeying what He commands us.

The person who says, "I have come to know Him," but does not obey what He commands, is lying [by such a profession], and the truth [about the matter] is not in his heart.

But the person who obeys what His teaching requires, truly in this person love for God has been made complete. This is [another way] to be sure that we are in [fellowship with] Him:

Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the world, there is no love for the Father in his heart,

for what the world is so full of, sensuality, avarice, and pride, is not deriv'd from the creator, but is the offspring of a vicious world.

And the world, with its [physical and material] desires, is passing away, but the person who does what God wants will continue to live forever.

I have not sent you this letter because you have no knowledge of what is true, but because you have knowledge, and because that which is false has nothing in common with that which is true.

Whoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father; but he who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning abide in you.

Therefore ye, let what ye heard from the beginning abide in you. If what ye heard from the beginning abides in you, ye also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

This is the promise which He Himself promised us—eternal life.

but as the unction which ye have received from him, abides in you, you don't need any instruction: being then fully instructed by his unction, which is true and not fallacious, adhere to what that has taught you.

If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.

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Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and'such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness [ignoring God’s law by action or neglect or by tolerating wrongdoing—being unrestrained by His commands and His will].

Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.

The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy what the Devil has been doing.

This is how God’s children—and the Devil’s children—are made evident.

Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother.

Not just as, Cain, was, of the wicked one, and slew his brother! And, for what cause, slew he him? Because, his works, were, wicked, whereas, those of his brother, were, righteous.

In this we see what love is, because he gave his life for us; and it is right for us to give our lives for the brothers.

Little children [i.e., dear ones], we should not [merely] claim to love [people], or [even just] talk about it, but [we should love] by what we do [for them] in a genuine way.

and we obtain from Him whatever we ask for, because we practice obedience to His commands and do what pleases Him.

Now this is what he commands, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he has commanded us to do;

They are children of the world; this is why they speak what the world inspires, and why the world listens to them.

We are God's children. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not a child of God will not listen to us. In this way we can tell what is inspired by truth from what is inspired by error.

and what heightens his love, was this, that it was not we who first loved God, but it was he that first loved us, and sent his son to expiate our sins.

Here is what a complete love will do for us: It will give us boldness in [facing] the judgment day, because the way Jesus acts [regarding love] is the way we should act [while] in this world.

This is [one] way we know that we love God's [spiritually reborn] children: [It is] when we love God and obey what He commands us to do.

For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,

The person who [sincerely] believes in God's Son has the evidence [of it] within his heart, [confirming God's testimony]. The person who does not believe God [i.e., what He says about Jesus], accuses Him of lying, because he has not accepted the [irrefutable] testimony of God concerning [the identity and mission of] His Son.

Now what is testified, is this, that God has given to us eternal life: and this life is by his son.

And if we know that he is listening to us in what ever we are asking, we know that we obtain the petitions which we have made to him.