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.

If we say, "We are without any sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and there is no truth in our hearts.

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.

Whoever loves his brother is always in the light and puts no hindrance in anyone's way.

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.

and the world with its cravings is passing away, but whoever does God's will will endure forever.

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.

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.

Think what love the Father has had for us, in letting us be called God's children, for that is what we are. This is why the world does not know what we are??ecause it has never come to know him.

Dear friends, we are God's children now; it has not yet been disclosed what we are to be. We know that if he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Whoever commits sin is a child of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. This is why the Son of God appeared??o undo the devil's work.

No one who is a child of God commits sin, for God's nature remains in his heart, and he cannot sin, because he is a child of God.

We must not be like Cain who was a child of the evil one, and butchered his brother. And why did he butcher him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's upright.

We know what love means from the fact that he laid down his life for us; so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

From that we can be sure that we are on the side of the truth, and satisfy our consciences in God's sight,

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.

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.

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.

Dear friends, if God has loved us so, we ought to love one another.

So we know and believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever continues to love keeps in union with God, and God with him.

If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is stronger still; for the value of God's testimony lies in this, that he has testified to his Son.

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

If anyone sees his brother committing any sin except a deadly one, he will ask and obtain life for him??rovided the sin is not a deadly one. There is such a thing as deadly sin; I do not say that a man should pray about that.

We know that no child of God commits sin, but the fact that he is God's child protects him, and the evil one cannot touch him.