We are writing this to you that our own joy may be complete.

If we say, 'We have fellowship with him,' when we live and move in darkness, then we are lying, we are not practising the truth;

If we say, 'We are not guilty,' we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us;

but whoever obeys his word, in him love to God is really complete. This is how we may be sure we are in him:

My dear children, I am writing to you, because your sins are forgiven for his sake:

fathers, I have written to you, because you know him who is from the very beginning: young men, I have written to you, because you are strong, and the word of God remains within you, and you have conquered the evil One.

They withdrew from us, but they did not belong to us; had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us, but they withdrew to make it plain that they are none of us.

'Born of him!' Think what a love the Father has for us, in letting us be called 'children of God!' That is what we are. The world does not recognize us? That is simply because it did not recognize him.

We are children of God now, beloved; what we are to be is not apparent yet, but we do know that when he appears, we are to be like him ??for we are to see him as he is.

Anyone who is born of God does not commit sin, for the offspring of God remain in Him, and they cannot sin, because they are born of God.

Here is how the children of God and the children of the devil are recognized; anyone who does not practise righteousness does not belong to God, and neither does he who has no love for his brother.

For this is the message you have learned from the very beginning, that we are to love one another:

we are not to be like Cain, who belonged to the evil One and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's just.

Love is complete with us when we have absolute confidence about the day of judgment, since in this world we are living as He lives.

This is how we are sure that we love God's children, by loving God and obeying his commands

(for love to God means keeping his commands). And his commands are not irksome,

The witnesses are three, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three of them are in accord.

All iniquity is sin, but there are sins which are not deadly.

We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us insight to know Him who is the Real God; and we are in Him who is real, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the real God, this is life eternal.