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--

(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 proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship [as partners] with us. And indeed our fellowship [which is a distinguishing mark of born-again believers] is 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 the world can offer. When any one loves the world, there is no love for the Father in him;

For all that makes up the world, namely, the improper desires of the physical body, the improper desires for what is seen, and the [boastful] pride over life's possessions; these are not from the Father, but from the [godless] 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.

As for you let that which ye have heard from the beginning abide in you: if what ye have heard from the beginning abides in you, ye also shall abide in the Son and in the Father.

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

And this is important to you: The "special gift," which you received from God [See verse 20], continues to live in your hearts, [so that] you do not need anyone to teach you [anything different]. But, since this same "special gift" teaches you concerning everything that is true, and [what it teaches] is not false, you should continue to live in [fellowship with] Christ.

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 the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him 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 as Cain was of the wicked one, and slew his brother; and on account of what slew he him? because his works were wicked, and those of his brother righteous.

We know what love is--through Christ's having laid down His life on our behalf; and in the same way we ought to lay down our lives for our brother men.

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 receive from Him whatever we ask because we [carefully and consistently] keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight [habitually seeking to follow His plan for us].

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 from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and 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.

Our love will be manifested in all its perfection by our having complete confidence on the day of the Judgement; because just what He is, we also are in the 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 hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.