Copyright (c) Timothy E. Clontz 1999 All rights reserved.

The First Letter of John

1
  1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life-2 the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us-3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we write this that our joy may be complete.
   5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2
  1 My little children, I write this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He who says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him: 6 he who says he abides in him ought to walk as he walked.
  7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12  I write to you, little children,
    because your sins are forgiven you
      for his name's sake.
13  I write to you, fathers,
    because you have known him
      who is from the beginning.
  I write to you, young men,
    because you have overcome the evil one.
14  I wrote to you, little children,
    because you have known the Father.
  I wrote to you, fathers,
    because you have known him
      who is from the beginning.
  I wrote to you, young men,
    because you are strong,
    and the word of God abides in you,
      and you have overcome the evil one.
  15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
  18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come; by this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that it might be plain that none of them were of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he has promised us-eternal life.
  26 These things I have written to you about those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.
  28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does right is born of him.

3
  1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God! And so we are! The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
  4 Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that he appeared to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him sins. No one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is of God practices sin, for God's seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother.
  11 For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or tongue but in deed and in truth.
  19 By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment: that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Now those who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

4
  1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, of which you have heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world and therefore speak as of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
  7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
  13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we know and believe the love God has for us.
  God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 In this love is perfected among us, that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment, because as he is so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. And he who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

5
  1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
  6 This is he who came by water and blood-Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. 7 And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8 There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God which he has borne witness of his Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given of his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
  13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
  16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
  18 We know that anyone born of God does not sin; but he who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.