1 John 2
1 My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
My children, I am writing to you to keep you from sinning. 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 whole world.
He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world.
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.
It is by keeping God’s commands that we can be sure we know him.
4 One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.
Whoever says “I know him,” but does not keep his commands, is a liar. The truth has no place in them.
5 But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him:
But the person who keeps God’s word, in them the love of God has indeed reached its perfection. This is how we can be sure we are in him:
6 he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
whoever claims to live in him should live just as Jesus did.
7 Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
Dear friends, it is no new command that I am writing to you, but an old command, which you have had from the beginning. That old command is the message you have already heard.
8 Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines.
Yet, in a way, it is a new command that I am writing to you – which is shown true in Christ’s life and in yours – for 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 even until now.
The person who says that they are in the light, and yet hates others, is still in the darkness.
10 He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
The person who loves others is always in the light, and there is nothing within them to cause them to stumble.
11 But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
The person who hates is in the dark. They stumble along in the darkness; they do not know where they are going because the darkness blinds them.
12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
Little children, I am writing to you because your sins have been forgiven for Christ’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
Parents, I am writing to you because you have come to know him who has been from the beginning. Young people, I am writing to you because you have conquered the evil one. Children, I write to you because you have come to know the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Parents, I write to you because you have learned to know him who has been from the beginning. Young people, I write to you because you are strong, and God’s message is always in your hearts, and you have conquered the evil one.
15 Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.
Do not love the world or what the world can offer. When anyone loves the world, there is no love for the Father in them.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
For all that the world can offer – the desires for physical pleasure, the enticements to the eye, the arrogance of wealth – belongs, not to the Father, but to the world.
17 The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever. (aiōn g165)
And the world, and all that it gratifies, is passing away, but they who do God’s will remain for ever. (aiōn g165)
18 Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
My children, it is the last hour. You were told that an antichrist was coming; and many antichrists have already arisen. This is why we know that this is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
These people come from our ranks, but they were never truly part of us – if they had been then they would have stayed with us. They left so it would be clear that none of them really belonged to us.
20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
You, however, have been annointed by the Holy One. You all know the truth.
21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
I am not writing to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie can come from 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.
Who is a liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? That person is the antichrist – one who rejects the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
No one who rejects the Son has the Father; to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father also.
24 Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
As for you, you must let what you have heard from the beginning continue to live in you. If what you heard from the beginning dwells in you, you will remain both in the Son and the Father.
And this is what he himself promised us – eternal life! (aiōnios g166)
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.
In writing this to you, I have in mind those who are trying to mislead you.
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains with you. You do not need anyone to teach you. His anointing teaches you about everything. What it teaches you is true, it is not a lie. Do what it has taught you: abide in him.
28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Yes, my children, remain in him, so that when he appears our confidence doesn’t fail us, and we are not ashamed to meet him at his coming.
29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Since you know he is righteous, you realize that everyone who does what is right is his child.
