1 John 2

¹ My children, I am writing this to prevent you from sinning; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocatewith the Father, Jesus Christ, the upright.

² He is the sacrifice to expiate our sins, and not only ours, but also those of the whole world.

³ In this way we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

⁴ Whoever says, 'I know him' without keeping his commandments, is a liar, and truth has no place in him.

⁵ But anyone who does keep his word, in such a one God's love truly reaches its perfection. This is theproof that we are in God.

⁶ Whoever claims to remain in him must act as he acted.

⁷ My dear friends, this is not a new commandment I am writing for you, but an old commandment that youhave had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message you have heard.

⁸ Yet in another way, I am writing a new commandment for you -- and this is true for you, just as much asfor him -- for darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

⁹ Whoever claims to be in light but hates his brother is still in darkness.

¹⁰ Anyone who loves his brother remains in light and there is in him nothing to make him fall away.

¹¹ But whoever hates his brother is in darkness and is walking about in darkness not knowing where he isgoing, because darkness has blinded him.

¹² I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven through his name.

¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know the One who has existed since thebeginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have overcome the Evil One.

¹⁴ I have written to you, children, because you have come to know the Father. I have written to you,parents, because you have come to know the One who has existed since the beginning. I have written to you,young people, because you are strong, and God's word remains in you, and you have overcome the Evil One.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone does love the world, the love of the Father findsno place in him,

¹⁶ because everything there is in the world -- disordered bodily desires, disordered desires of the eyes,pride in possession -- is not from the Father but is from the world.

¹⁷ And the world, with al its disordered desires, is passing away. But whoever does the will of Godremains for ever.

¹⁸ Children, this is the final hour; you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and now many Antichristshave already come; from this we know that it is the final hour.

¹⁹ They have gone from among us, but they never real y belonged to us; if they had belonged to us, theywould have stayed with us. But this was to prove that not one of them belonged to us.

²⁰ But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and have al received knowledge.

²¹ I have written to you not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you are wel aware of it,and because no lie can come from the truth.

²² Who is the liar, if not one who claims that Jesus is not the Christ? This is the Antichrist, who deniesboth the Father and the Son.

²³ Whoever denies the Son cannot have the Father either; whoever acknowledges the Son has theFather too.

²⁴ Let what you heard in the beginning remain in you; as long as what you heard in the beginningremains in you, you will remain in the Son and in the Father.

²⁵ And the promise he made you himself is eternal life.

²⁶ So much have I written to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

²⁷ But as for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone toteach you; since the anointing he gave you teaches you everything, and since it is true, not false, remain in himjust as he has taught you.

²⁸ Therefore remain in him now, children, so that when he appears we may be fearless, and not shrinkfrom him in shame at his coming.

²⁹ If you know that he is upright you must recognise that everyone whose life is upright is a child of his.