1â2 2 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for goodânot only ours, but the whole worldâs.
The Only Way to Know Weâre in Him
2â3 Hereâs how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.
4â6 If someone claims, âI know him well!â but doesnât keep his commandments, heâs obviously a liar. His life doesnât match his words. But the one who keeps Godâs word is the person in whom we see Godâs mature love. This is the only way to be sure weâre in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
7â8 My dear friends, Iâm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and youâve known it from day one. Itâs always been implicit in the Message youâve heard. On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and youâthe darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!
9â11 Anyone who claims to live in Godâs light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. Itâs the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in Godâs light and doesnât block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesnât know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.
12â13 I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesusâ name. You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One.
13â14 And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomersâsuch vitality and strength! Godâs word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.
15â17 Donât love the worldâs ways. Donât love the worldâs goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the worldâwanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear importantâhas nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way outâbut whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
Antichrists Everywhere You Look
18 Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, theyâre all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. Thatâs how we know that weâre close to the end.
19 They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.
20â21 But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it. I havenât been writing this to tell you something you donât know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesnât breed lies.
22â23 So who is lying here? Itâs the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, thatâs who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son. No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
24â25 Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
26â27 Iâve written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But theyâre no match for what is embedded deeply within youâChristâs anointing, no less! You donât need any of their so-called teaching. Christâs anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
28 And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then weâll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
29 Once youâre convinced that he is right and righteous, youâll recognize that all who practice righteousness are Godâs true children.