1 John 2

1My children, I write these things to you because I do not want you to sin. But if any of you does sin, you can be sure that we have Someone with the Father who asks God to forgive us, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the One who did not sin.

2Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. Jesus did not take away only our sins. But Jesus also took away the sins of all the people in the world.

3If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we know him.

4Whoever says, I know God, but does not obey God's commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

5But whoever obeys God's word truly has God's love made complete in them. This is how we know we are living in him.

6Whoever claims to belong to God must live the way Jesus lived.

7Dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command that you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching that you have already heard.

8But there is something new about this law. You can see this truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

9Whoever claims to live in the light of God, but hates a brother or sister, is still living in the dark.

10Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in that person that will make them do wrong.

11But whoever hates a brother or sister is in the dark and walks around in the dark. That person does not know where they are going, because the darkness has made them blind.

12I write to you, dear children, because your sins are forgiven through Christ.

13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know the One who has existed from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have overcome the evil one. I am writing to you, children, because you have come to know the Father.

14I have written to you, fathers, because you know the One who has existed from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, because you are strong, the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15You must not love this sinful world or the things that are in this world. If you love this sinful world, then you do not love the Father.

16This is all there is in the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. But none of these comes from the Father. They come from the world.

17The world is passing away, and all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But whoever does what God wants will live forever.

18My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the antichrist is coming. And now many antichrists are already here. So, we know that the end is near.

19These enemies were in our group, but they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.

20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

21I write this letter to you, not because you don't know the truth, but because you know the truth and you know that something that is true now cannot later become a lie.

22So who is the liar? It is the one who says Jesus is not the Messiah. This person is the antichrist; this is the person who does not believe in the Father or in his Son.

23Whoever does not believe in the Son does not have the Father, but whoever accepts the Son has the Father too.

24As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father.

25And this is what Jesus has promised us: eternal life.

26I am writing this letter about those who are trying to lead you into the wrong way.

27Remember that Jesus has anointed you with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is in you. That is why you do not need other people to teach you. Jesus has anointed you with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit teaches you everything that you must know. The Holy Spirit speaks the truth, and the Holy Spirit does not lie. The Holy Spirit teaches you to live with Jesus and you must do that.

28Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes again. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes.

29You know that Christ always did what was right. So you know that all those who do what is right are God's children.