| …. My dear children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if any of you do sin, we have an advocate before our Father, Jesus Christ, who is the righteous One. He himself is the propitiation1 for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the whole world. | 1-2 |
| …. We know that we have come to know him by keeping his commandments. The person who claims “I know him,” yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in them. But whoever keeps their word, the love of God is made truly complete. This is how we know that we are in him: The person who says that he abides in him should walk just as Jesus himself walked. | 3-6 |
| ….Beloved, I am not writing you a new commandment, but the old commandment which you have had from the beginning. It is the same message that you have already heard. On the other hand, I am writing you a new commandment. This new commandment is true, both in Christ and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. The person who claims that he is in the light, yet also hates his brother, is actually in darkness- even at this very moment. The person who loves his brothers and sisters abides in the light, and does not cause them to stumble. But the person who hates his brother is in darkness. That person walks in darkness, not knowing where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. | 7-11 |
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I am writing to you, dear children, ….because2 your sins have been forgiven for the sake of Christ’s name. I am writing to you, fathers, ….because you have known the One who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, ….because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, dear children, ….because you have known the heavenly Father. I have written to you, fathers, ….because you have known the One who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, ….because you are strong, because the word of God abides in you, ….and because you have conquered the evil one. |
12-14 |
| ….Do not love the world, nor the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, then they do not love the Father, because everything that belongs to the world- the lust of the flesh and eyes, and the pride of having worldly possessions- are not from the Father but from the world. This world, along with its desires, is passing away, but the person who does the will of God will live forever. | 15-17 |
| ….Children, it is the last hour, and just as you heard that antichrist is coming. Even so, many antichrists have already appeared- this is how we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong with us; for if they belonged with us they would have remained with us. The went out from us so that it might be revealed that they did not belong to us. You, however, have an anointing from the holy one, and know the truth. I am not writing to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it. And you know that no lie is from the truth. Who is a liar? Is it not the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? The person who denies the Father and the Son is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either, but the person who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If you let it remain in you, you also will remain in both the son and the father. This is the promise which he gave to us: eternal life. | 18-25 |
| ….I write these things to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. And the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you have don’t need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing is teaching you about all things -and as long as the anointing is true and not a lie- just as it has taught you, remain in him. | 26-27 |
| ….And now, dear children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed, we may have confidence and be unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. | 28-29 |
| Resources Used: |
| BDAG A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament by Max Zerwick NET Bible notes |
1The word translated “propitiation” here carries a two-fold meaning. The first is that God’s wrath for sin has been satisfied through the death of Christ. The second is that those sins have also been removed. This is prefigured in the Old Testament sacrificial system, where one goat was slaughtered on the altar, and a second goat had the sins of the people symbolically placed on him, and then was removed from the camp.
2The word translated “because” here can also be translated “that,” which would then be showing the content of what John wrote instead of the purpose for writing.
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