1 John 2
2
Jesus Is Our Helper
1My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father. 2Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.
3If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. 4If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. 5But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God: 6Whoever says that God lives in him must live as Jesus lived.
The Command to Love Others
7My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. 8But I am writing a new command to you. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9Someone says, “I am in the light.”# This word is used to show what God is like. It means goodness or truth. But if he hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause him to do wrong. 11But whoever hates his brother is in darkness. He lives in darkness and does not know where he is going. The darkness has made him blind.
12I write to you, dear children,
because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
13I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have defeated the Evil One.
14I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know the One who existed from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong;
the word of God lives in you,
and you have defeated the Evil One.
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world. 17The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.
Reject the Enemies of Christ
18My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near. 19Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20You have the gift# This might mean the Holy Spirit. Or it might mean teaching or truth as in verse 24. that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.# Some Greek copies read “So you know all things.” 21Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son. 23If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.
24Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.
26I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way. 27Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.
28Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes. 29You know that Christ is righteous. So you know that all who do what is right are God’s children.
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1 John 2: ICB
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