1 John

John’s First Letter

1

The Immortal Love

1 It is of what has been in existence from the beginning, of what we have heard, of what we have seen with our eyes, of what we watched reverently and touched with our hands — it is about the Word who is the life that we are now writing. 2 That life was made visible, and we have seen it, and now bear our testimony to it, and tell you of that eternal life, which was with the Father and was made visible to us. 3 It is of what we have seen and heard that we now tell you, so that you may have communion with us. And our communion is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing all this to you that our joy may be complete. 5 These, then, are the tidings that we have heard from him and now tell you — ‘God is light, and darkness has no place at all in him.’ 6 If we say that we have communion with him, and yet continue to live in the darkness, we lie, and are not living the truth. 7 But, if our lives are lived in the light, as God himself is in the light, we have communion with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we say that there is no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth has no place in us. 9 If we confess our sins, God may be trusted, in his righteousness, to forgive us our sins and purify us from all wickedness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we are making God a liar, and his message has no place in us.