The First Letter of

John
by
Josh James
© 2011, Josh James. All Rights Reserved.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard about, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have watched and our hands have touched;
about the message of life:
That life was revealed, and we have seen and testify of it. So we
announce to you that eternal life that was with the Father and was
revealed to us. We announce to you what we have seen and heard,
so that you might have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is also
with the Father and with his Son, Jesus the Messiah. We are writing
this ourselves, so that our joy might be complete.
This is the message that we have heard from him—which we are
proclaiming to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at
all. If we claim to have fellowship with him but live in darkness, we
are lying and not practicing the truth. However, if we live in the light
(like he is in the light), we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. If we claim that we do
not have sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and fair, so as to forgive us of those sins
and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. If we claim that we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not
sin. Even if someone sins, we have a representative with the Father:
Jesus the Messiah, who is fair! He is the atonement for our sins—and
not only for ours, but also for the whole world’s sins.
By this we know that we have come to know him: We keep his
commands. Whoever claims “I know him,” but does not keep his
commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. On the other hand,
the word of God has truly been made complete in anyone keeps his
word, and by this we know that we are in him. Whoever claims to
remain in him needs to live just like he did.
Dear loved ones, I am not writing you a new command—on the
contrary, I am writing an old command that you have had since the
beginning (the old command is the word that you have heard). Then
again, I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in
you: the darkness is passing away, and the true light is shining
already.
Whoever claims to be in the light but hates his brother is in the
darkness to this day. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light,
and there is no fault in him. On the other hand, whoever hates his
brother is in darkness—he lives in darkness and does not know where
he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been
forgiven because of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because
you have come to know the one who is from the beginning. I am
writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.
I have written to you, young children, because you have come to
know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have
come to know the one who is from the beginning. I have written to
you, young men, because you are strong, God’s word remains in you,
and you have conquered the evil one.
Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the Father’s love is not in him. You see, everything that is
in the world (the desires of the body, the desires of the eyes, and pride
in one’s possessions) is not from the Father. On the contrary, it is
from the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away (as well as
its desires), but the one who does God’s will remains forever.
Young children, it is the final hour, and just like you heard that
an adversary of the Messiah is coming, even now, many adversaries
to the Messiah have come. Therefore, we know that it is the final
hour. They went out from among us, but they were not from us.
You see, if they were from us, they would have remained with us.
However, they went out so that they might be exposed, because not
everyone is from us. You have an anointing from the Holy One, and
you all know it. I have not written to you because you have not
known the truth, but rather because you have known the truth and
that every lie does not from the truth.
Who is a liar, if it is not the one who denies Jesus (i.e. “He is not
the Messiah”)? This person is the adversary to the Messiah; he
denies both the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son
does not have the Father, either. Whoever confesses the Son also has
the Father. As for you, what you have heard from the beginning
must remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains
in you, then you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. This
is the promise that he himself promised to us: eternal life!
I have written this to you in reference to those who would
deceive you. As for you, the anointing that you have received from
him remains on you, and you do not have a need for anyone to teach
you. On the contrary, just as his anointing teaches you about
everything (and it is true—it is not a lie), and just as it has taught you,
remain in him!
Even now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears
we might have confidence, and not be ashamed of him when he
comes. Since you know that he is righteous, you also know that
everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
Look at the type of love that the Father has given us, that we
might be called God’s children (and we are!). Because of this, the
world does not know us, because it did not know him. Dear loved
ones, we are now God’s children, and it has not yet been revealed
what we will be like. We know that when he appears, we will be like
him, because we will see him as he really is. Everyone who has this
hope in the Messiah purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Everyone who practices sin also practices wickedness; also, sin is
wickedness. You know that he was revealed so that he might take
away sin and that there is no sin in him. Everyone who remains in
him does not sin. No one who sins has seen him or come to know
him. Little children, do not let anyone deceive you! Whoever does
what is right is righteous, just like he is righteous. Whoever practices
sin belongs to the Devil, because he has sinned since the beginning.
Because of this, the Son of God was revealed, so that he might
destroy the Devil’s actions. No one who has been born of God sins,
because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin, because he has
been born of God. By this it is clear who the children of God and the
children of the Devil are: everyone who does not do what is right
does not belong to God (including the one who does not love his
brother).
You see, this is the message that we have heard since the
beginning: that we might love one another. We must not be like
Cain, who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why
did he slaughter him? His actions were evil, and his brother’s were
right. Do not be amazed, brothers, if the world hates you. We know
that we have gone from “Death” to “Life,” because we love the
brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who
hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has
eternal life remaining in him. By this we know love: because he laid
down his life for us. We also ought to lay down our lives for the
brothers. However, if anyone who has worldly possessions sees his
brother in need, and shuts out his compassion for him, how could
God’s love remain in him? Little children, may we not love only in
word or speech, but also in action and truth!
By this we will know that we belong to the truth and convince
our hearts in his presence. You see, if our hearts condemn us, God is
greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear loved ones, if
our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God’s
presence, and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep
his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight. This is his
command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus the Messiah,
and that we love one another in the way that he commanded us.
Whoever keeps his commands remains in him, and God remains in
him. By this we know that we remain in him: by the Spirit whom he
has given us.
Dear loved ones, do not believe every spirit. Rather, test the
spirits to see whether they are from God. You see, many false
prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know God’s
Spirit: every spirit who confesses that Jesus the Messiah has come in
the flesh is from God. Every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not
from God—this is the spirit of the Messiah’s adversary, who you
have heard is coming (even now he is already in the world).
However, you belong to God, little children. You have conquered
them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. They belong to the world. Because of this, they speak out
from the world, and the world hears them. We belong to God.
Whoever knows God hears us. Whoever does not belong to God
does not hear us. From this we know the true Spirit and the
deceptive spirit.
Dear loved ones, let us love one another, because love is from
God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Everyone who does not love does not know God, because God is
love. By this God’s love was revealed in us: God sent his uniquely-
born Son into the world so that we might live through him. This is
love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to
be the atonement for our sins. Dear loved ones, if this is how God
loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God,
but if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is made
complete in us.
By this we know that we remain in him and he remains in us:
because of his Spirit whom he has given to us. We have seen this,
and we testify that the Father sent his Son to be the world’s Savior.
God remains in anyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son, and
he remains in God. We ourselves have come to know and believe the
love that God has in us.
God is love, and whoever remains in that love also remains in
God, and God remains in him. By this, his love is made complete
with us, so that we might have confidence on Judgment Day, because
we are just like him in this world. There is no fear in love. On the
contrary, perfect love throws fear out, because fear involves torture.
Whoever is afraid has not been made complete in love. We love
because he loved us first. If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his
brother, he is a liar. You see, whoever does not love his brother
(whom he has seen) cannot love God (whom he has not seen). This
is the command that we have from him: that whoever loves God
loves his brother, too.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of
God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever is born of
him. By this we know that we love God’s children: when we love
God and do what he commands. You see, this is love for God: that
we keep his commands (and his commands are not burdensome).
You see, everyone who is born of God conquers the world. This is
the victory that has conquered the world: our faith! Who is the one
who conquers the world, if it is not the one who believes that Jesus is
God’s Son?
He is the one who came through water and blood: Jesus the
Messiah. He did not come with water only, but with water and
blood—and the Spirit is the one who testifies of this, because the
spirit is the truth. You see, there are three who testify: the Spirit, the
water, and the blood—and these three are one! If we accept the
testimony of men, God’s testimony is greater. You see, this is God’s
testimony that he bore concerning his Son. (Whoever believes in the
Son has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God
makes him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the
testimony that God bore concerning his Son.) This is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the
Son has this life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have
this life.
I have written this to you who believe in the name of God’s Son,
so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the
confidence that we have before him: if we ask anything that is
consistent with his will, he hears us. If we know that he hears us—
whatever we ask—we know that we have the requests that we have
asked of him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does
not lead to death, he will ask, and God will give him life (referring to
those who sin not leading to death). There is a sin that leads to
death. I am not saying that he should ask about it. All wickedness is
sin, and there is a sin that does not lead to death.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin.
On the contrary, the one who was born of God keeps him, and the
evil one does not touch him. We know that we belong to God, and
the whole world lies in evil. We know that God’s Son has come, and
he has given us understanding so that we might know the truth. We
are in the True One—in his Son, Jesus the Messiah. He is the true
God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols!
From the translator:

Thank you so much for reading this translation

of the book of I John. I hope it has been of help to
your study of God’s word. Be sure to look for other
translated New Testament books as they are finished
and published on this website.

Josh James