1 John 2
1 Dear children, I write thus to you in order that you may not sin. If any one sins, we have an Advocate with the Father--Jesus Christ the righteous;
You who are very dear to me, I am writing this to you [to say], “Do not sin!” But if any of you [believers] sins, [God can forgive you because] we have Jesus Christ, who is the righteous one, who speaks to the Father on our behalf [and asks him to forgive us].
2 and He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
[Remember that Jesus Christ] voluntarily sacrificed [his own life for us, so that as a result God forgives] our sins. [Yes, God is able to forgive] our sins, but not only ours! [He is] also [able to forgive] the sins of people everywhere!
3 And by this we may know that we know Him--if we obey His commands.
[I will tell you] how we can be sure that we (know/have a close relationship with) [God]. [If we] obey what he commands [us to do, that shows us that we have a close relationship with him. So we must always obey what he commands us to do].
4 He who professes to know Him, and yet does not obey His commands, is a liar, and the truth has no place in his heart.
Those who say, “We (know/have a close relationship with) God,” and do not obey what [God] commands [us to do], are liars. They are not conducting their lives according to [God’s] true message.
5 But whoever obeys His Message, in him love for God has in very deed reached perfection. By this we can know that we are in Him.
But those who obey what [God] commands them to do are the people who love God in the manner in which he wants us to. [I will tell you] how we can be sure that we have a close relationship with God:
6 The man who professes to be continuing in Him is himself also bound to live as He lived.
If we say that we are living as God wants us to, we should [conduct our lives] as Christ [did].
7 My dearly-loved friends, it is no new command that I am now giving you, but an old command which you have had from the very beginning. By the old command I mean the teaching which you have already received.
Dear friends, I am not writing a new [additional] command to you. Instead, I am writing to you a command which was given to you when you first [MTY] [believed in Christ]. That command is [part of] the message that you have [always] heard.
8 And yet I am giving you a new command, for such it really is, so far as both He and you are concerned: because the darkness is now passing away and the light, the true light, is already beginning to shine.
Nevertheless, [I can say that] the command I am writing to you is a new command. [It is new because] what Christ [did] was new, and what you [are doing] is new, because [you have been ceasing to conduct your lives in a morally impure manner] and [are now truly conducting your lives in a pure manner. That is like] [MET] no longer [living in] darkness. Instead, [it is like] living where a brilliant light is already shining.
9 Any one who professes to be in the light and yet hates his brother man is still in darkness.
Those who claim that they are [pure in every way, like people] [MET] living in the light, but hate any of their fellow believers, are still [behaving in an impure manner, like] [MET] [people who are continually living] in darkness.
10 He who loves his brother man continues in the light, and his life puts no stumbling-block in the way of others.
But those who love their fellow believers [are continuing to conduct their lives like people] who are living in the light. They are people who please [God] [LIT]. [So you should love your fellow believers].
11 But he who hates his brother man is in darkness and is walking in darkness; and he does not know where he is going--because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
But those who hate any of their fellow believers are still [conducting their lives in an impure way, like] [MET] [people who are living] in darkness. They do not know that they will eventually destroy themselves [eternally]. They have become [spiritually] blind [PRS, MET], [unaware of spiritual truth].
12 I am writing to you, dear children, because for His sake your sins are forgiven you.
I am writing [this] to you [whom I love as though] [MET] [you were my] little children, to you who are [spiritually mature people who are like] [MET] fathers, and to you [spiritually vigorous/strong people who are like] [MET] young men. Remember that your sins have been forgiven {[God] has forgiven your sins} on account of what Christ [MTY] [has done]. You now know [Christ, the one] who always existed. You have defeated the evil one, [Satan].
13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the very beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has existed from the very beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong and God's Message still has a place in your hearts, and you have overcome the Evil one.
[I will say it again]: I have written [this] to you because you have come to know the Father, because you now know [Christ, the one] who always existed, because you are [spiritually] strong, because you continue to [obey] God’s word, and because you have defeated the evil one, [Satan].
15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father.
Do not desire [to conduct you lives in the evil manner in which] godless [people in] the world [MTY] conduct their [lives], and do not love anything that [the evil people] in the world [MTY] [consider to be good]. Those who desire [to conduct their lives in the evil manner in which other people of] the world [MTY] conduct their [lives] do not [really] love [God], their Father, [at all].
16 For the things in the world--the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life--they all come, not from the Father, but from the world.
Keep in mind that all [the evil human desires] in the world [are actions/things such as these]: [People] desire to do [what] their self-directed nature [strongly desires]. [People] desire [to possess] whatever (appeals to their senses/they see or hear about). [People] boast about the material things that they possess. [Such evil ways of living] do not originate/come from the Father! Instead they originate/come from [the (godless people in] the world/people in the world who conduct their lives in a manner that displeases God) [MTY]!
17 And the world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God's will continues for ever. (aiōn g165)
The [godless people in] the world [MTY], along with what they desire, will disappear, but those who do what God wants [them to do] will live forever! You know that it is now the final period of this age when there are liars who deny that Jesus is God’s Chosen One. But you have the power of God’s Spirit and you know what is true and what is false. So continue to live according to the true message that you heard when you began to believe in Christ, in order that you may continue to live united both to God’s Son and to the Father. (aiōn g165)
18 Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.
[You who are very dear to me], it is [now] (the final part [MTY] [of this age/] final [period of time before Jesus returns]). Just like you heard [from us apostles] that a person who opposes Christ will come/appear, even now there are many people who oppose Christ. That is why we know that it is the final part [of this age] (OR, [before Jesus returns]) [MTY].
19 They have gone forth from our midst, but they did not really belong to us; for had they belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they left us that it might be manifest that professed believers do not all belong to us.
The [people who oppose Christ] refused to remain in our congregations, but they never [really] (belonged with us/were fellow believers). If they had (belonged with us/been fellow believers), they would have remained with us. But because [they left, everyone] can clearly know that none of them (belongs with us/is a fellow believer).
20 As for you, you have an anointing from the holy One and have perfect knowledge.
But as for you, you have been given the power of [God’s Spirit, which comes from Christ] (OR, [God]), the Holy One. [As a result], you all know [how to] ([distinguish false teaching from/recognize what is false teaching and what is]) [the true message].
21 I have written to you, not because you are ignorant of the truth, but because you know it, and you know that nothing false comes from the truth.
I am writing [this letter] to you, not because you do not know [what is God’s] true message, but because you do know [what it is]. You also know that no false message originates/comes from [God, who is the source of all] truth.
22 Who is a liar compared with him who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He who disowns the Father and the Son is the anti-Christ.
The [worst] liars are the ones who deny that Jesus is (the Messiah/the one whom God chose to rescue us). They are [the ones that we told you about], the ones who oppose Christ. They refuse to acknowledge/admit that [God is] the Father and that [Jesus is his] Son (OR, the one who is also God).
23 No one who disowns the Son has the Father. He who acknowledges the Son has also the Father.
Those who refuse to acknowledge/admit that [Jesus is God’s] Son do not have a relationship with the Father. But those who acknowledge/admit that [Jesus is God’s] Son [not only have a relationship with God’s Son, but they] have a relationship with the Father also.
24 As for you, let the teaching which you have received from the very beginning continue in your hearts. If that teaching does continue in your hearts, you also will continue to be in union with the Son and with the Father.
[So], as for you, you must continue to conduct your lives according to [the true message] that you heard when you began [MTY] [to believe in Christ]. If you continue to [do that], you will continue to have a close relationship with both [God’s] Son and the Father.
And what God told us is that [he will cause us] to live forever! (aiōnios g166)
26 I have thus written to you concerning those who are leading you astray.
I have written this to you [to] ([warn you] about/tell you to beware of) those [who want to] deceive you [concerning the truth about Christ].
27 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him remains within you, and there is no need for any one to teach you. But since His anointing gives you instruction in all things--and is true and is no falsehood--you are continuing in union with Him even as it has taught you to do.
As for you, God’s Spirit, whom you received from Christ, remains in you. So you do not need anyone to teach you [anything else that they claim/say is the truth]. God’s Spirit is teaching you all [of God’s truth that you need to know]. God’s Spirit is truthful and never says anything that is false. So continue to conduct your lives in the way that [he has] taught you.
28 And now, dear children, continue in union with Him; so that, if He re-appears, we may have perfect confidence, and may not shrink away in shame from His presence at His Coming.
Now, [while some people are trying to persuade you to accept their false teaching, I urge] you, who are all very dear to me, to continue to [have a close relationship with] Christ. [We need to do that] in order that we may be confident [that he will accept us] when he comes back again. If we do that, we will not be ashamed [when we stand] before [him] when he comes.
29 Since you know that He is righteous, be assured also that the man who habitually acts righteously is a child of His.
Since you know that [Christ] always does what is right, you know that all those who continue doing what is right are the ones who have become children of God.
