New American Bible - Revised Edition/The First Letter of John

**The First Letter of John**, as translated by the Co-Fraternity of Christian Doctrine in the New American Bible - Revised Edition.

## NOTE

Currently, The New American Bible - Revised Edition's The New Testament text is the exact same as the New American Bible's text, as it is based from the 1986 Revised New Testament. An upcoming revision of The New Testament for The New American Bible - Revised Edition is currently ongoing, and it is expected to be finished sometime around the year 2025 or later, pending approving from the Bishops and the Vatican.

Should it happen, the text here will be changed to reflect the new revision that would make The New American Bible - Revised Edition wholly a revised edition of The New American Bible that is worthy of its name, whereas the original New American Bible article will retain the 1986 New Testament Revision Text.

## READING GUIDES FOR THE BOOK OF REVELATION IN THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE - REVISED EDITION

Here are the following Reading Guides for The Epistle of Jude in The New American Bible - Revised Edition.

## READING GUIDE (THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE - THIRD EDITION)

 **1 JOHN**

 **[see pages 1740–1746 of the New Testament]**

 **BEFORE BEGINNING. . .**

### Exhortation to a Divided Church

The New Testament contains three letters attributed to John. How these
letters connect to the Gospel according to John and the book of Revelation
is not easy to determine. Scholars agree that all came from a community of
“Johannine Christianity” in the late first century, but neither their precise
authorship nor sequence has been established. We are not even sure of the
location of this “Johannine Christianity,” although Asia Minor seems most
likely. In such a state of ignorance, hypotheses abound. The introductions to
each of these letters in the NABRE give some sense of the options (cf. pp.
1740–1741, 1746, 1747–1748).

What we can learn of “Johannine Christianity” derives from the writings
themselves. Apart from the connection to John, what common
characteristics marked this version of messianism? First, the figure of Jesus
played a central role in the identity of the community. Second, these
churches had experienced tragic division. In the Gospel and Revelation,
there is conflict between these messianists and the Jews. In the letters and
Revelation, there is also evidence of divisions within the churches. Third,
this experience of division sharpened the community’s symbols into a stark
dualism: light and darkness, life and death, truth and falsehood, flesh and
spirit.

### The Three Letters

In the three letters, we see conflict happening within the churches. Disputes
involve the proper understanding of Jesus. The letters provide a window on
this early Christian conflict, revealing at once its multiple dimensions and
its seriousness. It is impossible to say at this distance exactly how the letters
relate to each other or to the situation. **Second** **John** **(2 John)** and **Third** **John** **(3 John)** are real letters
and claim to come from “the Elder.” First John is anonymous and not really
a letter so much as a sermonic exhortation.

Some think that the three letters show three stages of the community’s
conflict. This hypothesis is possible, but a better one is that the three
documents were written at the same time by the same author and sent to a
single church aligned with “The Elder.” Each letter fulfills a specific
function: 3 John recommends the mailman, Demetrius, to the church leader,
Gaius. **Second John** is a cover letter to be read publicly to the church. First
John is the centerpiece, an exhortation to a community divided by conflict.
The reading guides for **2 John** and **3 John** will describe how they fulfill their
functions. Let us concentrate first on **1 John.**

### The Character of 1 John

Because it is not so closely tied to the particulars of a specific community’s
life, **1 John** lends itself readily to every time and place. For a document
generated by bitter conflict, it is amazingly positive and loving in tone.
Christians through the ages have rightly considered it one of the great
spiritual witnesses of the New Testament.

The structure of this writing is not obvious. Certainly it is not a genuine
letter. Even as a sermon, it tends to wander a bit, repeating the same points.
First John at times has the appearance of an argument but none of the
substance. Readers are sometimes shocked at the lack of consistency. What
is stated positively is sometimes denied only a short time later. The reason
for this alternation of ideal and real lies in the circumstances being
addressed.

The Johannine Christians saw their lives defined by a choice. Their first
and basic choice was to follow Jesus. They considered that truth, life, and
light characterized them; while falsehood, darkness, and death characterized
those who did not follow Jesus. The Christians were the community of true
prophecy. But now, the community finds itself divided into two hostile
camps, and the cause of division is precisely what should have been the
centerpiece of this unity: the proper understanding of the nature and role of
Jesus.

First John’s apparent indecisiveness reflects the chastened perspective
caused by the trauma of division. The symbols of unity and perfection need
reshaping. The author urges his readers away from a smug sense of their
own perfection, to an awareness of their need to repent. Not only “those
who went out from us” have sinned; all have sinned and need the expiation
offered by Jesus.

### Opening Exhortation (1 John 1:1–1 John 2:17)

First John opens with a poetic prologue **(1 John 1:1–1 John 1:4)** that resembles the prologue
to the Fourth Gospel **(John 1:1–John 1:8)** in its deliberate allusion to **Genesis 1:1** **(“in**
**the** **beginning”),** and its emphasis on the “word of life.” In the epistle’s
prologue, however, the stress is placed on the community’s experience of
the Word in Jesus. The writer testifies to what he has “seen and heard and
touched” **(compare** **John 19:35).** The experience, furthermore, is one shared by
the readers. The language of fellowship dominates **1 John 1:3f.** The believers have
fellowship with God the Father through Jesus. They are also, by that same
agency, to have fellowship among themselves. The textual variant in **1 John 1:4**
illustrates the dense interweaving. Manuscripts differ on reading “your” joy,
or “our” joy. For this writer, both meanings coincide.

The section closes with another deliberately rhetorical statement of
purpose: “I am writing to you because” **(1 John 2:12–1 John 2:14).** Different groups in the
community are addressed, but the message is basically one message and is
more clearly spelled out by **1 John 2:15–1 John 2:17:** the church is to live by the “will of
God” and not by the standards of the “world.” John’s talk about “love of the
world” here is very close to that in the letter of James about the “lover of
the world” **(James 4:4)** and means much the same thing. The writer does not
forbid love for humanity; he denounces the “worldliness” that denies God’s
claim on his creation and bases existence on “sensual lust, enticement for
the eyes, and a pretentious life” **(1 John 2:16).**

Within the framework provided by the prologue and the statement of
purpose, the rest of the opening section of this sermon serves to remind the
readers of the need to live by the “message we have heard from him and
proclaim to you” **(1 John 1:5).**

The community has, to be sure, already heard that “God is light, and in
him there is no darkness at all” **(1 John 1:5).** But now, because of the division in
this community, a new sense of reality is required. Behavior must match
their ideals. They can no longer simply assume that “we are the light”
without hesitation. In fact, sin does occur among them, and they need to
repent of it. They cannot claim to be “in the light” while their behavior
shows that they “walk in darkness” **(1 John 1:6).** That is a lie. Likewise, they
cannot claim to “know God” while not keeping God’s commandments
**(1 John 2:4).**

With a different vocabulary than James, but with a quite similar concern,
John seeks to make his readers’ actions conform to their convictions. And
the great commandment of God that is to govern the life of the community
is also—as in James—the law of love for neighbor, the test whether one is
“in the light” or “in the darkness.” For **1 John,** it is not simply doctrinal
correctness that spells true fellowship in the community but ethical
consistency.

**First John** places special emphasis on the role of Jesus as expiation for
sin **(1 John 1:7;** **And** **1 John 2:2)** and advocate for believers **(1 John 2:1).** The community’s failure,
demonstrated in its division into hostile parties, makes the need for
intercession clear. They cannot do it alone. It also makes clear that “love” is
not simply a state of mind, but something to be performed. In an
atmosphere of hurt and separation, such performance is difficult.

### The Divided Community (1 John 2:18–1 John 3:24)

The severity of the community’s crisis is indicated by the fact that the writer
thinks the end of all things is at hand. The author calls those who have left
the community “antichrists.” In apocalyptic literature, the presence of
antichrist is a sign of the final tribulation **(see** **Matthew 24:24).** The theme of
Jesus’s return occurs again in **1 John 2:28** **And** **1 John 3:2.** Typical of apocalyptic also is
the exhortation to stand fast **(“remain in him,”** **1 John 2:24,** **1 John 2:27,** **1 John 2:28.** **1 John 3:6)** and to
avoid being deceived **(1 John 2:26).**

The threat to the community is the greater because it derives from
former members: “they went out from us.” It is impossible for this writer to
acknowledge fully that they had ever been of one spirit with the
community: “they were not really of our number.” What proof does he
have? “If they had been, they would have remained” **(1 John 2:19).** This is
desperate logic. It indicates the shock given to a church devoted to unity
and opposition to a world “out there” when it experiences conflict and
division from within. The very identity of the community is called into
question.

We cannot be sure exactly what the bone of contention was between
those who left and those who stayed, only that it involved the proper
understanding of Jesus. The author uses the language of “denial” and
“confession” **(1 John 2:22f),** and it seems clear that a formal doctrinal issue is at
stake **(see** **also** **2 John 1:7).** The briefest description of the deviance is that they
deny “Jesus is the Christ.” This obviously qualifies them to be “antichrists”
in the narrow sense, but it is hard to imagine how such people could ever
have been part of the messianic community. Such a denial is more
appropriate to nonbelieving Jews. To complicate matters, the author adds
other features in **1 John 3:23;** **1 John 4:2f;** **And** **1 John 5:1–1 John 5:10.** These make it appear that outsiders
deny either the full divine origin of Jesus (that he is “God’s son”) or his full
humanity (that he “came in the flesh”). In short, John is convinced his party
has the full understanding of Jesus and his opponents do not; beyond that
general statement we cannot advance.

Characteristic of this writing, however, is its ability to combine a claim
to possession of “the truth” **(1 John 2:21),** with a demand at the same time for
transformation. The community is not yet perfect. They are indeed, to use
one of their favorite expressions, “children of God” **(see** **John 1:12),** but they
still need to mature. Only when he appears will they become “like him, for
we shall see him as he is” **(1 John 3:2).** Having the truth means living the truth,
which demands strict ethical norms. In **1 John 3:4–1 John 3:18,** John develops the strongest
possible contrast between the way of the world governed by the devil **(1 John 4:8;** **And**
**1 John 5:19)** and the way revealed by God through the Messiah Jesus. The way of
the world is driven by the envy that leads to murder **(the** **example** **of** **Cain,**
**1 John 3:12;** **compare** **James 4:1–James 4:5).** The way Jesus reveals is exactly the opposite. It
does not take away life but gives it, and in the giving of life reveals love:
“the way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us.” The
moral correlative follows at once: “so we ought to lay down our lives for
our brothers” **(1 John 3:16).** The New Testament contains no more direct
connection between the work of the Messiah and the pattern of Christian
existence. And lest anyone think the giving of life can be accomplished in
attitude only or once for all, John spells it out in terms of the sharing of
material possessions with the needy, and concludes in a manner familiar to
us from Paul and James, “let us love not in word or speech but in deed and
truth.”

Finally, the claim to be in possession of the truth must be qualified by
the deeper statement of humility in **1 John 3:19–1 John 3:21.** It is because they are in the
hands of the one who is “greater than our hearts and knows everything” that
they know they belong to the truth. It is not their accomplishment but his
gift; their adequate response is to act as he did, in love **(1 John 3:23f).**

### The Remnant Community (1 John 4:1–1 John 5:21)

Because the community is divided, shared symbols are now being
interpreted by opposing parties to the dispute. More careful judgment is
therefore required. John reminds his readers of the need to “test the spirits
to see whether they belong to God” **(1 John 4:1).** As earlier he had spoken of the
opponents as “antichrists,” now he applies to them the epithet “false
prophets,” another favorite designation in apocalyptic **(see** **Matthew 24:11).** In
this case, the proper confession of Jesus is the criterion for true and false
prophecy, certifying whether the speaker belongs to God or to “the world”
**(1 John 4:2–1 John 4:4,** **And** **1 John 4:13–1 John 4:16).**

Within the remnant community itself, discernment is also required. How
can the church be sure that it lives by the Spirit of God? That it has the right
confession of Jesus is taken for granted. But John adds the ethical
dimension; keeping the commandment of God shows their love for God
**(1 John 5:2f).** What is that commandment? It is that they are to love each other.
John indissolubly joins love of God and neighbor; doing one is doing the
other: “If anyone says ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” **(1 John 4:20).**
As earlier in **1 John 3:15–1 John 3:16,** John grounds such love in the way God has revealed
himself to be for humans in the sending of his son and Jesus’s expiatory
death: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his Son as expiation for our sins” **(1 John 4:10).** Since humans do not have
direct access to God **(1 John 4:12;** **see** **John 1:18),** their relationship to God is
mediated by their relationships with each other **(1 John 4:12,** **And** **1 John 4:20f).**

The last section of this sermon is filled with a mixture of confidence and
caution. The community living by God’s love and faith is sure of victory
“over the world” **(1 John 5:4f),** even though “the whole world is under the power
of the evil one” **(1 John 5:19).** This is because the community’s testimony is not
isolated. It is supported by the testimony of Father, Son, and Spirit, each
working in and through the church **(1 John 5:6–1 John 5:9).** The community is confident of
its gift of “eternal life” **(1 John 2:25;** **1 John 5:11,** **And** **1 John 5:13).** But the victory over sin and death
**(see** **1 John 3:7–1 John 3:14)** is not yet complete. Idolatry is a temptation that needs to be
avoided **(1 John 5:21);** perfect love has not yet driven out fear **(1 John 4:18);** mutual
correction is required **(1 John 5:16f).** For this divided community, nothing can any
longer be taken for granted; division has given new urgency to discernment
**(1 John 5:20).**

L.T.J.

### FURTHER READING

**Brown, R. E. The Community of the Beloved Disciple. New York: Paulist Press, 1979.**

**Brown, R. E. The Epistles of John. Anchor Bible 30. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.**

**Culpepper, R. Alan. The Gospel and Letters of John. Interpreting Biblcal Texts. Nashville: Abingdon**
Press, 1998.

**Malherbe, A. J. “Hospitality and Inhospitality in the Church.” Social Aspects of Early Christianity.**
2nd ed., 92–112. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983.

**Painter, John. 1, 2, and 3 John. Sacra Pagina. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2002.**

**Rensberger, David. 1 John; 2 John; 3 John. Abingdon New Testament Commentaries; Nashville:**
Abingdon, 1997.

**Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Johannine Epistles: A Commentary. New York: Crossroad, 1992.**

**Sloyan, G. S. Walking in the Truth: Preservers and Deserters—The First, Second, and Third Letters**
of John. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995.

**Smalley, S. S. 1, 2, 3 John. Word Biblical Commentary; Waco: Word, 1984.**

## INTRODUCTION

###  **THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN**

Early Christian tradition identified this work as a letter of John the apostle. Because of its resemblance to the fourth gospel in style, vocabulary, and ideas, it is generally agreed that both works are the product of the same school of Johannine Christianity. The terminology and the presence or absence of certain theological ideas in 1 John suggest that it was written after the gospel; it may have been composed as a short treatise on ideas that were developed more fully in the fourth gospel. To others, the evidence suggests that 1 John was written after the fourth gospel as part of a debate on the proper interpretation of that gospel. Whatever its relation to the gospel, 1 John may be dated toward the end of the first century. Unlike 2 and 3 John, it lacks in form the salutation and epistolary conclusion of a letter. These features, its prologue, and its emphasis on doctrinal teaching make it more akin to a theological treatise than to most other New Testament letters.

The purpose of the letter is to combat certain false ideas, especially about Jesus, and to deepen the spiritual and social awareness of the Christian community (1 Jn 3:17). Some former members (1 Jn 2:19) of the community refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ (1 Jn 2:22) and denied that he was a true man (1 Jn 4:2). The specific heresy described in this letter cannot be identified exactly, but it is a form of docetism or gnosticism; the former doctrine denied the humanity of Christ to insure that his divinity was untainted, and the latter viewed the appearance of Christ as a mere stepping-stone to higher knowledge of God. These theological errors are rejected by an appeal to the reality and continuity of the apostolic witness to Jesus. The author affirms that authentic Christian love, ethics, and faith take place only within the historical revelation and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The fullness of Christian life as fellowship with the Father must be based on true belief and result in charitable living; knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable, and error in one area inevitably affects the other. Although the author recognizes that Christian doctrine presents intangible mysteries of faith about Christ, he insists that the concrete Christian life brings to light the deeper realities of the gospel.

The structure and language of the letter are straightforward yet repetitious. The author sets forth the striking contrasts between light and darkness, Christians and the world, and truth and error to illustrate the threats and responsibilities of Christian life. The result is not one of theological argument but one of intense religious conviction expressed in simple truths. The letter is of particular value for its declaration of the humanity and divinity of Christ as an apostolic teaching and for its development of the intrinsic connection between Christian moral conduct and Christian doctrine.

###  **The Divisions of The First Epistle of John**

The principal divisions of the First Letter of John are the following:

**I. Prologue (1:1–4)**

**II. God as Light (1:5–3:10)**

**III. Love for One Another (3:11–5:12)**

**IV. Epilogue (5:13–21)**

## CHAPTER 1

### The Word of Life

**1** What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life—

**2** for the life was made visible;

we have seen it and testify to it

and proclaim to you the eternal life

that was with the Father and was made visible to us—

**3** what we have seen and heard

we proclaim now to you,

so that you too may have fellowship with us;

for our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

**4** We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

### God Is Light.

**5** Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,

and in him there is no darkness at all. **6** If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.

**7** But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

**8** If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,

and the truth is not in us.

**9** If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.

**10** If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

## CHAPTER 2

### Christ and His Commandments.

**1** My children,

I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.

**2** He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

**3** The way we may be sure

that we know him is to keep his commandments.

**4** Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

**5** But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:

**6** whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

### The New Commandment.

**7** Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

**8** And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,

for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

**9** Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.

**10** Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.

**11** Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

### Members of the Community.

**12** I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven

for his name’s sake.

**13** I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.

**14** I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

**15** Do not love the world or the things of the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

**16** For all that is in the world, sensual lust,
 enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. **17** Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

### Antichrists.

**18** Children, it is the last hour;

and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour.

**19** They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;

if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. **20** But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one,

and you all have knowledge.

**21** I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.

**22**

Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.

**23** No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.

### Life from God’s Anointing.

**24**

Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.

**25** And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life.

**26** I write you these things about those who would deceive you. **27** As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him.

### Children of God.

**28**

And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. **29** If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.

## CHAPTER 3

**1**

See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

**2** Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed

we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

**3** Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

### Avoiding Sin.

**4** Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.

**5** You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

**6** No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. **7** Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. **8** Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil.

**9** No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God.

**10** In this way, the children of God and the children of the devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

###  **III. LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER**

**11**

For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another,

**12** unlike Cain who belonged to the evil one and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter him? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous.

**13** Do not be amazed, [then,] brothers, if the world hates you.

**14** We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death.

**15** Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

**16** The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

**17** If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?

**18** Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

### Confidence Before God.

**19** [Now] this is how we shall know that we

belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him **20** in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. **21** Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God **22** and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

**23** And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.

**24** Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit that he gave us.

## CHAPTER 4

### Testing the Spirits.

**1** Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

**2** This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God,

**3** and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus

does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world.

**4** You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. **5** They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.

**6** We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

### God’s Love and Christian Life.

**7**

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. **8** Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. **9** In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. **10** In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

**11** Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. **12** No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

**13**

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. **14** Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. **15** Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. **16** We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. **17** In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.

**18** There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. **19** We love because he first loved us. **20** If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God

whom he has not seen.

**21** This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

## CHAPTER 5

### Faith Is Victory over the World.

**1**

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves [also] the one begotten by him.

**2** In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. **3** For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,

**4** for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.

**5** Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

**6** This is the one who came through water and blood,

Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth.

**7** So there are three that testify, **8** the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord.

**9** If we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is surely greater. Now the testimony of God is this, that he has testified on behalf of his Son.

**10** Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.

**11** And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

**12** Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

### Prayer for Sinners.

**13** I write these things to you so that you may know that you have eternal life, you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

**14** And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

**15** And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours. **16** If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.

**17** All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

**18** We know that no one begotten by God sins; but the one begotten by God he protects, and the evil one cannot touch him. **19** We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. **20** We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

**21** Children, be on your guard against idols.

## FOOTNOTES

**1 John 1:1-1 John 1:4:**

There is a striking parallel

to the prologue of the gospel of John (Jn 1:1–18),

but the emphasis here is not on the preexistent Word

but rather on the apostles’ witness

to the incarnation of life

by their experience of the historical Jesus.

He is

**the Word of life**
**(1 John 1:1;** **cf.** **John 1:4),**
**the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible**
**(1 John 1:2**; **cf.** **John 1:14),**

and

was

**heard,**
**seen,**
**looked upon,**
**and**
**touched**

by the apostles.

The purpose of their teaching

is to share that

**life**,

called

**fellowship…with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ,**

with those who receive their witness

**(1 John 1:3;** **John 1:14,** **And** **John 1:16).**
**1 John 1:5-1 John 1:7:**
**Light**

is to be understood here as truth and goodness;

**darkness**

here is error and depravity

(cf. Jn 3:19–21; 17:17; Eph 5:8).

To

**walk**

in light or darkness is to live according to truth or error,

not merely intellectual

but moral as well.

Fellowship with God and with one another consists

in a life according to the truth

as found in God and in Christ.
**1 John 1:8-1 John 1:10:**

Denial of the condition of sin

is self-deception

and

even contradictory of divine revelation;

there is also the continual possibility

of sin’s recurrence.

Forgiveness

and

deliverance

from sin through Christ

are assured through

acknowledgment of them

and

repentance.
**1 John 2:1:**
**Children:**

like the term

“beloved,”

this is an expression of pastoral love

**(cf.** **John 13:33;** **John 21:5;** **And** **1 Corinthians 4:14).**
**Advocate:**

for the use of the term,

**see** **John 14:16.**

Forgiveness of sin is assured

through Christ’s intercession

and

expiation

or

“offering”;

the death of Christ

effected the removal of sin.
**1 John 2:3-1 John 2:6:**
**The way we may be sure:**

to those who claim,

“I have known Christ and therefore I know him,”

our author insists on not mere intellectual knowledge

but obedience to God’s commandments

in a life conformed to the example of Christ;

this confirms our knowledge of him

and is

**the love of God...perfected.**

Disparity between moral life

and

the commandments proves improper belief.
**1 John 2:7-1 John 2:11:**

The author expresses the continuity

and

freshness of mutual charity

in Christian experience.

Through Christ

the commandment of love has become

the

**light**

defeating

the

**darkness**

of

evil

in a new age.

All hatred as darkness

is incompatible with the light

and Christian life.

Note also the characteristic Johannine polemic

in which a positive assertion is emphasized

by the negative statement of its opposite.
**1 John 2:8:**
**Which holds true in him and among you:**

literally,

“a thing that holds true in him and in you.”
**1 John 2:12-1 John 2:17:**

The Christian community

that has experienced

the grace of God

through forgiveness of sin

and

knowledge of Christ

is armed against

the evil one.
**1 John 2:12:**
**For his name’s sake:**

because of Christ

our sins are forgiven.
**1 John 2:15:**

The world:

all that is hostile toward God

and

alienated from him.

Love of the world

and

love of God

are thus mutually exclusive;

**cf.** **James 4:4.**
**1 John 2:16:**
**Sensual lust:**

literally,

“the lust of the flesh,”

inordinate desire for physical gratification.

**Enticement for the eyes:**

literally,

“the lust of the eyes,”

avarice or covetousness;

the eyes are regarded as the windows of the soul.

**Pretentious life:**

literally,

“pride of life,”

arrogance

or

ostentation in one’s earthly style of life

that reflects a willful independence

from God and others.
**1 John 2:18:**
**It is the last hour:**

literally,

“a last hour,”

the period between

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Christ

and

his

second

coming.

**The antichrist:**

opponent or adversary of Christ;

the term appears only in **1 John** **–** **2 John,**

but

“pseudochrists”

(translated “false messiahs”)

**in** **Matthew 24:24** **And** **Mark 13:22,**

and Paul’s

“lawless one”

**in** **2 Thessalonians 2:3,**

are similar figures.

**Many antichrists:**

Matthew,

Mark,

and

Revelation

seem to indicate

a collectivity of persons,

here related

to the false teachers.
**1 John 2:19:**
**Not really of our number:**

the apostate teachers only proved their lack of faith by leaving the community.
**1 John 2:20:**
**The anointing that comes from the holy one:**

this anointing is in the Old Testament sense

of receiving the Spirit of God.

The holy one probably refers to Christ.

True knowledge is the gift of the Spirit

**(cf.** **Isaiah 11:2),**

and the function of the Spirit

is to lead Christians to the truth

**(John 14:17,** **John 14:26;** **And** **John 16:13).**
**1 John 2:22-1 John 2:13:**

Certain gnostics

denied

that the earthly Jesus was the Christ;

to deny knowledge of the Son

is to deny the Father,

since only through the Son

has God been fully revealed

**(John 1:18;** **And** **John 14:8–John 14:9).**
**1 John 2:24:**

Continuity with the apostolic witness

as proclaimed in the prologue

is the safeguard of right belief.
**1 John 2:28-1 John 2:29:**

Our confidence at his judgment

is based on the

daily assurance of salvation.

Our actions reflect

our true relation to him.
**1 John 3:1-1 John 3:3:**

The greatest sign of God’s love

is the gift of his Son

**(John 3:16)**

that has made Christians

true children of God.

This relationship

is a present reality

and

also part of the life to come;

true knowledge of God

will ultimately be gained,

and Christians prepare themselves

now by virtuous lives

in imitation of the Son.
**1 John 3:2:**
**When it is revealed:**

or

“when he is revealed”

(the subject of the verb could be Christ).
**1 John 3:4:**
**Lawlessness:**

a reference to the activity of the antichrist,

so it is expressed as hostility toward God

and

a rejection of Christ.

The author goes on to contrast

the

states

of

sin

and

righteousness.

Christians do not escape sin

but realize that when they sin

they cease

to have fellowship with God.

Virtue

and

sin

distinguish the children of God

from the children of the devil.
**1 John 3:9:**

A habitual sinner

is a child of the devil,

while

a child of God,

who by definition

is in fellowship with God,

cannot sin.

**Seed:**

Christ

or

the

Spirit

who shares the

nature of God

with the Christian.
**1 John 3:11-1 John 3:18:**

Love,

even to the point

of self-sacrifice,

is the point of the commandment.

The story of Cain and Abel

**(1 John 3:12–1 John 3:15;** **And** **Genesis 4:1–Genesis 4:16)**

presents the rivalry of two brothers,

in a contrast

of

evil

and

righteousness,

where envy led to murder.

For Christians,

proof of deliverance is love toward others,

after the example of Christ.

This includes concrete acts of charity,

out of our material abundance.
**1 John 3:19-1 John 3:24:**

Living a life of faith

in

Jesus

and

of

Christian

love

assures us of abiding in God

no matter what our feelings may

at times tell us.

Our obedience gives us confidence

in prayer

and

trust in God’s judgment.

This obedience includes

our belief in Christ

and

love for one another.
**1 John 3:19b-1 John 3:20:**

This difficult passage

may also be translated

“we shall be at peace before him

in whatever our hearts condemn,

for…”

or

“and before God we shall convince our hearts,

if our hearts condemn us,

that God is greater than our hearts.”
**1 John 4:1-1 John 4:6:**

Deception is possible

in spiritual phenomena

and

may be tested

by its relation to Christian doctrine

(cf. 1 Cor 12:3):

those who fail to acknowledge Jesus Christ

in the flesh

are false prophets

and

belong to the antichrist.

Even though these false prophets

are well received in the world,

the Christian who belongs to God

has a greater power in the truth.
**1 John 4:3:**
**Does not acknowledge Jesus:**

some ancient manuscripts

add

“Christ”

and/or

“to have come in the flesh”

**(cf.** **1 John 4:2),**

and

others

read

“every spirit that annuls

(or severs) Jesus.”
**1 John 4:7-1 John 4:12:**

Love

as we share in it

testifies to the nature of God

and

to his presence in our lives.

One who loves

shows that one is a child of God

and

knows God,

for God’s very being is love;

one without love is without God.

The revelation of the nature of God’s love

is found in the free gift of his Son to us,

so that we may share life with God

and

be delivered from our sins.

The love we have for one another

must be of the same sort:

authentic,

merciful;

this unique Christian love

is our proof

that we know God

and

can “see” the invisible God.
**1 John 4:13-1 John 4:21:**

The testimony of the Spirit

and

that of faith

join the testimony of love

to confirm our knowledge of God.

Our love is grounded

in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God

and

the example of God’s love for us.

Christian life is founded

on the knowledge of God as love

and

on his continuing presence

that relieves us from fear of judgment

**(1 John 4:16–1 John 4:18).**

What Christ is gives us confidence,

even as we live

and

love in this world.

Yet Christian love is not abstract

but lived in the concrete manner

of love for one another.
**1 John 4:20:**
**Cannot love God:**

some ancient manuscripts

read

“how can he love…?”
**1 John 5:1-1 John 5:5:**

Children of God

are identified

not

only

by

their

love

for

others

**(1 John 4:7–1 John 4:9)**

and

for

God

**(1 John 5:1–1 John 5:2)**

but by their belief

in the divine sonship

of Jesus Christ.

Faith,

the acceptance of Jesus

in his true character

and

the obedience in love

to God’s commands

**(1 John 5:3),**

is the source

of

the Christian’s

power

in the world

and

conquers

the world

of evil

**(1 John 5:4–1 John 5:5),**

even as Christ

overcame

the world

**(John 16:33).**
**1 John 5:6-1 John 5:12:**
**Water and blood**
**(1 John 5:6)**

refers to

Christ’s baptism

**(Matthew 3:16–Matthew 3:17)**

and

to the shedding

of his blood

on the cross

**(John 19:34).**
**The Spirit**

was present

at the baptism

**(Matthew 3:16;** **Mark 1:10;** **Luke 3:22;** **John 1:32,** **And** **John 1:34).**

The testimony to Christ

as the Son of God

is confirmed by divine witness

**(1 John 5:7–1 John 5:9),**

greater by far

than the

two legally required human witnesses

**(Deuteronomy 17:6).**

To deny this

is to deny God’s truth;

**cf.** **John 8:17–John 8:18.**

The gist of

the

divine witness

or

**testimony**

is that

**eternal life**
**(1 John 5:11–1 John 5:12)**

is given

in Christ

and

nowhere else.

To

**possess the Son**

is not

acceptance

of a doctrine

but of a person

who lives now

and

provides life.
**1 John 5:13-1 John 5:21:**

As

children of God

we have confidence

in prayer

because of our

intimate relationship

with him

**(1 John 5:14–1 John 5:15).**

In love,

we pray

**(1 John 5:16–1 John 5:17)**

for those who are in

**sin**,

but not in

**deadly sin**

(literally,

“sin unto death”),

probably

referring to apostasy

or activities brought

on

under the antichrist;

**cf.** **Mark 3:29;** **Hebrews 6:4–Hebrews 6:6;** **And** **Hebrews 10:26–Hebrews 10:31.**

Even in the latter case,

however, prayer,

while not enjoined,

is not forbidden.

The letter concludes

with a summary

of

the themes

of the letter

**(1 John 5:18–1 John 5:20).**

There is a sharp antithesis

between

the children of God

and

those belonging to the world

and

to the evil one.

The Son

reveals

the God of truth;

Christians dwell

in the true God,

**in his Son**,

and have

eternal life.

The final verse

**(1 John 5:21)**

voices

a perennial warning

about

**idols**,

any type

of rival

to God.

## CROSS-REFERENCES

**1 John 1:1:**
**1 John 2:13,** **John 1:1,** **John 1:14,** **John 20:20,** **John 20:25,** **And** **John 20:27.**
**1 John 2:13.** **NABRE:**
**13** I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men, because you have conquered the evil one.

**John 1:1.** **NABRE:**
**I. Prologue**
**Chapter 1**
**1** In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

**John 1:14.** **NABRE:**
**14** And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

**John 20:20.** **NABRE:**
**20** When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

**John 20:25.** **NABRE:**
**25** So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

**John 20:27.** **NABRE:**
**27** Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
**1 John 1:2:**
**John 15:27,** **And** **John 17:5.**
**John 15:27.** **NABRE:**
**27** And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

**John 17:5.** **NABRE:**
**5** Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
**1 John 1:3:**
**John 17:21,** **And** **Acts 4:20.**
**John 17:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

**Acts 4:20.** **NABRE:**
**20** It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.”
**1 John 1:4:**
**John 15:11,** **And** **2 John 1:12.**
**John 15:11.** **NABRE:**
**11** “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

**2 John 12.** **NABRE:**
**12** Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and to speak face to face so that our joy may be complete.
**1 John 1:6:**
**John 12:35.**
**John 12:35.** **NABRE:**
**35** Jesus said to them, “The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
**1 John 1:7:**
**Matthew 26:28,** **Romans 3:24-Romans 3:25,** **Hebrews 9:14,** **1 Peter 1:19,** **And** **Revelation 1:5.**
**Matthew 26:28.** **NABRE:**
**28** for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.

**Romans 3:24-Romans 3:25.** **NABRE:**
**24** They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,

**Hebrews 9:14.** **NABRE:**
**14** how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

**1 Peter 1:19.** **NABRE:**
**19** but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.

**Revelation 1:5.** **NABRE:**
**5** and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
**1 John 1:8:**
**2 Chronicles 6:36,** **And** **Proverbs 20:9.**
**2 Chronicles 6:36.** **NABRE:**
**36** When they sin against you (for there is no one who does not sin), and in your anger against them you deliver them to an enemy, so that their captors carry them off to another land, far or near,

**Proverbs 20:9.** **NABRE:**
**9** Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,

I am cleansed of my sin”?
**1 John 1:8:**
**Proverbs 28:13,** **And** **James 5:16.**
**Proverbs 28:13.** **NABRE:**
**13** Those who conceal their sins do not prosper,

but those who confess and forsake them obtain mercy.

**James 5:16.** **NABRE:**
**Confession and Intercession.**
**16** Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
**1 John 1:10:**
**1 John 5:10.**
**1 John 5:10.** **NABRE:**
**10** Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
**1 John 2:1:**
**John 14:16,** **And** **Hebrews 7:25.**
**John 14:16.** **NABRE:**
**16** And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,

**Hebrews 7:25.** **NABRE:**
**25** Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
**1 John 2:2:**
**1 John 4:10.**
**1 John 4:10.** **NABRE:**
**10** In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
**1 John 2:3:**
**John 14:15,** **And** **John 15:10.**
**John 14:15.** **NABRE:**
**The Advocate.**
**15** “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

**John 15:10.** **NABRE:**
**10** If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
**1 John 2:4:**
**1 John 4:20.**
**1 John 4:20.** **NABRE:**
**20** If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
**1 John 2:5:**
**John 14:23.**
**John 14:23.** **NABRE:**
**23** Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
**1 John 2:7:**
**1 John 3:11,** **Deuteronomy 6:5,** **And** **Matthew 22:37-Matthew 22:40.**
**1 John 3:11.** **NABRE:**
**III. Love for One Another**
**11** For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another,

**Deuteronomy 6:5.** **NABRE:**
**5** Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.

**Matthew 22:37-Matthew 22:40.** **NABRE:**
**37** He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. **38** This is the greatest and the first commandment. **39** The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. **40** The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

**The Question About David’s Son.**
**1 John 2:8:**
**John 13:34,** **John 1:5,** **And** **Romans 13:12.**
**John 13:34.** **NABRE:**
**34** I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

**John 1:5.** **NABRE:**
**5** the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

**Romans 13:12.** **NABRE:**
**12** the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness [and] put on the armor of light;
**1 John 2:9:**
**John 8:12.**
**John 8:12.** **NABRE:**
**12** Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
**1 John 2:10:**
**Ecclesiastes 2:14,** **And** **John 11:10.**
**Ecclesiastes 2:14.** **NABRE:**
**14** Wise people have eyes in their heads,

but fools walk in darkness.

Yet I knew that the same lot befalls both.

**John 11:10.** **NABRE:**
**10** But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
**1 John 2:12:**
**1 Corinthians 6:11.**
**11** That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

**Sexual Immorality.**
**1 John 2:13:**
**1 John 1:1,** **And** **John 1:1.**
**1 John 1:1.** **NABRE:**
**I. Prologue**
**Chapter 1**
**The Word of Life**
**1** What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life—

**John 1:1.** **NABRE:**
**I. Prologue**
**Chapter 1**
**1** In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.
**1 John 2:16:**
**Romans 8:7-Romans 8:8,** **James 4:4,** **And** **2 Peter 1:4.**
**Romans 8:7-Romans 8:8.** **NABRE:**
**7** For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

**James 4:4.** **NABRE:**
**4** Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

**2 Peter 1:4.** **NABRE:**
**4** Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
**1 John 2:18:**
**1 Timothy 4:1.**
**1 Timothy 4:1.** **NABRE:**
**Chapter 4**
**False Asceticism.**
**1** Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions
**1 John 2:20:**
**John 14:26.**
**John 14:26.** **NABRE:**

26 The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.
**1 John 2:21:**
**1 John 3:19,** **And** **2 Peter 1:12.**
**1 John 3:19.** **NABRE:**
**19** [Now] this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him

**2 Peter 1:12.** **NABRE:**
**Apostolic Witness.**

12 Therefore, I will always remind you of these things, even though you already know them and are established in the truth you have.
**1 John 2:22:**
**2 Thessalonians 2:4.**
**2 Thessalonians 2:4.** **NABRE:**
**4** who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god—
**1 John 2:23:**
**John 14:7-John 14:9.**
**John 14:7-John 14:9.** **NABRE:**
**7** If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” **8** Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” **9** Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
**1 John 2:24:**
**John 14:23.**
**23** Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
**1 John 2:25:**
**John 5:24,** **John 10:28,** **And** **John 17:2.**
**John 5:24.** **NABRE:**
**24** Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.

**John 10:28.** **NABRE:**
**28** I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.

**John 17:2.** **NABRE:**
**2** just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.
**1 John 3:1:**
**John 1:12,** **Ephesians 1:5,** **John 15:21,** **And** **John 17:25.**
**John 1:12.** **NABRE:**
**12** But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,

**Ephesians 1:5.** **NABRE:**
**5** he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,

**John 15:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.

**John 17:25.** **NABRE:**
**25** Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
**1 John 3:2:**
**Philippians 3:21.**
**Philippians 3:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.
**1 John 3:3:**
**1 John 2:6.**
**1 John 2:6.** **NABRE:**
**6** whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.

**The New Commandment.**
**1 John 3:5:**
**Isaiah 53:9,** **John 1:29,** **John 8:46,** **And** **1 Peter 2:22.**
**Isaiah 53:9.** **NABRE:**
**9** He was given a grave among the wicked,

a burial place with evildoers,

Though he had done no wrong,

nor was deceit found in his mouth.

**John 1:29.** **NABRE:**
**John the Baptist’s Testimony to Jesus.**
**29** The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

**John 8:46.** **NABRE:**
**46** Can any of you charge me with sin? If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me?

**1 Peter 2:22.** **NABRE:**
**22** “He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
**1 John 3:8:**
**John 8:44,** **And** **John 12:31-John 12:32.**
**John 8:44.** **NABRE:**
**44** You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

**John 12:31-John 12:32.** **NABRE:**
**31** Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. **32** And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”
**1 John 3:11:**
**1 John 2:7,** **John 13:34,** **John 15:12,** **And** **John 15:17.**
**1 John 2:7.** **NABRE:**
**7** Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

**John 13:34.** **NABRE:**
**34** I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

**John 15:12.** **NABRE:**
**12** This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

**John 15:17.** **NABRE:**
**17** This I command you: love one another.

**The World’s Hatred.**
**1 John 3:12:**
**Genesis 4:8,** **And** **Jude 1:11.**
**Genesis 4:8.** **NABRE:**
**8** Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out in the field.” When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

**Jude 1:11.** **NABRE:**
**11** Woe to them! They followed the way of Cain, abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error for the sake of gain, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
**1 John 3:13:**
**Matthew 24:9,** **John 15:18,** **And** **John 17:14.**
**Matthew 24:9.** **NABRE:**
**9** Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name.

**John 15:18.** **NABRE:**
**18** “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

**John 17:14.** **NABRE:**
**14** I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
**1 John 3:14:**
**Leviticus 19:17,** **And** **John 5:24.**
**Leviticus 19:17.** **NABRE:**
**17** You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person.

**John 5:24.** **NABRE:**
**24** Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.
**1 John 3:15:**
**John 8:44.**
**John 8:44.** **NABRE:**
**44** You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
**1 John 3:16:**
**Matthew 20:28,** **John 10:11,** **And** **John 15:13.**
**Matthew 20:28.** **NABRE:**
**28** Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

**The Healing of Two Blind Men.**
**John 10:11.** **NABRE:**
**11** I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

**John 15:13.** **NABRE:**
**13** No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
**1 John 3:17:**
**Deuteronomy 15:7,** **Deuteronomy 15:11,** **And** **James 2:15-James 2:16.**
**Deuteronomy 15:7.** **NABRE:**
**7** If one of your kindred is in need in any community in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need.

**Deuteronomy 15:11.** **NABRE:**
**11** The land will never lack for needy persons; that is why I command you: “Open your hand freely to your poor and to your needy kin in your land.”

**James 2:15-James 2:16.** **NABRE:**
**15** If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, **16** and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
**1 John 3:18:**
**James 1:22.**
**James 1:22.** **NABRE:**
**22** Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.
**1 John 3:22:**
**1 John 5:15,** **Matthew 7:7-Matthew 7:11,** **Matthew 21:22,** **And** **John 14:13-John 14:14.**
**1 John 5:15. NABRE:**
**15** And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

**Matthew 7:7-Matthew 7:11. NABRE:**
**The Answer to Prayers.**
**7** “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. **8** For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. **9** Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, **10** or a snake when he asks for a fish? **11** If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.

**Matthew 21:22. NABRE:**
**22** Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

**The Authority of Jesus Questioned.**
**John 14:13-John 14:14. NABRE:**
**13** And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
**1 John 3:23:**
**John 13:34,** **And** **John 15:17.**
**John 13:34.** **NABRE:**
**34** I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

**John 15:17.** **NABRE:**
**17** This I command you: love one another.

**The World’s Hatred.**
**1 John 3:24:**
**1 John 4:13,** **And** **John 14:21-John 14:23.**
**1 John 4:13.** **NABRE:**
**13** This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.

**John 14:21-John 14:23.** **NABRE:**
**21** Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” **22** Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, “Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” **23** Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
**1 John 4:1:**
**1 John 2:18,** **And** **Matthew 24:24.**
**1 John 2:18.** **NABRE:**
**Antichrists.**
**18** Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour.

**Matthew 24:24.** **NABRE:**
**24** False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect.
**1 John 4:2:**
**1 Corinthians 12:3,** **And** **1 Thessalonians 5:21.**
**1 Corinthians 12:3.** **NABRE:**
**3** Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit.

**1 Thessalonians 5:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** Test everything; retain what is good.
**1 John 4:3:**
**1 John 3:22.**
**1 John 3:22.** **NABRE:**
**22** and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
**1 John 4:5:**
**John 15:19.**
**John 15:19.** **NABRE:**
**19** If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
**1 John 4:6:**
**John 8:47,** **And** **John 10:16.**
**John 8:47.** **NABRE:**
**47** Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not listen, because you do not belong to God.”

**John 10:16.** **NABRE:**
**16** I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
**1 John 4:10:**
**Romans 5:8.**
**8** But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
**1 John 4:11:**
**John 1:18,** **And** **1 Timothy 6:16.**
**John 1:18.** **NABRE:**
**18** No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.

**1 Timothy 6:16.** **NABRE:**
**16** who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

**Right Use of Wealth.**
**1 John 4:17:**
**1 John 2:28.**
**1 John 2:28.** **NABRE:**
**Children of God.**
**28** And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming.
**1 John 4:20:**
**1 John 2:4.**
**1 John 2:4.** **NABRE:**
**4** Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
**1 John 4:21:**
**John 13:34,** **John 14:15,** **John 14:21,** **And** **John 15:17.**
**John 13:34.** **NABRE:**
**34** I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

**John 14:15.** **NABRE:**
**The Advocate.**
**15** “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

**John 14:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

**John 15:17.** **NABRE:**
**17** This I command you: love one another.

**The World’s Hatred.**
**1 John 5:1:**
**John 8:42,** **And** **1 Peter 1:23.**
**John 8:42.** **NABRE:**
**42** Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.

**1 Peter 1:23.** **NABRE:**
**23** You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God,
**1 John 5:3:**
**John 14:15.**
**John 14:15.** **NABRE:**
**The Advocate.**
**15** “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
**1 John 5:4:**
**John 16:33.**
**John 16:33.** **NABRE:**
**33** I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
**1 John 5:5:**
**1 Corinthians 15:57.**
**1 Corinthians 15:57.** **NABRE:**
**57** But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
**1 John 5:6:**
**John 15:26,** **And** **John 19:34.**
**John 15:26.** **NABRE:**
**26** “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.

**John 19:34.** **NABRE:**
**34** but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
**1 John 5:8:**
**John 5:32,** **John 5:36,** **And** **John 15:26.**
**John 5:32.** **NABRE:**
**32** But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

**John 5:36.** **NABRE:**
**36** But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.

**John 15:26.** **NABRE:**
**26** “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.
**1 John 5:9:**
**John 5:32,** **And** **John 5:37.**
**John 5:32.** **NABRE:**
**32** But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.

**John 5:37.** **NABRE:**
**37** Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
**1 John 5:10:**
**John 3:33.**
**John 3:33.** **NABRE:**
**33** Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
**1 John 5:11:**
**1 John 1:2,** **John 1:4,** **John 5:21,** **John 5:26,** **And** **John 17:3.**
**1 John 1:2.** **NABRE:**
**2** for the life was made visible;

we have seen it and testify to it

and proclaim to you the eternal life

that was with the Father and was made visible to us—

**John 1:4.** **NABRE:**
**4** through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;

**John 5:21.** **NABRE:**
**21** For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.

**John 5:26.** **NABRE:**
**26** For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself.

**John 17:3.** **NABRE:**
**3** Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
**1 John 5:13:**
**John 1:12,** **And** **John 20:31.**
**John 1:12.** **NABRE:**
**12** But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name,

**John 20:31.** **NABRE:**
**31** But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
**1 John 5:14:**
**1 John 3:21-1 John 3:22,** **Matthew 7:7,** **And** **John 14:13-John 14:14.**
**1 John 3:21-1 John 3:22.** **NABRE:**
**21** Beloved, if [our] hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God **22** and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

**Matthew 7:7.** **NABRE:**
**The Answer to Prayers.**
**7** “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

**John 14:13-John 14:14.** **NABRE:**
**13** And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. **14** If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
**1 John 5:16:**
**Matthew 12:31.**
**Matthew 12:31.** **NABRE:**
**31** Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
**1 John 5:20:**
**Jeremiah 24:7,** **John 17:3,** **And** **Ephesians 1:17.**
**Jeremiah 24:7.** **NABRE:**
**7** I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

**John 17:3.** **NABRE:**
**3** Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

**Ephesians 1:17.** **NABRE:**
**17** that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.

## OTHER BOOKS OF THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE - REVISED EDITION TRANSLATION

 **THE BOOKS OF THE CATHOLIC BIBLE IN THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE - REVISED EDITION TRANSLATION**

### Old Testament

#### The Pentateuch:

1. The Book of Genesis
2. The Book of Exodus
3. The Book of Leviticus
4. The Book of Numbers
5. The Book of Deuteronomy

#### The Historical Books:

1. The Book of Joshua
2. The Book of Judges
3. The Book of Ruth
4. The First Book of Samuel
5. The Second Book of Samuel
6. The First Book of Kings
7. The Second Book of Kings
8. The First Book of Chronicles
9. The Second Book of Chronicles
10. The Book of Ezra
11. The Book of Nehemiah

#### The Biblical Novellas:

1. The Book of Tobit
2. The Book of Judith
3. The Book of Esther

#### The Maccabean Books:

1. The First Book of Maccabees
2. The Second Book of Maccabees

#### The Poetic Books:

1. The Book of Job
2. The Book of Psalms
3. The Book of Proverbs
4. The Book of Ecclesiastes
5. The Song of Songs
6. The Book of Wisdom
7. The Wisdom of Ben Sira

#### The Prophetic Books:

1. The Book of Isaiah
2. The Book of Jeremiah
3. The Book of Lamentations
4. The Book of Baruch
5. The Book of Ezekiel
6. The Book of Daniel
7. The Book of Hosea
8. The Book of Joel
9. The Book of Amos
10. The Book of Obadiah
11. The Book of Jonah
12. The Book of Micah
13. The Book of Nahum
14. The Book of Habakkuk
15. The Book of Zephaniah
16. The Book of Haggai
17. The Book of Zechariah
18. The Book of Malachi

### New Testament

#### The Four Gospels

1. The Gospel according to Matthew
2. The Gospel according to Mark
3. The Gospel according to Luke
4. The Gospel according to John

#### The Pauline Letters

1. The Letter to The Romans
2. The First Letter to The Corinthians
3. The Second Letter to The Corinthians
4. The Letter to The Galatians
5. The Letter to The Ephesians
6. The Letter to The Philippians
7. The Letter to The Colossians
8. The First Letter to The Thessalonians
9. The Second Letter to The Thessalonians
10. The First Letter to Timothy
11. The Second Letter to Timothy
12. The Letter to Titus
13. The Letter to Philemon

#### The General Letters/Catholic Letters

1. The Letter of James
2. The First Letter of Peter
3. The Second Letter of Peter
4. **The First Letter of John**
5. The Second Letter of John
6. The Third Letter of John
7. The Letter of Jude