1Jo 1:5-3:10 | ESV | STEP | This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you , that God is light , and in him is no darkness at all .

5 ^aThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that ^bGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 ^cIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and ^ddo not practice the truth. 7 But ^eif we walk in the light, ^fas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^gthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 ^hIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and ⁱthe truth is not in us. 9 ^jIf we confess our sins, he is ^kfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and ^lto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, ^mwe make him a liar, and ⁿhis word is not in us.

1 John 2

Christ Our Advocate

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, ^owe have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 ^pHe is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^qalso for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^rkeep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments ^sis a liar, and ^tthe truth is not in him, 5 but whoever ^ukeeps his word, in him truly ^vthe love of God is perfected. ^wBy this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he ^xabides in him ^yought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The New Commandment

7 Beloved, I am writing you ^zno new commandment, but ^aaan old commandment ^abthat you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is ^aca new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because ^{▼▼Or that} ^aethe darkness is passing away and ^afthe true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and ^aghates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him ^{▼▼Or it} there is no ^aicause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and ^ajwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

12 I am writing to you, little children,
because ^akyour sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know ^alhim who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because ^amyou have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because ^anyou know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know ^aohim who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because ^apyou are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

15 ^aqDo not love the world or the things in the world. ^arIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world— ^asthe desires of the flesh and ^atthe desires of the eyes and pride of life ^{▼▼Or pride in possessions}—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And ^avthe world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Warning Concerning Antichrists

18 Children, ^awit is the last hour, and as you have heard that ^axantichrist is coming, so now ^aymany antichrists have come. ^azTherefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 ^baThey went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^bbif they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, ^bcthat it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been ^bdanointed by ^bethe Holy One, and ^bfyou all have knowledge. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts you know everything} 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but ^bhhe who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is ^bithe antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 ^bjNo one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let ^bkwhat you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then ^blyou too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us ^{▼▼Some manuscripts you}— ^bneternal life.

26 I write these things to you about ^bothose who are trying to deceive you. 27 But ^bpthe anointing that you received from him abides in you, and ^bqyou have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and ^bris true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that ^bswhen he appears ^btwe may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his ^bucoming. 29 If you know that ^bvhe is righteous, you may be sure that ^bweveryone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1 John 3:1-10

1 See ^bxwhat kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called ^bychildren of God; and so we are. The reason why ^bzthe world does not know us is that ^cait did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are ^cbGod’s children ^ccnow, and what we will be ^cdhas not yet appeared; but we know that ^cewhen he appears ^{▼▼Or when it appears} ^cgwe shall be like him, because ^chwe shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who ^cithus hopes in him ^cjpurifies himself as he is pure.

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; ^cksin is lawlessness. 5 You know that ^clhe appeared in order to ^cmtake away sins, and ^cnin him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; ^cono one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, ^cplet no one deceive you. ^cqWhoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 ^crWhoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was ^csto destroy the works of the devil. 9 ^ctNo one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s ^{▼▼Greek his} seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, ^cvnor is the one who ^cwdoes not love his brother.