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He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
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And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
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If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
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But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
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Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
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Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.
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Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
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If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness.
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Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
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But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
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I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.