The Message Bible MSG
New American Standard Bible NAS
1 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus.
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My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good - not only ours, but the whole world's.
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and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3 Here's how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.
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By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 If someone claims, "I know him well!" but doesn't keep his commandments, he's obviously a liar. His life doesn't match his words.
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The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 But the one who keeps God's word is the person in whom we see God's mature love. This is the only way to be sure we're in God.
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but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
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the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
7 My dear friends, I'm not writing anything new here. This is the oldest commandment in the book, and you've known it from day one. It's always been implicit in the Message you've heard.
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Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
8 On the other hand, perhaps it is new, freshly minted as it is in both Christ and you - the darkness on its way out and the True Light already blazing!
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On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark.
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The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.
10 It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others.
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The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.
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But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name.
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I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.
13 You veterans were in on the ground floor, and know the One who started all this; you newcomers have won a big victory over the Evil One.
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I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the 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 You veterans know the One who started it all; and you newcomers - such vitality and strength! God's word is so steady in you. Your fellowship with God enables you to gain a victory over the Evil One.
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I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.
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Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.
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For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out - but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
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The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
18 Children, time is just about up. You heard that Antichrist is coming. Well, they're all over the place, antichrists everywhere you look. That's how we know that we're close to the end.
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Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.
19 They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.
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They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
20 But you belong. The Holy One anointed you, and you all know it.
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But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
21 I haven't been writing this to tell you something you don't know, but to confirm the truth you do know, and to remind you that the truth doesn't breed lies.
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I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22 So who is lying here? It's the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that's who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son.
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Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has any part with the Father, but affirming the Son is an embrace of the Father as well.
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Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it sink into your life. If what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father.
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As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life!
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This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
26 I've written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you.
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These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
27 But they're no match for what is embedded deeply within you - Christ's anointing, no less! You don't need any of their so-called teaching. Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
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As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
28 And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we'll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
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Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
29 Once you're convinced that he is right and righteous, you'll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God's true children.
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If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California. All rights reserved.