Study Desk

We write these things to you so that you can be full of joy with us.

So if we say that we share in life with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars, who don't follow the truth.

My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He always did what was right, so he is able to defend us before God the Father.

My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near.

You have the gift that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.

So who is the liar? It is the one who says Jesus is not the Messiah. Whoever says that is the enemy of Christ—the one who does not believe in the Father or in his Son.

Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you don't need anyone to teach you. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. It is a true gift, not a false one. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.

You know that Christ always did what was right. So you know that all those who do what is right are God's children.

The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don't understand that we are God's children, because they have not known him.

So whoever lives in Christ does not continue to sin. If they continue to sin, they have never really understood Christ and have never known him.

Dear children, don't let anyone lead you into the wrong way. Christ always did what was right. So to be good like Christ, you must do what is right.

So we can see who God's children are and who the devil's children are. These are the ones who are not God's children: those who don't do what is right and those who do not love their brothers and sisters in God's family.

This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other as brothers and sisters.

My dear friends, many false prophets are in the world now. So don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God.

My dear children, you belong to God, so you have already defeated these false prophets. That's because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

And they belong to the world, so what they say is from the world too. And the world listens to what they say.

But we are from God. So the people who know God listen to us. But the people who are not from God don't listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.

Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God's child. And so everyone who loves knows God.

That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So we also must love each other.

So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them.