Chapter 1
1 I am greeting you, my dear sister in the Lord, whom God has chosen. I am John, an elder and a respected man, who is writing to you. I am also writing to your children whom I truly love. Tell them that we all love them because we know the truth about who God is.
2 This truth lives inside of us, and it will be with us throughout all the ages.
3 Receive grace, mercy, and peace that come from God the Father and from His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s act according to the truth and love.
4 We received a commandment from the Father to live according to the teaching of the truth. And I am very glad that your children keep this commandment.
5 My dear sister in the Lord, now I would like to remind you of the commandment that we must love one another. I am not writing to you about something new. But this is the commandment that God gave us from the very beginning.
6 When we love others, we obey God’s commandments. We should remember that from the very beginning God taught us to love one another.
7 There are many liars in this world. They do not believe that Jesus Christ came to the earth in a human body. Such people deceive others. They are antichrists who are hostile to Christ.
8 That is why you should pay attention to who you listen to. Otherwise, we might lose what we worked for and not receive our full reward.
9 A person who breaks the teaching of Christ and does not act the way Jesus teaches does not belong to God. But a person who lives according to Christ’s teaching belongs to the Father and the Son.
10 Suppose that someone comes to visit you and starts preaching something that contradicts the teachings of Christ. In this case, do not invite him into your house and do not communicate with him.
11 Do not spend time with such a person, so that you do not take part in his evil deeds.
12 I have a desire to discuss many other things with you. But I do not want to write them down with a pen on paper. I hope to visit you and talk about these matters in person. And this meeting will bring us great joy.
13 The Lord has chosen your sister just as He has chosen you. And her children are sending greetings to you. Amen.