My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not obey his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.
But those who obey his word truly love God. Whoever does not love God does not obey his words. And this word you have heard from the beginning must remain in you.
And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
But the anointing that you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. Instead, his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in him.
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
But whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
This is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another.
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
We know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in them.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is the Patristics text that appears when you select Patristics.
