12. I write to you, dear children,because your sins are forgiven through Christ.
13. I write to you, fathers,because you know the One who existed from the beginning.I write to you, young men,because you have defeated the Evil One.
14. I write to you, children,because you know the Father.I write to you, fathers,because you know the One who existed from the beginning.I write to you, young men,because you are strong;the word of God lives in you,and you have defeated the Evil One.
15. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16. These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world.
17. The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.
18. 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.
19. Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.
20. You have the gift that the Holy One gave you. So you all know the truth.
21. Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.
22. So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son.
23. If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.
24. Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father.
25. And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.
26. I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way.
27. Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.