8. But I am writing a new command to you. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9. Someone says, “I am in the light.” But if he hates his brother, he is still in the darkness.
10. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause him to do wrong.
11. But whoever hates his brother is in darkness. He lives in darkness and does not know where he is going. The darkness has made him blind.
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.