Faith Overcomes the World

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiaha has been born from God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child. 2This is how we know that we love God’s children: we love God and keep his commandments. 3For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep his commandments, and his commandments are not difficult, 4because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. 5Who overcomes the world? Is it not the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

6This man, Jesus the Messiah,b is the one who came by water and blood—not with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three witnessesc — 8the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are one.

9If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because it is the testimony of God and because he has testified about his Son. 10The person who believes in the Son of God believes this testimony personally.d The person who does not believe Gode has made him a liar by not believing the testimony that hef has given about his Son.

11This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. 12The person who has the Son has this life. The person who does not have the Son of God does not have this life.

Conclusion

13I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14And this is the confidence that we have in him: if we ask for anything according to his will, he listens to us. 15And if we know that he listens to our requests, we can be sure that we have what we ask him for.

16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray that Godg would give him life. This applies to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not telling you to pray about that. 17Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that do not lead to death.

18We know that the person who has been born from God does not go on sinning. Rather, the Sonh of God protects them, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies under the control of the evil one. 20We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God.i We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah,j who is the true God and eternal life.

21Little children, keep yourselves away from idols.k

Greetings from John