New Testament Plan

¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him.

²This is how we know that we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands.

³For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden,

⁴because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.

⁵Who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

⁶Jesus Christ — he is the one who came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

⁷For there are three that testify:

⁸the Spirit, the water, and the blood  — and these three are in agreement.

⁹If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because it is God’s testimony that he has given about his Son.

¹⁰The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony God has given about his Son.

¹¹And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

¹²The one who has the Son has life. The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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.

¹⁴This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

¹⁵And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.

¹⁶If anyone sees a fellow believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, he should ask, and God will give life to him — to those who commit sin that doesn’t lead to death. There is sin that leads to death. I am not saying he should pray about that.

¹⁷All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that doesn’t lead to death.

¹⁸We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

¹⁹We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.

²⁰And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one — that is, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

²¹Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

¹The elder: To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth — and not only I, but also all who know the truth  —

²because of the truth that remains in us and will be with us forever.

³Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

⁴I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, in keeping with a command we have received from the Father.

⁵So now I ask you, dear lady — not as if I were writing you a new command, but one we have had from the beginning — that we love one another.

⁶This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.

⁷Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.

⁸Watch yourselves so you don’t lose what we have worked for, but that you may receive a full reward.

⁹Anyone who does not remain in Christ’s teaching but goes beyond it does not have God. The one who remains in that teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and don’t greet him;

¹¹for the one who greets him shares in his evil works.

¹²Though I have many things to write to you, I don’t want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so that our joy may be complete.

¹³The children of your elect sister send you greetings.

¹The elder: To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

²Dear friend, I pray that you are prospering in every way and are in good health, just as your whole life is going well.

³For I was very glad when fellow believers came and testified to your fidelity to the truth — how you are walking in truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in truth.

⁵Dear friend, you are acting faithfully in whatever you do for the brothers and sisters, especially when they are strangers.

⁶They have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God,

⁷since they set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans.

⁸Therefore, we ought to support such people so that we can be coworkers with the truth.

⁹I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have first place among them, does not receive our authority.

¹⁰This is why, if I come, I will remind him of the works he is doing, slandering us with malicious words. And he is not satisfied with that! He not only refuses to welcome fellow believers, but he even stops those who want to do so and expels them from the church.

¹¹Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

¹²Everyone speaks well of Demetrius — even the truth itself. And we also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

¹³I have many things to write you, but I don’t want to write to you with pen and ink.

¹⁴I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

¹⁵Peace to you. The friends send you greetings. Greet the friends by name.