The Word of Life Became a Human Being

¹The Word of life was here from the beginning. We’ve heard him, we’ve seen him with our eyes, we’ve looked at him, and our hands have touched him. So we want to tell you about him.

²This life has appeared, and we’ve seen him and are witnesses about him. So we’re announcing to you this same eternal life, which was with the Father and has now appeared to us.

³We’re announcing to you what we’ve seen and heard so that you can share life together with us, with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

⁴We’re writing this to make our joy complete.

Walking in the Light

⁵Here’s the message that we’ve heard from him and are announcing to you: God is light, and there’s no darkness in him at all.

⁶If we say that we share life with God but still walk in the darkness, then we’re lying and not living the truth.

⁷But if we walk in the light, just as he is in the light, then we share life with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son makes us pure from all sin.

⁸If we claim not to have any sin, then we’re fooling ourselves and the truth isn’t in us.

⁹But if we confess our sins, God is trustworthy and fair. He’ll forgive our sins and make us pure from every wrong thing we’ve done.

¹⁰If we claim that we haven’t sinned, we’re calling God a liar and his word isn’t in us.