I. Prologue

The Word of Life*

1What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life—a

2for the life was made visible;

we have seen it and testify to it

and proclaim to you the eternal life

that was with the Father and was made visible to us—b

3what we have seen and heard

we proclaim now to you,

so that you too may have fellowship with us;

for our fellowship is with the Father

and with his Son, Jesus Christ.c

4We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.d

II. God as Light

God Is Light. 5Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light,* and in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.e 7But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.f 8If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves,* and the truth is not in us.g 9If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.h 10If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.i

Book Introduction

Footnotes

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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