Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen Him with my own eyes and listened to Him speak. I have touched Him with my own hands. He is God's message of Life. This One Who is Life from God has been shown to us and we guarantee that we have seen Him; I am speaking of Christ, Who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us.

   Again I say, we are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may share the fellowship and the joys we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ His Son. And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we.

   This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all. So if we say we are His friends, but go on living in spiritual darkness and sin, we are lying.

   But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.

   If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves, and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. [And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.] If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for He says we have sinned.

   Someone may say, "I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ." But if he doesn't do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar.

   My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is Someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the One Who is all that is good and Who pleases God completely. He is the One Who took God's wrath against our sins upon Himself, and brought us into fellowship with God; and He is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world's.

   So keep on believing what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will always be in close fellowship with both God the Father and His Son. and He Himself has promised us this: eternal life.

Taken from I John 1, 2, The Living Bible. For free Lifescope book,
write to Box 1575, Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.