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1 John 2

The chapter joins assurance in Christ’s atoning work with the call to obey him, love fellow believers, and remain in the truth.

The writer, traditionally identified as the apostle John, addresses believers whose fellowship has been disrupted by people denying that Jesus is the Christ. He begins with Christ’s help for those who sin, then tests claims to know God against obedience and love for fellow believers. He warns against loving the world and against teachers who would lead them astray. Throughout, he urges his readers to hold to what they heard from the beginning and remain in Christ until his coming.

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1My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
2And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
3This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments.
4One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.
5But God’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him:
6he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
7Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
8Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines.
9He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now.
10He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him.
11But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
13I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father.
14I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.
16For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
17The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
18Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour.
19They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us.
20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father.
25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray.
27As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
1 John 2:3Obedience provides evidence that knowing God reaches beyond a spoken claim into the shape of a person’s life.
1 John 2:15The warning against loving the world exposes a rival allegiance, defined through desires and pride that are passing away.
1 John 2:27The anointing assures believers that God has equipped them to resist deception and remain in the truth they received.
Where this chapter reaches

The Gospel of John shares this chapter’s links between love and obedience, remaining in Christ, and God’s provision of teaching through the Spirit. James shares its warning about allegiance to the world, while Romans also connects belonging to God with a changed way of life.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does Christ’s role as Counselor shape your response to the chapter’s warnings about sin?

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What might remaining in what you heard from the beginning look like amid competing claims about Jesus?

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Questions people ask about 1 John 2

What does “Don’t love the world” mean in 1 John 2?

Verses 15–17 describe the world through desires of the flesh and eyes, and the pride of life. The warning concerns allegiance to desires and values opposed to the Father. Verse 2 also speaks of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for the whole world, so the command does not authorize hatred of people.

Does 1 John 2 say Christians must be sinless?

The chapter begins with the aim that believers should avoid sin, while acknowledging that someone may sin and need Jesus Christ as Counselor with the Father. Verses 3–6 then treat obedience as evidence of knowing him. The chapter holds forgiveness and the demand for a life of obedience together.

What is the anointing in 1 John 2:27?

The anointing is understood as God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, though this verse does not name the Spirit. Its context is the threat of deceptive teachers. The writer directs believers to the truth they received from the beginning; his own act of teaching them shows that instruction itself is not rejected.

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What the Bible says about temptation →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about guilt →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).