The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ¹ 

Now ¹  this is the gospel ²  message ³  we have heard from him ⁴  and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁵ 

And this is the confidence that we have before him: that ¹  whenever ²  we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know ¹  him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one ²  is the true God and eternal life.

Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness ¹  is righteous, just as Jesus ²  is righteous.

But whoever obeys his ¹  word, truly in this person ²  the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him.

We know that ¹  we have crossed over ²  from death to life ³  because ⁴  we love our fellow Christians. ⁵  The one who does not love remains in death. ⁶ 

In this ¹  is love: not that ²  we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice ³  for our sins.

And if we know ¹  that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.

and ¹  whatever we ask we receive from him, because ²  we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him.

What we have seen and heard we announce ¹  to you too, so that ²  you may have fellowship ³  with us (and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ).

By this ¹  love is perfected with ²  us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus ³  is, so also are we in this world.

Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God,

not like Cain ¹  who was of the evil one and brutally ²  murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

Now as for you, the anointing ¹  that you received from him ²  resides ³  in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his ⁴  anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as ⁵  it ⁶  has taught you, you reside ⁷  in him.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. ¹  The ²  one who fears punishment ³  has not been perfected in love.

If anyone says ¹  “I love God” and yet ²  hates his fellow Christian, ³  he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian ⁴  whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ⁵ 

If ¹  anyone sees his fellow Christian ²  committing a sin not resulting in death, ³  he should ask, and God ⁴  will grant ⁵  life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. ⁶  There is a sin resulting in death. ⁷  I do not say that he should ask about that.

For ¹  there are three that testify, ² 

Everyone who practices sin ¹  also practices lawlessness; ²  indeed, ³  sin is lawlessness.