1 John
Chapter 1
What Happens in This Chapter
John writes about someone he heard, saw, and touched with his own hands: the Word of life. He tells his readers what he saw and heard so they can share it with him, and with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. He passes on the message that God is light, with no darkness in him at all. Then he writes about living in that light, and says that if we tell God our sins, God forgives them and makes us clean.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
1Someone was there from the very beginning. We heard him with our own ears. We saw him with our own eyes. We looked right at him. We touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
"The Word of life" is a name John uses for Jesus.
2(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
2This life was made known to us. We saw it, and we say it is true. So we tell you about the life that never ends. That life was with the Father. Then it was made known to us.
3That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
3We tell you what we saw and heard. We want you to share it with us, like friends who belong together. And we share it with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
4And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
4We write these things down so that your joy will be full.
5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
5Here is the message we heard from him, and now we tell it to you. God is light. There is no darkness in him at all.
6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
6Someone may say he is a close friend of God. But he keeps living in the dark. Then he is lying. He is not living by what is true.
To "walk" here means the way a person lives every day. It is not about moving your feet.
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
7God is in the light. If we live in the light too, then we belong together as friends. And the blood of Jesus, God's Son, washes away all our sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
8If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
9If we tell God our sins, he will forgive them. He always keeps his word, and he does what is right. He makes us clean from every wrong thing we have done.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
10If we say we have never sinned, we are calling God a liar. His word is not in us.
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