John ends his letter by reminding us of the confidence we can have in Jesus. In him, we know that we have eternal life and that we have access to God through prayer.

Loving God and loving people are the greatest commandments, and when we draw from God as the source of love, his commandments are not burdensome.

John tells the little children not to believe every spirit, but to test spirits to see whether they are from God. Jesus is the test. By knowing who Jesus is, and what he has done, we can know God.

In a very direct way, John says that a person who practices righteousness is a child of God, and a person who practices sin is a child of the devil. Jesus appeared to take away sin and destroy the works of the devil. We can be children of God through Jesus, the Son of God.

The hope of Jesus coming again is a hope that purifies the believer. We are called to abide in Jesus so that when he appears we will have confidence and not shrink back from him in shame. The children of God will live righteously because we have the Father's love bestowed upon us.

John writes to the church to warn against deception in the last hour. To avoid deceptions Christians must have a revelation from the Holy Spirit of the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

John writes to the family of God so that we will not sin. If we do sin we have an advocate in Jesus, praise God! If we say we know God we will have a family resemblance - we will walk as Jesus walked and that is to walk in love.

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. As Christians we are to walk in the light. If we walk in the light we have fellowship with God and one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

In the opening words of 1 John, the Apostle John testifies about hearing, seeing, and touching Jesus. Jesus is the eternal God who manifested in the flesh and showed us eternal life. Jesus is fully God and fully man, and he is the savior of the world.