Selections from The Message: 1 John

Jesus solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s. (1 John 2:2)

Wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important has nothing to do with the Father. (1 John 2:16)

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. (1 John 3:1)

The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways. (1 John 3:8)

God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. (1 John 3:20)

We’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! (1 John 3:21)

We experience God's deep and abiding presence in us by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24)

Don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. (1 John 4:1)

This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)

This is the kind of love we are talking about--not that we loved God first, but that he loved us first and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins. (1 John 4:10)

God has given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. (1 John 4:13)

Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. God is love. (1 John 4:15-16)

We're free of worry on Judgment Day--our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life--fear of death, fear of judgment--is one not yet fully formed in love. (1 John 4:17-18)

We are going to love--love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. (1 John 4:19-18)

Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. (1 John 4:21)

Jesus—the Divine Christ! He experienced a life-giving birth and a death-killing death. (1 John 5:6)

This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life. (1 John 5:11-12)

The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can’t lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it’s only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One. And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Be on guard against all clever facsimiles.  (1 John 5:18-21)

Note: I didn't find anything that I wanted to select from The Message's 2-3 John.