The Gospel in Brief

Conclusion THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN THE EVANGELIST

Jesus Christ’s proclamation on goodness is a proclamation concerning the knowledge of life, under which knowledge people may have communion with the father of life and consequently have eternal life. This is a proclamation on true goodness.

The knowledge of life consists of knowing that God is life and goodness and that in life and goodness there is no death or evil. If we had said that we were united with God, but we live in evil and death, then we are either beguiling ourselves or are blatantly lying.

Only if we live the same sort of life that Jesus lived, only then can we be united with him. We ought to consider the life of Jesus Christ an example of true life. He saved us and the whole world from falsehood. Only he who recognizes Jesus’s teaching and fulfills his commandments is a true Christian.

Whoever says that he recognizes Jesus Christ’s teaching but does not fulfill his commandments is a blatant deceiver; there is no truth in him. And whoever fulfills his commandments will have love for his neighbor. Only through this love can we unite with God. Whoever says that he has united with Jesus Christ should live just as Jesus lived. Whoever says to himself that he exists in life and goodness but hates his living brother does not exist in life and goodness, but in death and evil, and doesn’t know himself what he is doing. And whoever hates the life that is within him is a blind man.

In order to not be a blind man, one must remember that all things worldly and earthbound are lusts of the flesh or are vanity, and none of this comes from God, that all things worldly are transient and they die.

And only love and good deeds motivated by love are eternal.

Only he who recognizes his spirit as the son of the father, only he may unite with the father. And therefore, hold tight to this knowledge that in spirit you are the son of God the father. Having this surety, you will receive eternal life.

God gave us the opportunity to be his sons and the same as he himself is. And so we become his sons in this life. Although we do not know what will happen with us afterwards, we do know that we are the same as him and that we can unite with him.

Hope for this eternal life will save man from all errors and will make him pure, as pure as the father himself is. Everyone who does evil deeds acts against the father’s will.

Jesus Christ appeared to us in order to teach us salvation from sins and communion with God. And therefore whoever has united with him can no longer sin. Only he who does not know him can sin. And whoever lives within God does what is right. Whoever has not united with God does not do what is right. Whoever has recognized his nativity from God can no longer commit lies. And therefore people can be divided into godly ones and ungodly ones, into those who know the truth and love their brothers and those who do not know the truth and do not love their brothers, because, according to Jesus Christ’s proclamation, we cannot fail to love our brothers.

According to Jesus Christ’s proclamation, we know that we will cross over from death into life if we can begin to love, and that whoever does not love his brother resides in death. We know that whoever does not love his living brother does not love life. And whoever does not love life cannot have life.

According to Jesus Christ’s proclamation, we know that life is given to us out of love for us, and that therefore we should give our own lives out of love for our neighbor, that is, we should sacrifice our lives for the good of our neighbors. So whoever has life and sees that his brother is in need but does not give up his life for his brother has no godly love within him.

One should love not with words, but with deeds and with truth. And whoever loves in this manner will have a peaceful heart because he will be united with the father. If his heart struggles, then he will subdue his heart for God. Because God is more important than the desires of his heart. If, though, his heart does not struggle, then he is blessed. Because he is doing all that he can, the very best, and is fulfilling all that had been commanded him. And he is commanded to believe that he is a son of God and to love his brother.

Those who act in this manner unite themselves with God and become higher than the world, because what is within them is greater and more important than the whole world.

Therefore let us love one another. Love comes from God and everyone who loves is a son of God and knows God. And whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.

That God is love we can deduce from the fact that he sent his spirit, which is the same as him, into the world and gave us life through that spirit. We did not exist and we were not necessary to God, but he gave us life and goodness and accordingly, he loved us.

No one can fathom God. All that we can know of him is that he loved us and gave us life by means of this love. And therefore, in order for us to be in communion with God, we must be the same as he is and do the same as he does, that is, we must love other people. If we love one another, then God is within us and we will remain within him. Having understood God’s love to us, we believe that God is love and that whoever loves is united with God. And having understood that, we do not fear death, because we have become the same as God, as far as this world is concerned. Our life has become love and we have been liberated from fear and all suffering.

We love because God loves us. And we do not love God, whom it is impossible to love, because no one can see him, but we love our brother, whom it is possible to love. Whoever says that he loves God, but hates his brother, is fooling himself because if he does not love his brother whom he can see, how can he love God, whom he cannot see? And so, we are given the command to love God since he resides within our brother.

God’s love consists of fulfilling his commandments. And his commandments are not difficult for the one who, recognizing his nativity from God, becomes higher than the world. Our faith elevates us higher than the world. And our true faith is in the teaching of Jesus, the son of God. He taught us that there should not just be flesh alone, but also spirit.

And the spirit is within us and confirms in us the truth of his teaching. If we believe the things that people assert, then how can we not believe the things that the spirit within us asserts?

Whoever believes that the spirit of life is within him, the spirit that comes down from above, can experience satisfaction within himself. Whoever does not believe that his life is a spirit that comes from the father above makes God into a deceiver. The spirit confirms that the life within us is an eternal life.

Whoever believes that this spirit is the son of the eternal spirit and is the same as that spirit has eternal life. And for whoever believes this, there is no obstacle in life, and all that he desires, according to the will of the father, will all come to pass for him.

And therefore, whoever believes that he is a son of God does not live in falsehood but is purified from evil. Because he knows that the earthbound world is a delusion and knows that within himself, within man, there resides the intelligence capable of comprehending all that truly exists.

Only the spirit—the son of the father—truly exists.