Christ Came to Remove Sin

God's Son has appeared in this world. This fact is contested but it remains the message the world needs to hear. John tells us that Jesus appeared in order to carry away sin, and to dis-empower the devil. Any idea that God hasn't done something about evil in the world is here denied. This is what Christ has done, and what he is doing when his word is declared. John says 'the darkness (of sin) is passing away and the true light is already shining'. 

John links this with how we live. We know that we sin, but a person who abides in Christ won't go on sinning. This tells us where our focus must be. If we dream about being perfect, we never will be, but if we abide in Christ and what he has done, as John says, we won't sin. We are God's own children and his seed is in us.