1 John 4

1 Dear friends, don't trust every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to find out whether they're from God, for there are many false prophets out there in the world.

Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 How can you recognize God's Spirit? Every spirit that accepts Jesus Christ came with a human body is from God;

The Spirit of God may be known in this way. Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has arrived in the flesh is of God;

3 while every spirit that doesn't accept Jesus, that spirit isn't from God. In fact it is the spirit of the antichrist which you heard was coming, and which is already in the world.

and every spirit who contradicts Jesus is not of God. And this one is the Antichrist, the one that you have heard is coming, and even now he is in the world.

4 But you belong to God, my friends, and you have defeated them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Little sons, you are of God, and so you have overcome him. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5 They belong to the world, so they speak like people of the world, and the world listens to them.

They are of the world. Therefore, they speak about the world, and the world listens to them.

6 We belong to God and whoever knows God listens to us, while whoever doesn't belong to God doesn't listen to us. This is how we can distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of deception.

We are of God. Whoever knows God, listens to us. Whoever is not of God, does not listen to us. In this way, we know the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

7 Dear friends, let's go on loving one another, for love comes from God. All those who love are born of God and know God.

Most beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 Those who don't love don't know God, for God is love.

Whoever does not love, does not know God. For God is love.

9 How was God's love shown to us? God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could live through him.

The love of God was made apparent to us in this way: that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

10 This is love! It's not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and he sent his Son to be the reconciliation for our sins.

In this is love: not as if we had loved God, but that he first loved us, and so he sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins.

11 Friends, if this is the way God loves us, we ought to love one another like this too.

Most beloved, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12 No one has ever seen God. However, if we love one another then God lives in us, and his love is fulfilled in us.

No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 How can we know that we live in him, and that he lives in us? He's given us the ability to love by his Spirit.

In this way, we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he has given to us from his Spirit.

14 For we are witnesses to what we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world.

And we have seen, and we testify, that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

15 God lives in everyone who declares that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God.

Whoever has confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16 We have experienced and trusted in the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him.

17 This is how love is made complete in us so that we can be confident on judgment day: by the fact that we live just like him in this world.

In this way, the love of God is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment. For as he is, so also are we, in this world.

18 Where there is love there can be no fear. God loves us completely, and this love drives all our fears away. If we do fear, it's because we fear being punished, and this shows that we have not been fully re-made by the completeness of God's love.

Fear is not in love. Instead, perfect love casts out fear, for fear pertains to punishment. And whoever fears is not perfected in love.

19 We love because he loved us first.

Therefore, let us love God, for God first loved us.

20 Anyone who says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, is a liar. Anyone who doesn't love a brother whom they can see, can't love God whom they can't see.

If anyone says that he loves God, but hates his brother, then he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he does see, in what way can he love God, whom he does not see?

21 This is the command he gave to us: those who love God love their brothers and sisters too.

And this is the commandment that we have from God, that he who loves God must also love his brother.