1 John 4

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but prove the spirits, if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.

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.

2 In this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ having come in the flesh, it is of God,

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

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ having come in the flesh, it is not of God; and this is that of the antichrist, which you heard that it comes, and now it is already in the world.

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.

4 You are of God, little children, and you have overcome them; because greater is He who [is] in you, than he who is in the world.

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.

5 They are of the world, because they speak of this from the world, and the world hears them;

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

6 we are of God; he who is knowing God hears us; he who is not of God, does not hear us; from this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

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.

7 Beloved, may we love one another, because love is of God, and everyone loving has been begotten of God, and knows God;

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.

8 he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.

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

9 In this was revealed the love of God in us, because God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we may live through Him;

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.

10 in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son [as] the propitiation for our sins.

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.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another;

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

12 no one has ever seen God; if we may love one another, God remains in us, and His love is having been perfected in us;

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

13 in this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us, because of His Spirit He has given us.

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.

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [as] Savior of the world;

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

15 whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God;

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

16 and we have known and believed the love that God has in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in love, remains in God, and God in him.

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.

17 In this, love has been perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because even as He is, we also are in this world.

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.

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and he who is fearing has not been made perfect in love;

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.

19 we love Him, because He first loved us;

We love because he loved us first.

20 if anyone may say, “I love God,” and may hate his brother, he is a liar; for he who is not loving his brother whom he has seen, how is he able to love God whom he has not seen?

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.

21 And this [is] the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.

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