1 Juan 4

1 Minamahal, huwag maniwala sa bawat espiritu, pero suriin ang mga espiritu upang makita kung sila ay sa Diyos, dahil maraming mga bulaang propeta ang nagsilabasan sa mundo.

Dear friends, many people [who have a false message] are teaching it to people [MTY]. So do not trust every [message that someone claims/says that God’s] Spirit [MTY] [gave to him]. Instead, (test/think carefully about) the teachings that [you hear] in order to know whether they are from God or not.

2 Sa paraang ito malalaman mo ang Espiritu ng Diyos — ang bawat espiritu na kinikilala si Jesu-Cristo na nagkatawang tao ay sa Diyos,

[I will tell] you how to recognize [teachings that come from] the Spirit of God: Those who affirm/say that Jesus Christ came [from God] to become a human [like us] are [teaching a message] that is from God.

3 at bawat espiritu na hindi kinikilala si Jesus ay hindi sa Diyos. Ito ang espiritu ng antikristo, na inyong narinig na darating, at ngayon ay nasa mundo na.

But those who do not affirm/say [that about] Jesus are not [teaching a message] from God. [They are teachers who] oppose Christ. You have heard that people like that are coming [to be among us]. Even now they are already here!

4 Kayo ay sa Diyos, minamahal kong mga anak, at napagtagumpayan sila dahil ang siyang sumasainyo ay mas dakila kaysa siyang nasa mundo.

As for you who are very dear to me, you belong to God, and you have refused [the false messages] that those people [teach], because [God], who enables you [to do what he wants], is (greater/more powerful) than ([Satan/the devil]), who enables (godless people/people who conduct their lives in a way that displeases God) [MTY].

5 Sila ay makamundo, kaya't ang sinasabi nila ay para sa mundo, at ang mundo ay nakikinig sa kanila.

As for [those who are teaching what is false], they are (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY]. Because of that, they teach what (godless people/people whose lives are displeasing to God) [MTY] want to hear. That is why the (godless people/people whose lives displease God) [MTY] listen to them.

6 Tayo ay sa Diyos. Siyang nakakakilala sa Diyos ay nakikinig sa atin. Siyang hindi nasa Diyos ay hindi nakikinig sa atin. Sa pamamagitan nito nalalaman natin ang espiritu ng katotohan at ang espiritu ng kamalian.

As for us [(exc)], [because] we belong to God, whoever (knows/has a close relationship with) God listens to us. [But] those who do not belong to God do not listen to us. That is how we can know whether [the things that people are teaching] [MTY] are true or whether they are false, and deceiving [people].

7 Minamahal, mahalin natin ang isa't isa, dahil ang pag-ibig ay sa Diyos, at lahat ng nagmamahal ay pinanganak sa Diyos at kilala ang Diyos.

Dear friends, we must love each other, because God [enables us] to love [each other], and because those who love [their fellow believers] have become God’s children and (know/have a close relationship with) him.

8 Ang taong hindi nagmamahal ay hindi kilala ang Diyos, dahil ang Diyos ay pag-ibig.

God’s [nature] is to love [all people]. So those who do not love [their fellow believers] do not (know/have a relationship with) God.

9 Sa pamamagitan nito ang pag-ibig ng Diyos ay nahayag sa atin, na pinadala ng Diyos ang kanyang bugtong na anak sa mundo upang tayo ay maaring mabuhay sa pamamagitan niya.

I will tell you how God has shown us [that he] loves us: He sent (his only Son/the only one who was also God) [to live] on the earth to enable us to live [eternally] as a result of [our trusting in what] he [accomplished for us by dying for us].

10 Sa ganito ang pag-ibig, hindi dahil minahal natin siya, kundi minahal niya tayo, at pinadala niya ang kanyang Anak na maging kabayaran ng ating mga kasalanan.

[And God] has shown [us what it means to] love [another person]: [It does] not [mean] that we loved God, but [it means] that God loved us and sent (his Son/the one who was also God) to sacrifice [his life] in order that [our sins might be forgiven] {[he might forgive] our sins}.

11 Minamahal, kung tayo'y lubos na minahal ng Diyos, nararapat din nating mahalin ang bawat isa.

Dear friends, since God loves us like that, we certainly ought to love each other!

12 Walang sinuman ang nakakita kailanman sa Diyos. Kung mahal natin ang isa't isa, ang Diyos ay mananatili sa atin at ang pag-ibig niya ay lubos na nasa atin.

No one has ever seen God. [Nevertheless], if we love each other, [it is evident that] God lives within us and that we love others just like he [intends/wants us to do].

13 Sa pamamagitan nito malalaman natin na tayo ay nananatili sa kanya at siya sa atin, dahil binigay niya sa atin ang kanyang Espiritu.

[I will tell you] how we can be sure that we have a close relationship with God and that God is within us: He has put his Spirit within us.

14 At nakita natin at nasaksihan na ipinadala ng Ama ang kanyang anak upang maging tagapagligtas ng mundo.

We [apostles] have seen (God’s Son/the one who is also God), and [we tell people] that the Father sent him to save [the people in] the world [MTY] [from being punished for their sins].

15 Sinuman ang kumikilala na si Jesu-Cristo ay ang Anak ng Diyos, ang Diyos ay nananatili sa kanya at siya sa Diyos.

[So] those who affirm/say that Jesus is the (Son of/one who is also) God, God is within them, and they have a close relationship with God.

16 At alam natin at pinaniwalaan ang pag-ibig na mayroon ang Diyos na nasa sa atin. Ang Diyos ay pag-ibig, at siyang nananatili sa pag-ibig ay nananatili sa Diyos, at ang Diyos ay nananatili sa kanya.

We have experienced how God loves us and we believe that he loves us. [As a result, we love others. Because] God’s [nature] is to love people, those who continue to love [others] have a close relationship with God, and God has a close relationship with them.

17 Sa ganito ang pagmamahal ay ginawang lubos sa atin, nang sa gayon tayo ay maaring magkaroon ng kasiguraduhan sa araw ng paghuhukom, dahil gaya niya, gayon din tayo sa mundong ito.

We [should] love others completely. And if we do that, when the time comes for [him to] judge us, we will be confident [that he will not condemn us] (OR, [that we have a close relationship with him]). [We will be confident of that] because of our [conducting our lives] in this world as Christ did.

18 Walang anumang takot sa pag-ibig. Pero ang pag-ibig na lubos ay inaalis ang takot, dahil ang takot ay may kinalaman sa kaparusahan. Pero kung sinuman ang siyang natatakot ay hindi nagawang lubos sa pag-ibig.

We will not be afraid [of God] if we [truly] love [him], because those who love [God] completely cannot possibly be afraid [of him]. [We would be] afraid only [if we thought that he would] punish us. So those who are afraid [of God certainly] are not loving [God] completely.

19 Nagmamahal tayo dahil minahal muna tayo ng Diyos.

We love [God and our fellow believers] because God loved us first.

20 Kung sinuman ang nagsasabi, “Mahal ko ang Diyos” pero kinapopootan ang kanyang kapatid siya ay isang sinungaling. Pagkat ang sinuman na hindi umiibig sa kanyang kapatid, na kanyang nakikita, ay hindi umiibig sa Diyos, na hindi niya nakikita.

[So] those who say “I love God” but hate a fellow believer are lying. Those who do not love one of their fellow believers, whom they have seen, certainly cannot be loving God, whom they have not seen.

21 At ito ang kautusan na mayroon tayo mula sa kanya: Kung sinuman ang nagmamahal sa Diyos ay dapat ding mahalin ang kanyang kapatid.

Keep in mind that this is what God has commanded us: If we love him, we must also love our fellow believers.