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.
Do not believe every spirit, beloved, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets are 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;
By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is from 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 which confesses him not, is not from God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist of which you have heard that it is coming, and that now it is already 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.
My little children, you are of God and have conquered them; because he that is within you is greater than he that 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, and for this reason they speak as of 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.
But you are of God. He who is beginning to know God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we may distinguish 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.
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loves us a child of God.
8 Those who don't love don't know God, for God is love.
He who 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.
In this was the love of God clearly shown toward us, by his sending his only 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 that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
11 Friends, if this is the way God loves us, we ought to love one another like this too.
If God so loved us, beloved, 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 man has ever gazed on God; but if we love one another, God ever 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.
By this we come to know that we are abiding in him, and he in us, because he has given us of 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 beheld and do testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15 God lives in everyone who declares that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God.
If any man confesses that "Jesus is the Son of God." God is abiding in that man, 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 do know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love; and he who is abiding in love is abiding in God, and God is abiding 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 is love made perfect with us, so that we may have cheerful confidence in the Day of Judgment, because we are living in this world as He lives.
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 does not exist in love; but love, when it is perfect, drives out fear. For fear has always torment, and he who has fear is not yet perfected in love.
19 We love because he loved us first.
We love because He loved us first.
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 any one says, "I love God," and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot possibly love God, whom he has not seen.
21 This is the command he gave to us: those who love God love their brothers and sisters too.
And we have this command from God. HE WHO LOVES GOD IS TO LOVE HIS BROTHER ALSO.
