1 John 4

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but put the spirits to the test to see whether they are from God; for many false teachers have gone out into the world.

My loved ones, do not put your faith in every spirit, but put them to the test, to see if they are from God: because a great number of false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 The test by which you may recognize the Spirit of God is that every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come as man is from God,

By this you may have knowledge of the Spirit of God: every spirit which says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God:

3 and that no spirit is from God which does not acknowledge this about Jesus. Such is the spirit of the anti-Christ; of whose coming you have heard, and it is already in the world.

And every spirit which does not say this is not from God: this is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you have had word; and it is in the world even now.

4 As for you, dear children, you are God's children, and have successfully resisted them; for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

You are of God, my little children, and you have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5 They are the world's children, and so their language is that of the world, and the world listens to them. We are God's children.

They are of the world, so their talk is the world's talk, and the world gives ear to them.

6 The man who is beginning to know God listens to us, but he who is not a child of God does not listen to us. By this test we can distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

We are of God: he who has the knowledge of God gives ear to us; he who is not of God does not give ear to us. By this we may see which is the true spirit, and which is the spirit of error.

7 Dear friends, let us love one another; for love has its origin in God, and every one who loves has become a child of God and is beginning to know God.

My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.

8 He who is destitute of love has never had any knowledge of God; because God is love.

He who has no love has no knowledge of God, because God is love.

9 God's love for us has been manifested in that He has sent His only Son into the world so that we may have Life through Him.

And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

10 This is love indeed--we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins.

11 Dear friends, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another.

12 No one has ever yet seen God. If we love one another, God continues in union with us, and His love in all its perfection is in our hearts.

No man has ever seen God: if we have love for one another, God is in us and his love is made complete in us:

13 We can know that we are continuing in union with Him and that He is continuing in union with us, by the fact that He has given us a portion of His Spirit.

And his Spirit which he has given us is the witness that we are in him and he is in us.

14 And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

And we have seen and give witness that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God--God continues in union with him, and he continues in union with God.

Everyone who says openly that Jesus is the Son of God, has God in him and is in God.

16 And, as for us, we know the love which God has for us, and we confide in it. God is love, and he who continues to love continues in union with God, and God continues in union with him.

And we have seen and had faith in the love which God has for us. God is love, and everyone who has love is in God, and God is in him.

17 Our love will be manifested in all its perfection by our having complete confidence on the day of the Judgement; because just what He is, we also are in the world.

In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 Love has in it no element of fear; but perfect love drives away fear, because fear involves pain, and if a man gives way to fear, there is something imperfect in his love.

There is no fear in love: true love has no room for fear, because where fear is, there is pain; and he who is not free from fear is not complete in love.

19 We love because God first loved us.

We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.

20 If any one says that he loves God, while he hates his brother man, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother man whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

If a man says, I have love for God, and has hate for his brother, his words are false: for how is the man who has no love for his brother whom he has seen, able to have love for God whom he has not seen?

21 And the command which we have from Him is that he who loves God must love his brother man also.

And this is the word which we have from him, that he who has love for God is to have the same love for his brother.