1 John 4

1 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.

E nga hoa aroha, kaua e whakapono atu ki nga wairua katoa, engari me whakamatau nga wairua no te Atua ranei; he tokomaha hoki nga poropiti teka kua haere mai ki te ao.

2 [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.

Ma konei koutou ka matau ai ki te Wairua o te Atua: ko nga wairua katoa e whakaae ana i haere mai a Ihu Karaiti i te kikokiko, no te Atua era:

3 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!

Ko nga wairua katoa hoki kahore e whakaae i haere mai a Ihu Karaiti i te kikokiko, ehara i te mea no te Atua: ko to te anatikaraiti wairua ano tenei, i rongo nei koutou e haere mai ana; a tenei ano kei te ao nei inaianei.

4 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].

No te Atua koutou, e aku tamariki nonohi, kua kaha ano koutou i a ratou: no te mea nui atu tenei i roto i a koutou, i tera i roto i te ao.

5 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.

No te ao ratou: na reira no te ao nei ano a ratou korero, a e whakarongo ana te ao ki a ratou.

6 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].

No te Atua tatou: ko te tangata e matau ana ki te Atua, e whakarongo ana ia ki a tatou; ko te tangata ehara nei i ta te Atua, e kore ia e whakarongo ki a tatou. Ma konei tatou ka matau ai ki te wairua o te pono, ki te wairua o te he.

7 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.

E nga hoa aroha, kia aroha tatou tetahi ki tetahi: no te Atua hoki te aroha; ko te hunga katoa hoki e aroha ana, kua whanau i te Atua, e matau ana hoki ki te Atua.

8 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.

Ko te tangata kahore e aroha, kahore ia e matau ki te Atua; he aroha hoki te Atua.

9 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].

Na konei i kitea mai ai te aroha o te Atua ki a tatou, na te mea kua tonoa mai e te Atua tana Tama kotahi ki te ao, kia ora ai tatou i a ia.

10 [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}.

Ko te aroha tenei, ehara i te mea ko tatou kua aroha ki te Atua, engari ko ia kua aroha ki a tatou, a tonoa mai ana e ia tana Tama hei whakamarie mo o tatou hara.

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

E nga hoa aroha, ki te mea i penei te aroha o te Atua ki a tatou, he tika ano hoki kia aroha tatou tetahi ki tetahi.

12 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].

Kahore he wa i kite ai tetahi i te Atua. Ki te aroha tatou tetahi ki tetahi, e noho ana te Atua i roto i a tatou, kua rite pu ano tona aroha i roto i a tatou.

13 [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.

Na konei tatou i matau ai e noho ana tatou i roto i a ia, me ia i roto i a tatou, na te mea kua homai e ia ta tona Wairua ki a tatou.

14 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].

Kua kite ano matou, ka whakaatu nei ano hoki, i tonoa mai te Tama e te Matua hei Kaiwhakaora mo te ao.

15 [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.

Ko te tangata e whakaae ana ko Ihu te Tama a te Atua, e noho ana te Atua i roto i a ia, me ia ano hoki i roto i te Atua.

16 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.

Kua matau nei ano hoki tatou, kua whakapono ki te aroha o te Atua ki a tatou. He aroha te Atua, ko te tangata hoki e noho ana i runga i te aroha e noho ana i roto i te Atua, me te Atua ano hoki i roto i a ia.

17 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.

Na konei te aroha i roto i a tatou i rite pu ai, a ka whai maiatanga ano tatou a te ra whakawa: na te mea e rite ana ki a ia tatou e noho nei i tenei ao.

18 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.

Kahore he mataku i roto i te aroha: engari ka maka te mataku ki waho e te aroha ina tino rite; no te mea he mamae to te mataku. Ko te tangata hoki e mataku ana, kahore ia i tino rite i roto i te aroha.

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

E aroha ana tatou ki a ia, no te mea ko ia kua matua aroha ki a tatou.

20 [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.

Ki te mea tetahi, E aroha ana ahau ki te Atua, a e mauahara ana ki tona teina, he tangata teka ia: ko te tangata hoki kahore e aroha ki tona teina i kitea nei e ia, me pehea ka aroha ai ia ki te Atua kahore nei i kitea e ia?

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

Kei a tatou ano hoki tenei ture, he mea nana, Ko te tangata e aroha ana ki te Atua, kia aroha hoki ki tona teina.