4

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ⚓test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ⚓many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ⚓Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ⚓he who is in the world. ⁵⚓They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ⚓the world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ⚓By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love

⁷⚓Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who ⚓loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹⚓In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten ⚓Son into the world, that we might live through Him. ¹⁰In this is love, ⚓not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son ⚓to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, ⚓if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

¹²⚓No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. ¹³⚓By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. ¹⁴And ⚓we have seen and testify that ⚓the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵⚓Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and ⚓he who abides in love abides in God, and God ⚓in him.

The Consummation of Love

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that ⚓we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹⚓We love Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

²⁰⚓If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God ⚓whom he has not seen? ²¹And ⚓this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

4

On Denying the Incarnation

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
⁴You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit⚓ of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

God’s Love and Ours

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
¹³This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.