Test the Spirits

¹Beloved, tdo not believe every spirit, but utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for vmany wfalse prophets xhave gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: yevery spirit that confesses that zJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³and every spirit athat does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and bnow is in the world already. ⁴Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for che who is in you is greater than dhe who is in the world. ⁵eThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and fthe world listens to them. ⁶We are from God. gWhoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know hthe Spirit of truth and ithe spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷Beloved, jlet us love one another, for love is from God, and kwhoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸lAnyone who does not love does not know God, because mGod is love. ⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that nGod sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, onot that we have loved God nbut that he loved us and sent his Son to be pthe propitiation for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²qNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and rhis love is perfected in us.

¹³sBy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And twe have seen and testify that uthe Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of vthe world. ¹⁵wWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So xwe have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. yGod is love, and zwhoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷By this ais love perfected with us, so that bwe may have confidence for the day of judgment, because cas he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but dperfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not abeen perfected in love. ¹⁹eWe love because he first loved us. ²⁰fIf anyone says, “I love God,” and ghates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot1 love God hwhom he has not seen. ²¹And ithis commandment we have from him: jwhoever loves God must also love his brother.