1 John 4

1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [a] 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ having come in flesh is from God, [b] † 3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world. [c]

4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because greater is the one in you than the one in the world. [d] 5 They are from the world; because of this they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of going astray. [e]

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love did not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was made known among us: that God has sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. [f] 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atonement for our sins. [g] 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever yet looked upon God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love has been made complete in us. [h]

13 By this we know that we remain in him and he in us: because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have looked upon and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the rescuer of the world. [i] 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him, and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and have trusted the love that God has among us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

17 By this love has been made complete with us, so that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because just as that one is, so also are we in this world. [j] 18 There is no fear in love, but complete love throws fear outside, because fear has punishment, and the one who fears has not been made complete in love. [k] 19 We love, because he first loved us. [l] 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [m] 21 And this command we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.