1 John 4

₁Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, ₂and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. ₃But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know that person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew that this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.

₄Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God's Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. ₅These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. ₆We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies.

₇My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. ₈God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. ₉God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. ₁₀Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. ₁₁Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.

₁₂No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.

₁₃God has given us his Spirit. That is how we know that we are one with him, just as he is one with us. ₁₄God sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. ₁₅God stays united with everyone who openly says that Jesus is the Son of God. That's how we stay united with God ₁₆and are sure that God loves us.

God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay united in our hearts with God, and he will stay united with us. ₁₇If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won't be worried about the day of judgment. ₁₈A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows that we have not really learnt to love.

₁₉We love because God loved us first. ₂₀But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? ₂₁The commandment that God has given us is: “Love God and love each other!”