1 D ear Christian friends, do not believe every spirit. But test the spirits to see if they are from God for there are many false preachers in the world.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 Y ou can tell if the spirit is from God in this way: Every spirit that says Jesus Christ has come in a human body is from God.

By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 A nd every spirit that does not say Jesus has come in a human body is not from God. It is the teaching of the false-christ. You have heard that this teaching is coming. It is already here in the world.

and 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.

4 M y children, you are a part of God’s family. You have stood against these false preachers and had power over them. You had power over them because the One Who lives in you is stronger than the one who is in the world.

You 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 T hose false teachers are a part of the world. They speak about the things of the world. The world listens to them.

They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

6 W e are a part of God’s family. The person who knows God will listen to us. The person who is not a part of God’s family will not listen to us. In this way, we can tell what is the spirit of truth and what is the spirit of false teaching. Loving God Makes Us Love Our Christian Brothers

We 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 D ear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 T hose who do not love do not know God because God is love.

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 G od has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ.

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.

10 T his is love! It is not that we loved God but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay for our sins with His own blood.

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 D ear friends, if God loved us that much, then we should love each other.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Seeing God Through Love

12 N o person has ever seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us. His love is made perfect in us.

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 H e has given us His Spirit. This is how we live by His help and He lives in us. Love Gives Us More Faith in Christ

By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

14 W e have seen and are able to say that the Father sent His Son to save the world from the punishment of sin.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

15 T he person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16 W e have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you. The Love of God Has Power Over Fear and Hate

And 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

17 L ove is made perfect in us when we are not ashamed as we stand before Him on the day He judges. For we know that our life in this world is His life lived in us.

Love 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.

18 T here is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love.

There 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 W e love Him because He loved us first.

We love Him because He first loved us. Obedience by Faith

20 I f a person says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. If a person does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God Whom he has not seen?

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?

21 W e have these words from Him. If you love God, love your brother also.

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.