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Testing the Spirits

^1 (C1)Beloved, do not believe every ^(C2)spirit speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C3)many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world.² By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: ^(C1)every spirit that ^(C2)acknowledges and confesses the fact that ^(C3)Jesus Christ has actually come in the flesh as a man is from God God is its source;³ and every spirit that ^(C1)does not confess Jesus acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son's true nature is not of God; this is the spirit of the ^(C2)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is ^(C3)now already in the world.^4 (C1)Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and ^(C2)have already overcome them the agents of the antichrist; because He who is in you is ^(C3)greater than ^(C4)he (Satan) who is in the world of sinful mankind.^5 (C1)They who teach twisted doctrine are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the viewpoint of the world with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright, and the gullible people of the world listen closely and pay attention to them.^6 (C1)We who teach God's word are from God energized by the Holy Spirit, and ^(C2)whoever knows God through personal experience listens to us and has a deeper understanding of Him. ^(C3)Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know without any doubt ^(C4)the spirit of truth motivated by God and ^(C5)the spirit of error motivated by Satan.

God Is Love

^7 (C1)Beloved, let us unselfishly ^(F1)(C2)love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and ^(C3)everyone who loves others is ^(C4)born of God and ^(C5)knows God through personal experience.⁸ The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God does not and never did know Him, for ^(C1)God is love. He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.⁹ By this the love of God was displayed ^(C1)in us, in that ^(C2)God has sent His One and only begotten Son the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind into the world so that we might live through Him.¹⁰ In this is love, ^(C1)not that we loved God, but that ^(C2)He loved us and sent His Son to be ^(C3)the propitiation that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering for our sins fulfilling God's requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath.^11 (C1)Beloved, if God so loved us in this incredible way, ^(C2)we also ought to love one another.^12 (C1)No one has seen God at any time. But if we love one another with unselfish concern, God abides in us, and His ^(C2)love the love that is His essence abides in us and is completed and perfected in us.^13 (C1)By this we know with confident assurance that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given to us His Holy Spirit.¹⁴ We who were with Him in person have seen and ^(C1)testify as eye-witnesses that the Father has ^(C2)sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

^15 (C1)Whoever confesses and acknowledges that ^(C2)Jesus is the Son of God, God ^(C3)abides in him, and he in God.^16 (C1)We have come to know by personal observation and experience, and have believed with deep, consistent faith the love which God has ^(C2)for us. ^(C3)God is love, and the one who ^(C4)abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him.¹⁷ In this union and fellowship with Him, ^(C1)love is completed and perfected with us, so that we may have ^(C2)confidence in ^(C3)the day of judgment with assurance and boldness to face Him; because ^(C4)as He is, so are we in this world.¹⁸ There is no fear in love dread does not exist. But ^(C1)perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves the expectation of divine punishment, so the one who is afraid of God's judgment is not ^(C2)perfected in love has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God's love.^19 (C1)We love, because ^(F1)He first loved us.^20 (C1)If anyone says, "I love God," and ^(C2)hates (works against) his Christian brother he is a ^(C3)liar; for ^(C4)the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, ^(C5)cannot love God whom he has not seen.²¹ And ^(C1)this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God ^(C2)should also unselfishly love his brother and seek the best for him.