1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, if they are of ¹⁴God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2Hereby ye know the Spirit of ¹⁵God: every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ come in flesh is of ¹⁶God;

3and every spirit which does not confess Jesus Christ come in flesh is not of ¹⁷God: and this is that [power] of the antichrist, [of] which ye have heard that it comes, and now it is already in the world.

4Ye are of ¹⁸God, children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that [is] in you than he that [is] in the world.

5They are of the world; for this reason they speak [as] of the world, and the world hears them.

6We are of ¹⁹God; he that knows ²⁰God hears us; he who is not of ²¹God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

7Beloved, let us love one another; because love is of ²²God, and every one that loves has been begotten of ²³God, and knows ²⁴God.

8He that loves not has not known ²⁵God; for ²⁶God is love.

9Herein as to us has been manifested the love of ²⁷God, that ²⁸God has sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10Herein is love, not that we loved ²⁹God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son a propitiation for our sins.

11Beloved, if ³⁰God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12No one has seen ³¹God at any time: if we love one another, ³²God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13Hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, that he has given to us of his Spirit.

14And we have seen, and testify, that the Father has sent the Son [as] Saviour of the world.

15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of ³³God, ³⁴God abides in him, and he in ³⁵God.

16And we have known and have believed the love which ³⁶God has to us. ³⁷God is love, and he that abides in love abides in ³⁸God, and ³⁹God in him.

17Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that even as he is, we also are in this world.

18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has torment, and he that fears has not been made perfect in love.

19We love because he has first loved us.

20If any one say, I love ⁴⁰God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love ⁴¹God whom he has not seen?

21And this commandment have we from him, That he that loves ⁴²God love also his brother.