Not all prophetic spirits, brethren, deserve your credence; you must put them to the test, to see whether they come from God. Many false prophets have made their appearance in the world.

This is the test by which God’s Spirit is to be recognized; every spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come to us in human flesh has God for its author;

and no spirit which would disunite Jesus✻ comes from God. This is the power of Antichrist, whose coming you have been told to expect; now you must know that he is here in the world already.

You, little children, who take your origin from God, have gained the mastery over it; there is a stronger power at work in you, than in the world.

Those others, belonging to the world, speak the world’s language, and the world listens to them;

we belong to God, and a man must have knowledge of God if he is to listen to us; if he does not belong to God, he does not listen to us at all. That is the test by which we distinguish the true Spirit from the false spirit.

Beloved, let us love one another; love springs from God; no one can love without being born of God, and knowing God.

How can the man who has no love have any knowledge of God, since God is love?

What has revealed the love of God, where we are concerned, is that he has sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.

That love resides, not in our shewing any love for God, but in his shewing love for us first, when he sent out his Son to be an atonement for our sins.

Beloved, if God has shewn such love to us, we too must love one another.

No man has ever seen God; but if we love one another, then we have God dwelling in us, and the love of God has reached its full growth in our lives.

This is our proof that we are dwelling in him, and he in us; he has given us a share of his own Spirit.✻

We apostles have seen for ourselves, and can testify, that the Father sent out his Son to be the redeemer of the world,✻

and where a man acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God;

we have learned to recognize the love God has in our regard, to recognize it, and to make it our belief. God is love; he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.

That our life in the world should be like his, means that his love has had its way with us to the full, so that we can meet the day of judgement with confidence.

Love has no room for fear; and indeed, love drives out fear when it is perfect love, since fear only serves for correction. The man who is still afraid has not yet reached the full measure of love.✻

Yes, we must love God; he gave us his love first.✻

If a man boasts of loving God, while he hates his own brother, he is a liar. He has seen his brother, and has no love for him; what love can he have for the God he has never seen?

No, this is the divine command that has been given us; the man who loves God must be one who loves his brother as well.