1 John 4

4 ¹Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they're from our Father, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of our Father: every spirit confessing that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from our Father, ³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from our Father. This is the antichrist's spirit, which you heard was coming, and is already in the world now. ⁴You are from our Father, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is the one in you than the one in the world. ⁵They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from our Father. Whoever knows him hears us; whoever is not from him does not hear us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Our Father Is Love

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from our Father, and all who love are born of him and know him. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know our Father, because our Father is love. ^a a v8 "God is love" becomes "our Father is love" — love is not an attribute he wears but his very identity as Father. ⁹This is how our Father's love was shown among us: our Father sent his one and only Son into the world so we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved our Father, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ^b b v10 An atoning sacrifice is an offering that pays the full price for sin, restoring the relationship our sin had broken. ¹¹Beloved, if our Father so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen our Father; if we love one another, our Father remains in us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³By this we know we live in him and he in us: he has given us his Spirit. ¹⁴We have seen and testify that our Father sent the Son as Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses Jesus is the Son of our Father, our Father remains in him, and he in our Father. ¹⁶We have known and believed the love our Father has for us. Our Father is love, and whoever remains in love remains in him, and he in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete in us, so we may have confidence on judgment day, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸In love there is no fear; perfect love drives out fear, since fear involves punishment, and whoever fears is not complete in love. ¹⁹We love because our Father first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, "I love our Father," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love our Father, whom he has not seen. ²¹And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves our Father must also love his brother.