¹ BELOVED, believe not every pretender to inspiration, but bring these spirits to the trial whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone forth into the world.

² By this ye know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesseth that Jesus the Messiah is come in the flesh, is from God.

³ And every spirit who confesseth not that Jesus the Messiah is come into the world, is not from God: and this is that spirit of antichrist which ye have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world.

⁴ Ye are of God, my dear children, and have overcome them; because he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world.

⁵ They are of the world, therefore speak they as of the world, and the world heareth them.

⁶ We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of delusion.

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another; because love is from God, and every one who loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

⁸ He that loveth not, never knew God; for God is love.

⁹ By this was the love of God manifested to us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might have life by him.

¹⁰ Herein is love, not that we have loved God, but that he hath loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins.

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

¹² No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

¹³ By this we know that we abide in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his own Spirit.

¹⁴ And we have seen and bear testimony, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love which God hath towards us. God is love; and he that abideth in love, abideth in God, and God in him.

¹⁷ By this is his love towards us perfected, that we might have confidence at the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸ Fear is not in this love; but the perfect love casteth out fear: for fear hath anguish. He that is afraid is not made perfect in love.

¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.

²⁰ If any person say, I love God, yet hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love the God whom he hath not seen?

²¹ So this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love also his brother.