1 John
Chapter 4
Discernment of Spirit
Beloved, do not trust every inspiration. Test the spirits to see if they come from God, because many false prophets are in the world now.
How can you recognize the Spirit of God? Any spirit that acknowledges Jesus as the Christ who became flesh is of God.
But any spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God; it is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard of his coming, and even now, he is in the world.
You, little children, are of God, and you have already overcome these people because the one who is in you is more powerful than he who is in the world.
They are of the world, and their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them.
We are of God, and those who know God, listen to us, but those who are not of God, ignore us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood as well.
God Is Love
Beloved, let us love one another because love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Those who do not love have not known God, for God is love.
How has the love of God appeared among us? God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us first and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Beloved, if God’s love has been shown to us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us.
How can we know that we live in God and he in us? Because he has given us his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.
We have come to know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
How do we know that we have reached complete love? When we are like him in this world, and we can face the day of judgment with confidence.
There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Those who are afraid are not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
If you say, ‘I love God,’ but hate your brother or sister, you are lying. How can you love God, whom you haven’t seen, if you do not love your brother or sister, whom you see?
We received this command from him: those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.
Commentaries
Discernment of Spirit.
False teachers and antichrists speak the language of the world; Christians should not listen to them. Concerning those influenced by Gnostic ideas that denied Christ’s humanity and the significance of his sacrifice on the cross, John affirms that Jesus crucified—not just the glorious Jesus—is a crucial part of the Christian message.
God Is Love.
The statement “God is love” (8.16) is not meant to be an abstract definition of the divine essence but rather a revelation of how God has made himself known throughout history. This has been through works and words filled with love, which now, in the fullness of time, reach their peak in Jesus. The presence of love in the believer is a sign that he “has been born of God and is a child of God.” God remains present and active within him. It can be said that he is truly begotten in God, for through this love he “has known God” (7f). John teaches that love has a divine origin and that humans cannot achieve it on their own. True love always comes from God. We must stay in a state of receiving God’s love. In John’s words, this is called faith. Those who do not welcome love cannot give love. We must accept being loved.