1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

3
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

4
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5
They are from the world. Therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.

6
We are from God. He who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

7
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9
By this the love of God was revealed among us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

10
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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

12
No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

13
By this we know that we abide in God and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

14
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

15
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16
We have known and have believed the love that God has for us.

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

17
By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world.

18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. He who fears has not been made perfect in love.

19
We love because He first loved us.

20
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

21
And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must also love his brother.

📖 1 John 4 – God Is Love

🧾 Summary of the Passage

John emphasizes that every spirit must be tested, because many false prophets have appeared. The main mark of God’s children is loving one another. For God is love, and whoever loves abides in God. Perfect love drives out fear.

📘 Explanation of the Passage

🔥 Key Points

1. Test the Spirits Spiritually

   Do not believe every spiritual teaching without testing it (v. 1). The main mark of a spirit from God: it confesses that Jesus came in the flesh.

2. The source of love: God Himself

   “God is love” (v. 8). Love is not merely an emotion, but God’s very nature.

3. Love proves we are born of God

   Whoever does not love does not know God.

4. Perfect love drives out fear

   We do not need to fear judgment if we live in love (v. 18).

5. Love for others = proof of love for God

   It is impossible to love God while hating others (vv. 20–21).

📖 Key Verses

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
— 1 John 4:7

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.”
— 1 John 4:18

“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
— 1 John 4:8

💡 Spiritual Meaning

A believer’s life is not measured by how much knowledge or ministry they have, but by real love. Loving others is not optional, but the main command. In love there is knowledge of God, assurance of salvation, and peace that drives out fear.