1 Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world;

2 in this know you the Spirit of God; every spirit that does confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is,

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus Christ in the flesh having come, of God it is not; and this is that of the antichrist, which you heard that it does come, and now in the world it is already.

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

5 They -- of the world they are; because of this from the world they speak, and the world does hear them;

6 we -- of God we are; he who is knowing God does hear us; he who is not of God, does not hear us; from this we know the spirit of the truth, and the spirit of the error.

7 Beloved, may we love one another, because the love is of God, and every one who is loving, of God he has been begotten, and does know God;

8 he who is not loving did not know God, because God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God in us, because His Son -- the only begotten -- has God sent to the world, that we may live through him;

10 in this is the love, not that we loved God, but that He did love us, and did send His Son a propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if thus did God love us, we also ought one another to love;

12 God no one has ever seen; if we may love one another, God in us does remain, and His love is having been perfected in us;

13 in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He has given us.

14 And we -- we have seen and do testify, that the Father has sent the Son -- Savior of the world;

15 whoever may confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him does remain, and he in God;

16 and we -- we have known and believed the love, that God has in us; God is love, and he who is remaining in the love, in God he does remain, and God in him.

17 In this made perfect has been the love with us, that boldness we may have in the day of the judgment, because even as He is, we -- we also are in this world;

18 fear is not in the love, but the perfect love does cast out the fear, because the fear has punishment, and he who is fearing has not been made perfect in the love;

19 we -- we love him, because He -- He first loved us;

20 if any one may say -- 'I love God,' and his brother he may hate, a liar he is; for he who is not loving his brother whom he has seen, God -- whom he has not seen -- how is he able to love?

21 and this is the command we have from Him, that he who is loving God, may also love his brother.