1 John 4
4
The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits # 4:1 1Th 5:21 to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh # 4:2 Jn 1:14; Php 2:7; 3:3 is from God, # 4:2 1Co 12:3 3but every spirit that does not confess Jesus # 4:3 Other mss read confess that Jesus has come in the flesh is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, # 4:3 1Jn 2:18,22; 2Jn 7 which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.
4You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you # 4:4 Rm 8:31; Col 1:27; 1Jn 3:20 is greater than the one who is in the world. # 4:4 Jn 12:31 5They are from the world. # 4:5 Jn 17:6; 2Pt 2:20 Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; # 4:6 Jn 8:47 anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. # 4:6 Mk 13:5–6; 1Co 2:12; 1Tm 4:1
Knowing God through Love
7Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God # 4:7 1Jn 2:29 and knows God. 8The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us # 4:9 Or in us in this way: God sent # 4:9 Mk 9:37 his one and only Son # 4:9 Jn 1:14,18; 3:16,18 into the world so that we might live # 4:9 Jn 10:28 through him. 10Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us # 4:10 Jn 3:16 and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice # 4:10 Or the propitiation,# 4:10 2Co 5:21; 1Jn 2:2 for our sins. 11Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. # 4:11 Jn 13:14; 15:12; Rm 13:8; 1Th 4:9; 1Pt 1:22 12No one has ever seen God. # 4:12 Ex 33:20 If we love one another, God remains in # 4:12 Or remains among us and his love is made complete in us. 13This is how we know that we remain in him # 4:13 Jn 15:4–7; 1Jn 2:6,24,27–28; 3:6,24; 4:15–16 and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. # 4:13 Rv 3:22 14And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son # 4:14 Rm 1:3 as the world’s Savior. 15Whoever confesses # 4:15 Jn 9:22; Php 2:6 that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God. 16And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, # 4:17 Mt 10:15; 11:22,24; 12:36; 2Pt 2:9; 3:7; Jd 6 because as he is, so also are we in this world. # 4:17 Jn 14:10–11; 15:9–10; 17:11,15,18 18There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, # 4:18 Rm 8:15 because fear involves punishment. # 4:18 Or fear has its own punishment or torment So the one who fears is not complete in love. # 4:18 Eph 4:11–16 19We love # 4:19 Other mss add him because he first loved us. # 4:19 2Th 2:13 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, # 4:20 1Jn 2:9,11; 3:15 he is a liar. # 4:20 1Jn 1:10 For the person who does not love his brother or sister # 4:20 1Jn 2:10; 3:10,14–17 whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. # 4:20 Other mss read has seen, how is he able to love . . . seen? (as a question) 21And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Yochanan 4
4
1Chaverim, do not believe every ruach.#4:1 Jer 29:8 But test the ruchot (spirits), if they be of Hashem, because many nevi'ei sheker have gone out into the Olam Hazeh. 2By this we have da'as of the Ruach Hakodesh of Hashem: every ruach which makes hoda'ah (confession) of Yehoshua, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach as having come in the basar is of Hashem, 3And every ruach which does not make hoda'ah of Yehoshua is not of Hashem. And this is the ruach of the Anti-Moshiach, which you have heard that it is coming; and now it already is in the Olam Hazeh. 4Yeladim, you are of Hashem, and you have overcome them, because greater is the One in you than the one in the Olam Hazeh.#4:4 2Kgs 6:16 5They are of the Olam Hazeh; therefore, of the Olam Hazeh they speak, and the Olam Hazeh pays heed to them. 6We are of Hashem; the one having da'as of Hashem pays heed to us; he who is not of Hashem does not pay heed to us. From this we have da'as of the Ruach#4:6 Hakodesh of Emes and the ruach tatu'im (spirit of delusion, error).
7Chaverim, let us have ahavah one for another, because ahavah is of Hashem, and everyone having ahavah has been born of Hashem and has da'as of Hashem. 8The one not having ahavah did not have da'as of Hashem, because Hashem is ahavah. 9By this was made hisgalus of the ahavah of Hashem among us, because Hashem has sent His Ben Yechid into the Olam Hazeh that we may live through Him.#4:9 Yn 3:16 10In this is ahavah, not that we have had ahavah for Hashem, but that Hashem had ahavah for us and gave His Zun fun der Oybershter as a kapporah for chattoteinu. 11Chaverim, if Hashem so had ahavah for us, also we ought to have ahavah one for another. 12No one has ever beheld Hashem. If we have ahavah one for another, G-d makes His ma'on in us and the Ahavas Hashem in us has been made shleimah.
13By this we have da'as that we have our ma'on in Him and He in us, because of the Ruach Hakodesh of Him He has given us. 14And we#4:14 Shlichim have beheld and we give solemn hoda'ah that HaAv has sent HaBen as Moshi'a HaOlam (Go'el, Oisleizer). 15Whoever makes hoda'ah (confession) that Yehoshua (Yeshua) is the Zun fun der Oybershter, Hashem makes His ma'on in him and he in Hashem. 16And we have had da'as and emunah in the ahavah which Hashem has for us. Hashem is ahavah. The one making his ma'on in ahavah makes his ma'on in Hashem and Hashem in him. 17By this has the ahavah become shleimah with us, that we may have bitachon in the Yom HaDin, because as that One is, so we are also in the Olam Hazeh. 18Pachad (fear) is not in ahavah, but the ahavah hashleimah casts out pachad, because pachad has to do with pachad of the onesh (punishment) and the one with pachad has not been perfected in ahavah. 19We have ahavah because rishonah He had ahavah for us. 20If anyone says I have ahavah for Hashem and the Ach b'Moshiach he hates, he is a shakran (liar). For the one not having ahavah for the Ach b'Moshiach of him whom he has seen, how can he have ahavah for the Elohim whom he has not seen? 21And this mitzvah we have from Him that the one having ahavah for Hashem should have ahavah also for the Ach b'Moshiach of him.
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