1 John 4 (WEB)

1 John 4

¹ Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

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

³ and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.

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

⁵ They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.

⁶ We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

⁷ Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

⁸ He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

⁹ By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world 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 as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

¹¹ Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

¹² No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.

¹³ By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

¹⁴ We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.

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

¹⁶ We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

¹⁷ In this, love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so we are in this world.

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

¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.

²⁰ If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

²¹ This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.

Around 1 John 4

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

1 John 4 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Not every voice that speaks in God's name is from God. Beloved, the writer says, test the spirits, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The test is this: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. You are of God, little children, and greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

Then the letter slows down, almost as if it were setting something precious on the table. Let's love one another, for love is of God. Anyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because “God is love”.

How was it shown? God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. No one has seen God, but if we love one another, God remains in us.

“perfect love casts out fear”. We love him because he first loved us.

Background

Many scholars think the people who left the community had denied the real humanity of Jesus, which is why the writer insists that he came in the flesh. The letter was written for a community in turmoil, and these words aim to help them tell true teaching from false. The word translated atoning sacrifice appears also in 1 John 2:2, and Christians have understood the meaning of the cross in several ways. Compare John 3 and John 15.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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