1 John 4:4-12

New Life Version

⁴ My children, you are a part of God’s family. You have stood against these false preachers and had power over them. You had power over them because the One Who lives in you is stronger than the one who is in the world. ⁵ Those false teachers are a part of the world. They speak about the things of the world. The world listens to them. ⁶ We are a part of God’s family. The person who knows God will listen to us. The person who is not a part of God’s family will not listen to us. In this way, we can tell what is the spirit of truth and what is the spirit of false teaching.

Loving God Makes Us Love Our Christian Brothers

⁷ Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God. ⁸ Those who do not love do not know God because God is love. ⁹ God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ. ¹⁰ This is love! It is not that we loved God but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay for our sins with His own blood.

¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us that much, then we should love each other. ¹² No person has ever seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us. His love is made perfect in us.