1 John 3:11-4:6

New King James Version

¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, ^(A)that we should love one another, ¹²not as ^(B)Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

¹³Do not marvel, my brethren, if ^(C)the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love ^[a]his brother abides in death. ¹⁵^(D)Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that ^(E)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

¹⁶^(F)By this we know love, ^(G)because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷But ^(H)whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

¹⁸My little children, ^(I)let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹And by this we ^[b]know ^(J)that we are of the truth, and shall ^[c]assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰^(K)For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, ^(L)we have confidence toward God. ²²And ^(M)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments ^(N)and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ ^(O)and love one another, as He gave ^[d]us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

²⁴Now ^(P)he who keeps His commandments ^(Q)abides in Him, and He in him. And ^(R)by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Love for God and One Another

4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but ^(S)test the spirits, whether they are of God; because ^(T)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(U)Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess ^[e]that Jesus ^[f]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than ^(V)he who is in the world. ⁵^(W)They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and ^(X)the world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. ^(Y)By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.