Book of Common Prayer

¹⁹ For by this we know that we are of the truth, and can quiet our hearts before him. ²⁰ But if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloveds, if our hearts do not condemn us, then we have trust before God – ²² and whatever we ask, we shall receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

²³ And this is his commandment: that we believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave commandment. ²⁴ And he who keeps his commandments dwells in him, and he in him. And by this we know that there abides in us of the Spirit that he gave us.

Difference of spirits, and how the Spirit of God may be known from the spirit of error. Of the love of God and of our neighbours.

4 Ye beloveds, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God or not. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you may know the spirit that is of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is of God. ³ And every spirit which does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is not of God; and this is the spirit of Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he would come. And even now already he is in the world.

⁴ Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them. For greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. ⁵ They are of the world, and therefore what they say is of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God, hears us. He who is not of God, does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

¹⁴ Jesus returned by the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went a renown of him throughout all the region round about. ¹⁵ And he taught in their synagogues, and was commended by all.

¹⁶ And he went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath days, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the scroll, he found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. To preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me, and to heal the broken-hearted; to preach deliverance to the captive, and sight to the blind, and freely to set at liberty those who are bruised, ¹⁹ and to preach the favoured year of the Lord.

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and returned it to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ And he began and said to them, This day this scripture is fulfilled in your ears.

²² And they all witnessed him, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth, and said, Is this not Joseph’s son?

²³ And he said to them, You may very well say to me this maxim: Physician, heal thyself; the things that we heard were done in Capernaum, do the same here likewise in your own country.

²⁴ And he said, Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent save into Sarepta, a city of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet none of them was healed except Naaman of Syria.

²⁸ And as many as were in the synagogue, when they heard that, were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him even to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, to cast him down headlong. ³⁰ But he went his way even through the midst of them,