The Epistle of John the Legate – Chapter 4
1 My beloved, believe not all spirits;
but discriminate among spirits, whether they are of God:
for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this the Spirit of God is known, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus the Messiah hath come in the flesh, is of God.
3 And every spirit which confesseth not that Jesus the Messiah hath come in the flesh, is not of God;
but he is of the false Messiah, of whom ye have heard that he cometh, and now is he already in the world.
4 But ye children, are of God;
and ye have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you, than he who is in the world.
5 And they are of the world:
therefore they speak from the world, and the world heareth them.
6 But we are of God;
and he that knoweth God, heareth us;
and he that is not of God, heareth us not.
By this, we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
7 My beloved, let us love one another:
because love is from God;
and whoever loveth, is born of God and knoweth God.
8 Because God is love;
and whoever loveth not, doth not know God.
9 By this was the love of God towards us made known, because God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we by him might live.
10 In this is love;
it was not that we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent his Son a propitiation for our sins.
11 My beloved, if God hath so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one hath ever seen God; but if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 And by this we know, that we abide in him and that he abideth in us, because he hath given of his Spirit to us.
14 And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father hath sent his Son, a Redeemer for the world.
15 Whoever confesseth Jesus to be the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he abideth in God.
16 And we have believed and known the love, which God hath towards us:
for God is love, and whoever abideth in love, abideth in God.
17 And hereby is his love perfected with us;
that we may have open countenances in the day of judgment;
because as he was, so also are we in this world.
18 In love there is no fear; but perfect love casteth out fear;
because fear existeth in peril, and he that feareth is not perfected in love.
19 Let us, therefore, love God;
because he hath first loved us.
20 And if any one shall say, I love God, and yet hateth* his brother, he is a liar:
for he that loveth not his brother who is visible, how can he love God who is invisible ?
21 And this command we have received from him, that whoever loveth God, must love also his brother.
n. * v. 20 – as is used throughout Scripture: ‘love’ means to prefer, ‘hate’ means not preferred.*
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