Scripture
Discerning False Prophets
1Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet[1] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
4But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
Loving One Another
7Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19We love each other[2] because he loved us first.
20If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer,[3] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.[4]
Translation notes (4)
- 4:2 Greek If a spirit; similarly in 4:3.
- 4:19 Greek We love. Other manuscripts read We love God; still others read We love him.
- 4:20 Greek hates his brother.
- 4:21 Greek The one who loves God must also love his brother.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
We are all known for many things. We describe ourselves by our profession, our roles as spouses or parents, and many other things. But, of all the things that make up our identities, there is one that is the most important and impacts everything that we do, and that is that God loves us. God loves each one of us so much, and our identities are designed to be formed in His love.
We learn about the extent of God’s love for us in 1 John 4. John wrote about God’s love for each one of us in this chapter, saying, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him” (verse 9). He explains that God demonstrated His great love through His actions. He said, “God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him” (verse 9). God showed us all how much He loved us by sending Jesus, His one-of-a-kind Son, to earth, to die a painful criminal’s death and rise again from the dead so that we could be rescued from our sins. In other words, there was nothing God would withhold from saving us. God just loves us.
My friend, you are loved by God. This is your primary and most important identity. Are you living this identity out? If so, how has this identity impacted you? If not, why not? What difference would it make in your life if you lived fully embracing the truth that God loves you? God loves you and withheld nothing from you, not even His only Son, when you needed rescuing. This kind of love changes us. This kind of love changes everything.
Moving toward action
Read through the verses in the Going Deeper section that is listed below. As you read, write down what you see in these verses on a sheet of paper about God’s love. After you finish reading and writing, spend time praying, thanking God for His love. Tell Him that you love Him, too.
Going Deeper
1 John 4:1-21 (NLT)
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