The Bible
1 John Chapter 4
1Dear-ones, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus AnointedOne has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus AnointedOne has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the against-anointed-one, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. 4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. 5They are of the world; so they speak of the world, and the world hears them. 6We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn't listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
7Dear-ones, let's selflessly-love one another, for selfless-love is of God; and everyone who selflessly-loves has been born of God, and knows God. 8He who doesn't selflessly-love doesn't know God, for God is selfless-love. 9By this God's selfless-love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10In this is selfless-love, not that we selflessly-loved God, but that he selflessly-loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear-ones, if God selflessly-loved us in this way, we also ought to selflessly-love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time. If we selflessly-love one another, God remains in us, and his selfless-love has been perfected in us.
13By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16We know and have believed the selfless-love which God has for us. God is selfless-love, and he who remains in selfless-love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17In this, selfless-love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in selfless-love; but perfect selfless-love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in selfless-love. 19We selflessly-love him, because he first selflessly-loved us. 20If a man says, "I selflessly-love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn't selflessly-love his brother whom he has seen, how can he selflessly-love God whom he has not seen? 21This commandment we have from him, that he who selflessly-loves God should also selflessly-love his brother.
The Bible text is an adaptation of the WEB
to include nuanced meanings of particular ancient words for placenames, God and others of special interest.
In general square brackets:[] are used to indicate words not found in the original text.
They also indicate the 5 books of the Psalms, and the letters in Psalm 119;
and a few passages considered by some to be of questionable authenticity, marked with an asterisk(*).
