1 John 4
The full text of 1 John 4 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3 and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world now.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5 They are from the world; that is why they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9 This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us: he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in them and they in God.
16 And so we have come to know and to rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever remains in love remains in God, and God in them.
17 This is how love is made complete among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment: because in this world we are like him.
18 There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates a fellow believer, they are a liar. For whoever does not love the brother or sister they have seen cannot love God, whom they have not seen.
21 And he has given us this command: whoever loves God must also love their fellow believer.
Translation notes (4)
- 1 John 4:3a Some later manuscripts read "does not acknowledge that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh," but the earliest manuscripts read simply "does not acknowledge Jesus."
- 1 John 4:9a The Greek word monogenēs means 'one and only' or 'only-begotten,' referring to the unique Son, the only one of his kind.
- 1 John 4:10a The Greek word hilasmos means 'atoning sacrifice,' which is the means by which sin is dealt with; some translate it as 'propitiation' (turning away wrath) and others as 'expiation' (cleansing of sin). This is the same word used in 2:2.
- 1 John 4:12a The Greek phrase hē agapē autou, meaning 'his love,' can refer to either God's own love or love for him; the original text leaves this open.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Greek and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including 1 John, are free to read on this site.
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