New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
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My loved ones, do not put your faith in every spirit, but put them to the test, to see if they are from God: because a great number of false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
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By this you may have knowledge of the Spirit of God: every spirit which says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God:
3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.
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And every spirit which does not say this is not from God: this is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you have had word; and it is in the world even now.
4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
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You are of God, my little children, and you have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.
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They are of the world, so their talk is the world's talk, and the world gives ear to them.
6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
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We are of God: he who has the knowledge of God gives ear to us; he who is not of God does not give ear to us. By this we may see which is the true spirit, and which is the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
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My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
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He who has no love has no knowledge of God, because God is love.
9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
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And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
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And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins.
11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
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My loved ones, if God had such love for us, it is right for us to have love for one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
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No man has ever seen God: if we have love for one another, God is in us and his love is made complete in us:
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
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And his Spirit which he has given us is the witness that we are in him and he is in us.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
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And we have seen and give witness that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
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Everyone who says openly that Jesus is the Son of God, has God in him and is in God.
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
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And we have seen and had faith in the love which God has for us. God is love, and everyone who has love is in God, and God is in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
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In this way love is made complete in us, so that we may be without fear on the day of judging, because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
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There is no fear in love: true love has no room for fear, because where fear is, there is pain; and he who is not free from fear is not complete in love.
19 We love because he first loved us.
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We have the power of loving, because he first had love for us.
20 Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
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If a man says, I have love for God, and has hate for his brother, his words are false: for how is the man who has no love for his brother whom he has seen, able to have love for God whom he has not seen?
21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
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And this is the word which we have from him, that he who has love for God is to have the same love for his brother.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.