1 Mīļie, neticiet katram garam, bet pārbaudiet garus, vai viņi ir no Dieva, jo daudz viltus pravieši ir izgājuši pasaulē. 2 No tā atzīstiet Dieva Garu: ikviens gars, kas apliecina Jēzu Kristu miesā nākušu, ir no Dieva. 3 Un ikviens gars, kas neapliecina Jēzu, nav no Dieva, tas ir antikrista gars, par ko jūs esat dzirdējuši, ka viņš nāks; tas jau tagad ir pasaulē. 4 Jūs, bērniņi, esat no Dieva un esat viņus uzvarējuši, jo lielāks ir Tas, kas jūsos, nekā tas, kas ir pasaulē. 5 Viņi ir no pasaules, tāpēc viņu runa ir pasaulīga, un pasaule klausa viņus. 6 Mēs esam no Dieva; kas Dievu atzīst, klausa mūs, kas nav no Dieva, neklausa mūs. No tā pazīstam patiesības garu un maldu garu. 7 Mīļie, mīlēsim cits citu, jo mīlestība ir no Dieva, un katrs, kas mīl, ir no Dieva dzimis un atzīst Dievu. 8 Kas nemīl, nav Dievu atzinis, jo Dievs ir mīlestība. 9 Redzama kļuvusi ir Dieva mīlestība mūsu starpā, Dievam Savu vienpiedzimušo Dēlu sūtot pasaulē, lai mēs dzīvotu caur Viņu. 10 Šī ir tā mīlestība nevis, ka mēs esam mīlējuši Dievu, bet ka Viņš mūs mīlējis un sūtījis Savu Dēlu mūsu grēku izpirkšanai. 11 Mīļie, ja Dievs mūs tā ir mīlējis, tad arī mums pienākas citam citu mīlēt. 12 Dievu neviens nekad nav redzējis; ja mēs mīlam cits citu, tad Dievs mājo mūsos, un Viņa mīlestība ir mūsu vidū tapusi pilnīga. 13 No tā mēs atzīstam, ka mēs esam Viņā un Viņš mūsos, ka Viņš mums no Sava Gara ir devis. 14 Un mēs esam redzējuši un apliecinām, ka Tēvs ir sūtījis Savu Dēlu par pasaules Glābēju. 15 Kas apliecina, ka Jēzus ir Dieva Dēls, tanī paliek Dievs un viņš Dievā. 16 Mēs esam atzinuši un ticam mīlestībai, kas Dievam ir uz mums. Dievs ir mīlestība, un, kas paliek mīlestībā, tas paliek Dievā un Dievs viņā. 17 Ar to mīlestība ir pie mums kļuvusi pilnīga, ka mums ir droša paļāvība tiesas dienā, jo, kāds Viņš ir, tādi arī mēs esam šinī pasaulē. 18 Baiļu nav mīlestībā, bet pilnīgā mīlestība aizdzen bailes, jo bailēm ir mokas; kas baiļojas, nav sasniedzis pilnību mīlestībā. 19 Mīlēsim, jo Viņš ir mūs pirmais mīlējis. 20 Ja kāds saka: es mīlu Dievu, - un ienīst savu brāli, tad viņš ir melis; jo, kas nemīl savu brāli, ko viņš ir redzējis, nevar mīlēt Dievu, ko viņš nav redzējis. 21 Un šis bauslis mums ir no Viņa, ka tam, kas mīl Dievu, būs mīlēt arī savu brāli.
God Is Love
1 Dear friends, don't believe everyone who claims to have the Spirit of God. Test them all to find out if they really do come from God. Many false prophets have already gone out into the world, 2 and you can know which ones come from God. His Spirit says that Jesus Christ had a truly human body. 3 But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know this person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.
4 Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God's Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one who is in the world. 5 These enemies belong to this world, and the world listens to them, because they speak its language. 6 We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. This is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies.
7 My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. 8 God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. 9 God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. 10 Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is truly in our hearts.
13 God has given us his Spirit. This is how we know we are one with him, just as he is one with us. 14 God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him. 15 God stays one with everyone who openly says Jesus is the Son of God. This is how we stay one with God 16 and are sure God loves us.
God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. 17 If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won't be worried about the day of judgment. 18 A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows we have not really learned to love.
19 We love because God loved us first. 20 But if we say we love God and don't love each other, we are liars. We cannot see God. So how can we love God, if we don't love the people we can see? 21 The commandment that God has given us is: “Love God and love each other!”
