Jesus Came as a Human Being
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2Here is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit agreeing that Jesus Christ came in a human body belongs to God. 3But every spirit that doesn’t agree with this does not belong to God. You have heard that the spirit of the great enemy of Christ is coming. Even now it is already in the world.
4Dear children, you belong to God. You have not accepted the teachings of the false prophets. That’s because the one who is in you is powerful. He is more powerful than the one who is in the world. 5False prophets belong to the world. So they speak from the world’s point of view. And the world listens to them. 6We belong to God. And those who know God listen to us. But those who don’t belong to God don’t listen to us. That’s how we can tell the difference between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of lies.
We Love Because God Loved Us
7Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9Here is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only Son into the world. He sent him so we could receive life through him. 10Here is what love is. It is not that we loved God. It is that he loved us and sent his Son to give his life to pay for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we should also love one another. 12No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us. His love is made complete in us.
13Here’s how we know that we are joined to him and he to us. He has given us his Holy Spirit. 14The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We have seen it and are witnesses to it. 15God lives in anyone who agrees that Jesus is the Son of God. This kind of person remains joined to God. 16So we know that God loves us. We depend on it.
God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love is joined to God. And God is joined to them. 17Suppose love is fulfilled among us. Then we can be without fear on the day God judges the world. Love is fulfilled among us when in this world we are like Jesus. 18There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives away fear. That’s because fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love.
19We love because he loved us first. 20Suppose someone claims to love God but hates a brother or sister. Then they are a liar. They don’t love their brother or sister, whom they have seen. So they can’t love God, whom they haven’t seen. 21Here is the command God has given us. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Kuyesa Mizimu
1Anzanga okondedwa, musakhulupirire mzimu uliwonse, koma yesani mizimu ngati ikuchokera kwa Mulungu, chifukwa aneneri onama ambiri afalikira mʼdziko lapansi. 2Mungathe kuzindikira Mzimu wa Mulungu motere: Mzimu uliwonse umene umavomereza kuti Yesu Khristu anabwera mʼthupi, ndi wochokera kwa Mulungu, 3koma mzimu uliwonse umene suvomereza Yesu, siwochokera kwa Mulungu. Uwu ndi mzimu wa wokana Khristu umene munawumva kuti ukubwera ndipo ngakhale tsopano wabwera kale mʼdziko lapansi.
4Inu ana okondedwa, ndinu ochokera kwa Mulungu ndipo mwawagonjetsa aneneri onyengawa, chifukwa Iye amene ali mwa inu ndi wamkulu kuposa amene ali mʼdziko lapansi. 5Aneneri onyengawa ndi ochokera mʼdziko lapansi, nʼchifukwa chake amayankhula za dziko lapansi, ndipo dziko lapansi limawamvera. 6Ife ndi ochokera kwa Mulungu, ndipo aliyense amene amadziwa Mulungu amamvera zimene timayankhula. Koma aliyense amene sachokera kwa Mulungu samvera zimene timayankhula. Mmenemu ndiye mmene timasiyanitsira pakati pa mzimu wachoonadi ndi Mzimu wachinyengo.
Mulungu ndiye Chikondi
7Anzanga okondedwa, tiyeni tikondane wina ndi mnzake, pakuti chikondi chimachokera kwa Mulungu. Aliyense amene ali ndi chikondi ndi mwana wa Mulungu ndipo amadziwa Mulungu. 8Aliyense amene alibe chikondi sadziwa Mulungu, chifukwa Mulungu ndiye chikondi. 9Mmene Mulungu anaonetsera chikondi chake pakati pathu ndi umu: Iye anatumiza Mwana wake mmodzi yekha ku dziko lapansi kuti mwa Iyeyo tikhale ndi moyo. 10Chikondi ndi ichi: osati kuti ife ndife amene tinamukonda Mulungu, koma kuti Iyeyo ndiye amene anatikonda ndipo anatumiza Mwana wake kuti akhale nsembe yopepesera machimo athu. 11Anzanga okondedwa, popeza Mulungu anatikonda chotere, ifenso tiyenera kukondana wina ndi mnzake. 12Palibe amene anaonapo Mulungu, koma tikakondana wina ndi mnzake, ndiye kuti Mulungu amakhala mwa ife ndipo chikondi chake chafika pachimake penipeni mwa ife.
13Ife tikudziwa kuti timakhala mwa Iye ndipo Iyeyo amakhala mwa ife chifukwa anatipatsa Mzimu wake. 14Ndipo taona ndipo tikuchitira umboni, kuti Atate anatuma Mwana wake kuti akhale Mpulumutsi wa dziko lapansi. 15Ngati aliyense avomereza kuti Yesu ndi Mwana wa Mulungu, Mulungu amakhala mwa iye ndipo iyeyo amakhala mwa Mulungu. 16Tikudziwa ndipo timadalira chikondi chimene Mulungu ali nacho pa ife.
Mulungu ndiye chikondi. Aliyense amene amakhala moyo wachikondi, ali mwa Mulungu ndipo Mulungu amakhala mwa iye. 17Chikondi chafika pachimake penipeni pakati pathu, kotero kuti pa tsiku lachiweruzo tidzakhala olimba mtima chifukwa mʼdziko lapansi moyo wathu uli ngati wa Khristu. 18Mulibe mantha mʼchikondi. Koma chikondi ndi changwiro chimachotsa mantha, chifukwa mantha amabwera chifukwa choopa chilango. Munthu amene ali ndi mantha, chikondi chake sichangwiro.
19Ife timakonda Mulungu chifukwa ndiye anayamba kutikonda. 20Ngati wina anena kuti, “Ine ndimakonda Mulungu,” koma namadana ndi mʼbale wake ndi wabodza ameneyo. Pakuti aliyense amene sakonda mʼbale wake, amene akumuona, sangathenso kukonda Mulungu amene sanamuone. 21Ndipo Iye anatipatsa lamulo lakuti: Aliyense amene amakonda Mulungu ayenera kukondanso mʼbale wake.
