Chapter 4

¹Beloved, 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.

¹親愛的弟兄阿，一切的靈，你們不可都信，總要試驗那些靈是出於神的不是，因為世上有許多假先知已經出來了。

²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

²凡靈認耶穌基督是成了肉身來，就是出於神的的；從此你們可以認出神的靈來。

³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

³凡靈不認耶穌，就不是出於神；這是那敵基督者的靈。你們從前聽見他要來，現在已經在世上了。

⁴You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

⁴小子們哪，你們是屬神的，並且勝了他們；因為那在你們裡面的，比那在世界上的更大。

⁵They are from the world; therefore they speak [as] from the world, and the world listens to them.

⁵他們是屬世界的，所以論世界的事，世人也聽從他們。

⁶We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

⁶我們是屬神的，認識神的就聽從我們；不屬神的就不聽從我們。從此我們可以認出真理的靈和謬妄的靈來。

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

⁷親愛的弟兄阿，我們應當彼此相愛，因為愛是從神來的。凡有愛心的，都是由神而生，並且認識神。

⁸The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁸沒有愛心的，就不認識神，因為神就是愛。

⁹By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

⁹神差他獨生子到世間來，使我們藉著他得生，神愛我們的心在此就顯明了。

¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

¹⁰不是我們愛神，乃是神愛我們，差他的兒子為我們的罪作了挽回祭，這就是愛了。

¹¹Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

¹¹親愛的弟兄阿，神既是這樣愛我們，我們也當彼此相愛。

¹²No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

¹²從來沒有人見過神，我們若彼此相愛，神就住在我們裡面，愛他的心在我們裡面得以完全了。

¹³By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

¹³神將他的靈賜給我們，從此就知道我們是住在他裡面，他也住在我們裡面。

¹⁴We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son [to be] the Savior of the world.

¹⁴父差子作世人的救主；這是我們所看見且作見證的。

¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

¹⁵凡認耶穌為神兒子的，神就住在他裡面，他也住在神裡面。

¹⁶We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

¹⁶神愛我們的心，我們也知道也信。神就是愛；住在愛裡面的，就是住在神裡面，神也住在他裡面。

¹⁷By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

¹⁷這樣，愛在我們裡面得以完全，我們就可以在審判的日子坦然無懼。因為他如何，我們在這世上也如何。

¹⁸There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

¹⁸愛裡沒有懼怕；愛既完全，就把懼怕除去。因為懼怕裡含著刑罰，懼怕的人在愛裡未得完全。

¹⁹We love, because He first loved us.

¹⁹我們愛，因為神先愛我們。

²⁰If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

²⁰人若說我愛神，卻恨他的弟兄，就是說謊話的；不愛他所看見的弟兄，就不能愛沒有看見的神（有古卷作：怎能愛沒有看見的神呢）。

²¹And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

²¹愛神的，也當愛弟兄，這是我們從神所受的命令。