Test the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but mtest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for nmany 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 oin the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the pantichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world qalready. 4 Little children, ryou are from God and shave overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 tThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. uWhoever vknows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the wSpirit of truth and the xspirit of error.
God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been yborn of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 zIn this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the apropitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to blove one another. 12 cNo one has ever seen God; if we love one another, dGod abides in us and his love is eperfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, fbecause he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and gtestify that the Father has sent his Son to be hthe Savior of the world. 15 iWhoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have jconfidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also 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 been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, k“I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a lliar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot1 love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Overcoming the World
5 mEveryone who believes that nJesus is the Christ has been born of God, and oeveryone who ploves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the qchildren of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For rthis is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And shis commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God tovercomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Testimony Concerning the Son of God
6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by uthe water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who vtestifies, because the wSpirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, xthe testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God yhas the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has zmade him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is ain his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son bhas life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
That You May Know
13 cI write these things to you who dbelieve in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the econfidence that we have toward him, that fif we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God1 will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that geveryone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that hwe are from God, and ithe whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may jknow him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. kHe is the ltrue God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
2 John
Greeting
1 aThe elder to the belect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who cknow the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 dGrace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Walking in Truth and Love
4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children ewalking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—fnot as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we glove one another. 6 And hthis is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, ijust as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For jmany kdeceivers have gone out into the world, those who ldo not confess the coming of Jesus Christ min the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the nantichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we1 have worked for, but may win a full oreward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever pabides in the teaching qhas both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, rdo not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
Final Greetings
12 sThough I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead tI hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that uour joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.
3 John
Greeting
1 aThe elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers1 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are bwalking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, cstrangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing dfrom the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, ewho likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. fWhoever does good is from God; gwhoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that hour testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 iI had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 jI hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, keach by name.
Jude
Greeting
1 Jude, a servant1 of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are acalled, bbeloved in God the Father and kept for2 Jesus Christ:
2 May mercy, peace, and love be cmultiplied to you.
Judgment on False Teachers
3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our dcommon salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have ecrept in unnoticed who flong ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into gsensuality and hdeny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, iwho saved3 a people out of the land of Egypt, jafterward destroyed kthose who did not believe. 6 lAnd the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— 7 mjust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise nindulged in sexual immorality and pursued ounnatural desire,4 serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, preject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the qarchangel rMichael, contending with the devil, was disputing about sthe body of Moses, he tdid not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, u“The Lord rebuke you.” 10 vBut these people blaspheme all that wthey do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in xthe way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to yBalaam’s zerror and perished in aKorah’s rebellion. 12 bThese are hidden reefs5 at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, cshepherds feeding themselves; dwaterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 ewild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.
14 It was also about these that fEnoch, gthe seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with hten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are iloud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
A Call to Persevere
17 But jyou must remember, beloved, the predictions of the kapostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They6 said to you, l“In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who mcause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, nbuilding yourselves up in your most holy faith and opraying in the Holy Spirit, 21 pkeep yourselves in the love of God, qwaiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even rthe garment7 stained by the flesh.
Doxology
24 sNow to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you tblameless ubefore the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, vbe glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time8 and now and forever. Amen.
