Believe In The Name Of Jesus And Love One Another
3 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
4 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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Read on BibleGatewayBelieve In The Name Of Jesus And Love One Another
Key Verse 3:23: And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
V3:11-15
What is the message that we have heard from the beginning? (11) Why is Cain used as an example of someone who did not obey the message? How is our relationship with the world similar to the relationship of Cain and Abel? How do we know that we have passed out of death and into life? (14)
V3:16-22
How do we know love? (16) What is the difference between loving one another in word and talk and loving one another in deed and truth? How can we know that we are of the truth? (18-19) What can we do if our heart condemns us? (20) What kind of way can we live if our heart does not condemn us? (21-22)
V3:23-24
What is his commandment? (23) How can we abide in God and know that he abides in us? (24) What does it mean that he has given us the Spirit?
V4:1-6
What are the two spirits mentioned in chapter 4? What are the differences between the two spirits? How can you test and discern between the two? How can you know which spirit is within a person? Why do you think John is teaching this lesson to us?