1My loved ones, do not put your faith in every spirit, but put them to the test, to see if they are from God: because a great number of false prophets have gone out into the world.
2By this you may have knowledge of the Spirit of God: every spirit which says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit which does not say this is not from God: this is the spirit of Antichrist, of which you have had word; and it is in the world even now.
4You are of God, my little children, and you have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5They are of the world, so their talk is the world's talk, and the world gives ear to them.
6We are of God: he who has the knowledge of God gives ear to us; he who is not of God does not give ear to us. By this we may see which is the true spirit, and which is the spirit of error.
7My loved ones, let us have love for one another: because love is of God, and everyone who has love is a child of God and has knowledge of God.
