¹^aBeloved, do not believe every ^bspirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^cmany false prophets have gone out into the world.

²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^aevery spirit that ^bconfesses that ^cJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

³and every spirit that ^adoes not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the ^bantichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^cnow it is already in the world.

⁴You are from God, ^alittle children, and ^bhave overcome them; because ^cgreater is He who is in you than ^dhe who is in the world.

⁵^aThey are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world hears them.

⁶^aWe are from God. ^bThe one who knows God hears us; ^cthe one who is not from God does not hear us. From this we know ^dthe spirit of truth and ^ethe spirit of error.

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Cross references

a3 John 11
b Jer 29:8; 1 Cor 12:10; 1 Thess 5:20f; 2 Thess 2:2
c Jer 14:14; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 John 2:18
a 1 Cor 12:3
b 1 John 2:23
c John 1:14; 1 John 1:2
a 1 John 2:22; 2 John 7
b 1 John 2:18, 22
c 2 Thess 2:3–7; 1 John 2:18
a 1 John 2:1
b 1 John 2:13
c Rom 8:31; 1 John 3:20
d John 12:31
a John 15:19; 17:14, 16
a John 8:23; 1 John 4:4
b John 8:47; 10:3ff; 18:37
c 1 Cor 14:37
d John 14:17
e 1 Tim 4:1

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 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. 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. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Dear friends, 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. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

NLTNew Living Translation

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. The one who 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 deceit.

KJV 1900King James Version

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

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