The Fourth Chapter of the
First Letter of
St. John
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.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 1)
Brothers and Sisters apparently not every spirit is a good spirit and therefore we are to be careful in not communicating with evil spirits such as in spiritism or using the Ouija board in order to communicate with spirits. In order to discern the messages of such spirits, St. Ignatius of Loyola gives us the following instructions.
Discerning of the Spirits
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. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming; and now it is already in the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verses 2 to 3)
Oh God, my beloved Father these bad spirits of the antichrist is still roaming the world, for even during our times there are still conflicting views regarding Your human and divine nature. Others have made films and written books in order to create doubts in the heart of mankind, however, the truth will always be the truth on earth as it is in heaven Amen
⁴ Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 4)
Oh God my Father we try to seek support and help beyond us by means of psychologists and counsellors and even doctors who all use the skills of their profession in order to help us, however the major answers and solutions to our problems are in the inner chambers of our soul, which is Your dwelling place and where we can find You any time we want to Amen.
⁵ They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 5)
Oh God my beloved Father, people of the world speak a language that is approved of by the world, people who are close to God, speak a language that is not always acceptable to such people, because they have not yet made the experience of You Amen.
⁶ We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 6)
Oh God, my blessed Father, presently I have issues with humans of this earth, who are showing me that they have not in them Your Spirit but the sinful spirit of the world. When I try to mention You and issues related to You such as Your truth, their spirit rebels in protest. Thank You for such people because of they a mirror of what I never wish to be Amen.
⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verses 7 to 8)
Oh God my blessed Father, how much we love others reflects how much we love You, for we cannot say that we love You and then hate others, for one heart cannot harbour feelings of love and hatred, it is either one or the other Amen.
⁹ God's love was revealed among us in this way; God sent his only Son into¹⁰ the world so that we might live through him.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 9)
The greatest act of love was done by You my God and Father, You are love itself, I thank You for having given us Yourself as love Amen.
¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 10)
Oh God, my loving Father, I thank You from my heart that You Yourself out of indescribable love chose to be the sacrifice for the atonement of the whole world. Whenever I feel unforgiven I look at You and remember the bloody price that You paid for me Amen
¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 11)
Oh God my Father, even though I am separated from my wife, and I am experiencing peace again for which I thank You from the bottom of my heart, although I feel angry for her actions, I cannot say that I hate her, for, among her negative acts, I also remember the good times that we had together even though such moments were very limited. I thank You for such moments my God and Father Amen.
¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 12)
Oh God, when we love each other we experience Your love, however, I am in a situation where there are people who have hurt me and with whom I am not on good terms. Many people have used me and then have thrown me away like toilet paper. I am sorry but as a human, it is not easy for me to love such people, however, I know that this is Your will and therefore with the help of Your grace it will be done, however, I need a lot of help and support from Your side Amen.
¹³ By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his spirit.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 13)
Oh, brothers and sisters by means of the barometer of love, we know how much we love each other, and we also can fathom or experience of God's love in our hearts. With a heavy heart, I proclaim that at this point in time I cannot experience the full love of God since there are still people in my life, who have hurt me so much that I am still in a process of healing from the emotional injuries that I have experienced. I pray to God that there will come that day when I am completely healed and be ready to love these people unconditionally Amen.
¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 14)
Oh God, my Father, even though I have not seen I still testify that You exist and that You are the Saviour of the World and my loving Father Amen.
¹⁵ God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 15)
Oh God my Father I know that You abide in me even though I still work in progress, I thank You more than ever for intervening in my life Amen. In public and in private I proclaim You as being my God and Father Amen.
¹⁶ So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 16)
Oh God my Father what a great reassurance this is to know that You will keep on abiding in us even though we are sinners. I pray that we are always a worthy dwelling place for You to abide in. Bless us with Your holy and mighty presence so that the evil spirits will no longer find an opportunity to try and claim their place within us Amen.
¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this; that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 17)
Oh God my Father, when You took on Yourself the human form You perfected that love that You had already given us. You put on it the seal of perfection that makes us whole as human beings Amen.
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 reached perfection in love.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 18)
Oh God, my Father, fear and faith are not compatible with each other, for where there is fear there is no faith. Where there is fear there is doubt and uncertainty. I pray oh God that You heal us from this doubt that is also related to sin so that we can throw our anchor in You and feel forever secure Amen.
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 19)
Oh God my Father, only love coming from You is true love. Many people have pledged their love to me including my ex-wife, however, all people have their personal agenda when doing so. There seems to always be a but related to the word love, for only You give us free and unconditional love. You keep on loving us even when we turn against You and show a lack of love. You are always waiting for us to turn back from our ways Amen.
²⁰ Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 20)
Oh God, my Father, I admit that I do not have a love for she who was my wife, however even though I am angry and hurt about what she is doing to me, I cannot say that I hate her. However, I admit that I have far to go in loving those who have hurt me Amen.
²¹ The commandment we have from him is this; those who love God must love their brothers and sister also.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 21)
Oh God my Father, give me the strength to obey You and Your commandments for even though I strongly hold that I love and believe in You my actions do not always reflect this love. I pray thatYou teach me to love in the same way that You love me Amen.
I would like to end this reflection on the First Letter of St. John with the following prayer on a special day that as Roman Catholics we commemorate Your Mother Mary whom You gave us as an act of love Amen.
Oh, heavenly parents, I thank you both for loving me, however, my love is not yet complete since as a human I only love those who show me love and respect and this is not love as You meant it to be. I pray that You teach me to love in the same way that You love me Amen
Discerning of the Spirits
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. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming; and now it is already in the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verses 2 to 3)
Oh God, my beloved Father these bad spirits of the antichrist is still roaming the world, for even during our times there are still conflicting views regarding Your human and divine nature. Others have made films and written books in order to create doubts in the heart of mankind, however, the truth will always be the truth on earth as it is in heaven Amen
⁴ Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 4)
Oh God my Father we try to seek support and help beyond us by means of psychologists and counsellors and even doctors who all use the skills of their profession in order to help us, however the major answers and solutions to our problems are in the inner chambers of our soul, which is Your dwelling place and where we can find You any time we want to Amen.
⁵ They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 5)
Oh God my beloved Father, people of the world speak a language that is approved of by the world, people who are close to God, speak a language that is not always acceptable to such people, because they have not yet made the experience of You Amen.
⁶ We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 6)
Oh God, my blessed Father, presently I have issues with humans of this earth, who are showing me that they have not in them Your Spirit but the sinful spirit of the world. When I try to mention You and issues related to You such as Your truth, their spirit rebels in protest. Thank You for such people because of they a mirror of what I never wish to be Amen.
⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verses 7 to 8)
Oh God my blessed Father, how much we love others reflects how much we love You, for we cannot say that we love You and then hate others, for one heart cannot harbour feelings of love and hatred, it is either one or the other Amen.
⁹ God's love was revealed among us in this way; God sent his only Son into¹⁰ the world so that we might live through him.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 9)
The greatest act of love was done by You my God and Father, You are love itself, I thank You for having given us Yourself as love Amen.
¹⁰ In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 10)
Oh God, my loving Father, I thank You from my heart that You Yourself out of indescribable love chose to be the sacrifice for the atonement of the whole world. Whenever I feel unforgiven I look at You and remember the bloody price that You paid for me Amen
¹¹ Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 11)
Oh God my Father, even though I am separated from my wife, and I am experiencing peace again for which I thank You from the bottom of my heart, although I feel angry for her actions, I cannot say that I hate her, for, among her negative acts, I also remember the good times that we had together even though such moments were very limited. I thank You for such moments my God and Father Amen.
¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 12)
Oh God, when we love each other we experience Your love, however, I am in a situation where there are people who have hurt me and with whom I am not on good terms. Many people have used me and then have thrown me away like toilet paper. I am sorry but as a human, it is not easy for me to love such people, however, I know that this is Your will and therefore with the help of Your grace it will be done, however, I need a lot of help and support from Your side Amen.
¹³ By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his spirit.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 13)
Oh, brothers and sisters by means of the barometer of love, we know how much we love each other, and we also can fathom or experience of God's love in our hearts. With a heavy heart, I proclaim that at this point in time I cannot experience the full love of God since there are still people in my life, who have hurt me so much that I am still in a process of healing from the emotional injuries that I have experienced. I pray to God that there will come that day when I am completely healed and be ready to love these people unconditionally Amen.
¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 14)
Oh God, my Father, even though I have not seen I still testify that You exist and that You are the Saviour of the World and my loving Father Amen.
¹⁵ God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 15)
Oh God my Father I know that You abide in me even though I still work in progress, I thank You more than ever for intervening in my life Amen. In public and in private I proclaim You as being my God and Father Amen.
¹⁶ So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 16)
Oh God my Father what a great reassurance this is to know that You will keep on abiding in us even though we are sinners. I pray that we are always a worthy dwelling place for You to abide in. Bless us with Your holy and mighty presence so that the evil spirits will no longer find an opportunity to try and claim their place within us Amen.
¹⁷ Love has been perfected among us in this; that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 17)
Oh God my Father, when You took on Yourself the human form You perfected that love that You had already given us. You put on it the seal of perfection that makes us whole as human beings Amen.
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 reached perfection in love.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 18)
Oh God, my Father, fear and faith are not compatible with each other, for where there is fear there is no faith. Where there is fear there is doubt and uncertainty. I pray oh God that You heal us from this doubt that is also related to sin so that we can throw our anchor in You and feel forever secure Amen.
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 19)
Oh God my Father, only love coming from You is true love. Many people have pledged their love to me including my ex-wife, however, all people have their personal agenda when doing so. There seems to always be a but related to the word love, for only You give us free and unconditional love. You keep on loving us even when we turn against You and show a lack of love. You are always waiting for us to turn back from our ways Amen.
²⁰ Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 20)
Oh God, my Father, I admit that I do not have a love for she who was my wife, however even though I am angry and hurt about what she is doing to me, I cannot say that I hate her. However, I admit that I have far to go in loving those who have hurt me Amen.
²¹ The commandment we have from him is this; those who love God must love their brothers and sister also.
(The Fourth Chapter of the First Letter of St. John verse 21)
Oh God my Father, give me the strength to obey You and Your commandments for even though I strongly hold that I love and believe in You my actions do not always reflect this love. I pray thatYou teach me to love in the same way that You love me Amen.
I would like to end this reflection on the First Letter of St. John with the following prayer on a special day that as Roman Catholics we commemorate Your Mother Mary whom You gave us as an act of love Amen.
Oh, heavenly parents, I thank you both for loving me, however, my love is not yet complete since as a human I only love those who show me love and respect and this is not love as You meant it to be. I pray that You teach me to love in the same way that You love me Amen
