Single lesson
1 John 4: Testing the Spirits
1 John 4:1–6; 1 John 4:7–21
This lesson helps children see two linked teachings in 1 John 4. First, believers should test what they hear about Jesus. Second, people who know God are called to love one another because God loved us first.
Before you teach
In 1 John 4:1–6, John warns his readers not to believe every spirit and gives a test centred on confessing Jesus Christ come in the flesh. In 1 John 4:7–21, he teaches that love comes from God, is shown in God sending his Son, and must be seen in how believers treat one another.
Students will be able to explain one test John gives about Jesus and identify one practical way 1 John 4 calls believers to love others.
Welcome: Two big ideas in one chapter
4 minTell the group that today’s passage has two connected parts. In the first part, John says not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits. In the second part, he says love is of God and that those who love God should also love one another. Briefly introduce the words truth, error, confess and love.
1 John 4:1, 1 John 4:6, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:21
Read and explain: Test what is said about Jesus
7 minRead 1 John 4:1–6 aloud. Explain that John does not tell believers to accept every message. He says to test the spirits because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The key test here is what is confessed about Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. John also encourages his readers that the one in them is greater than the one in the world.
1 John 4:1, 1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:3, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 4:5, 1 John 4:6
Discuss: Love begins with God
7 minRead 1 John 4:7–16. Show that love is not presented as a vague feeling. John says love is of God, that God loved us, and that God sent his only born Son into the world so that we might live through him. Because God loved in this way, believers ought to love one another.
1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:9, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, 1 John 4:14, 1 John 4:15, 1 John 4:16
Make and respond: Reminder card for truth and love
8 minChoose one key verse together, such as 1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:19 or 1 John 4:21. Help children think of a realistic example, such as hearing a claim about Jesus or deciding how to treat a sibling or classmate. They then make a small reminder card with the verse and one sentence about what it teaches.
1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:19, 1 John 4:21
Closing: Love that matches our words
4 minFinish by reading 1 John 4:17–21. Explain simply that John connects God’s love with confidence instead of fear, and he says that claiming to love God while hating a brother is false. Invite each child to say one true thing about Jesus from the passage and one loving action they can do this week.
1 John 4:17, 1 John 4:18, 1 John 4:19, 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21
Questions to explore
According to 1 John 4:2–3, what confession helps test whether a message is from God?
Guide children to answer with John’s own words about Jesus Christ coming in the flesh and to notice that John contrasts this with messages that do not confess him.
1 John 4:2, 1 John 4:3
What reason does John give for loving one another in 1 John 4:9–11?
Encourage them to point to God’s action first: he loved us and sent his Son, so our love for others grows out of his love.
1 John 4:9, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:11
How does 1 John 4:20–21 show whether someone’s claim to love God is true?
Help children compare the claim 'I love God' with the command to love a brother, since John says love for God should be seen in love for people.
1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:21
Make, think or respond
Truth and Love Reminder Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or pens
- coloured pencils or markers
- Bibles
Try it together
- Read aloud one chosen verse from 1 John 4 such as verse 2, 7, 19 or 21.
- Ask children to say what the verse teaches about Jesus or about loving others.
- Have each child fold or cut a small card and write the verse reference and a short reminder sentence.
- Invite them to add a simple drawing, such as a heart or a speech bubble, that matches the verse.
- Let volunteers share where they could keep the card this week as a reminder.
The card helps children remember John’s two main teachings in this passage: test what is said about Jesus and love one another because God loved us first.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer two verse choices only and let them copy a short phrase such as 'God is love' or 'Love one another'.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to compare 1 John 4:1–6 and 1 John 4:7–21 by writing one sentence on truth about Jesus and one sentence on visible love for others.
An optional closing prayer
You might pray: 'Father, thank you for loving us and for sending your Son. Please help us know what is true about Jesus and help us love one another in ways that match your word. Amen.'
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
1 John 4
1 Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.
6 We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.
9 By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world that we might live through him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.
16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
17 In this, love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so we are in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
20 If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
21 This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.