1 John 4

John's instruction to test spirits by their confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh addresses false teachers who denied the incarnation while affirming the importance of doctrinal orthodoxy. His declaration that God is love doesn't define God by love but reveals how His essential nature expresses itself supremely in sending His Son as propitiation for sins. The teaching that perfect love casts out fear while we love because He first loved us demonstrates how understanding divine grace transforms both vertical and horizontal relationships.