1 John 4:13
By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.
By this
This phrase serves as a pivotal introduction, indicating a method or evidence by which believers can ascertain a spiritual truth. In the context of 1 John, "by this" often refers to the tangible evidence of God's work in a believer's life. Historically, the early church faced many challenges, including false teachings, and this phrase reassures believers of the authenticity of their faith through observable signs.

we know
The Greek word for "know" here is "γινώσκομεν" (ginōskomen), which implies a deep, experiential knowledge rather than mere intellectual assent. This knowledge is relational and intimate, reflecting the personal relationship believers have with God. In the conservative Christian perspective, this knowledge is not just theoretical but is lived out in daily life, evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

that we live in Him
The phrase "live in Him" suggests a continuous, abiding relationship with God. The Greek word "μένω" (menō) is often translated as "abide" or "remain," emphasizing a steadfast, enduring connection. This concept is central to Johannine theology, where the believer's life is characterized by a constant, dynamic union with Christ, reflecting the historical context of a community striving to remain faithful amidst external pressures.

and He in us
This reciprocal indwelling highlights the mutual relationship between God and the believer. It is not only that believers live in God, but God also resides within them. This mutual indwelling is a profound mystery, reflecting the intimate fellowship that God desires with His people. Theologically, it underscores the transformative power of God's presence in the believer's life, enabling them to live out their faith authentically.

He has given us
The verb "has given" (Greek: "δέδωκεν," dedōken) indicates a completed action with ongoing effects. This gift is not earned but is a gracious provision from God. In the conservative Christian view, this underscores the doctrine of grace, where God initiates and sustains the believer's relationship with Him through His Spirit.

of His Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the divine agent of this indwelling presence. The Spirit's role is multifaceted, including guiding, teaching, and empowering believers. In the historical context of the early church, the presence of the Holy Spirit was a distinguishing mark of true believers, setting them apart from false teachers and counterfeit faiths. Theologically, the Spirit's indwelling is a guarantee of the believer's salvation and a foretaste of eternal life with God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. John the Apostle
The author of 1 John, one of Jesus' original twelve disciples, known for his close relationship with Jesus and his emphasis on love and truth.

2. The Holy Spirit
The third person of the Trinity, given to believers as a helper, comforter, and guide, signifying God's presence within us.

3. The Early Church
The community of believers to whom John was writing, facing challenges of false teachings and needing assurance of their faith.

4. Ephesus
Traditionally believed to be the location where John wrote this letter, a major city in Asia Minor with a significant early Christian community.

5. False Teachers
Individuals who were spreading incorrect doctrines about Jesus and the nature of God, prompting John to affirm the truth of the Gospel.
Teaching Points
Assurance of Salvation
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a confirmation that we are in Christ and He is in us. This assurance is foundational for our faith and daily walk with God.

The Role of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit is not only a sign of God's presence but also an active participant in our spiritual growth, guiding us into truth and empowering us to live out our faith.

Discernment Against False Teachings
With the Spirit's guidance, believers can discern truth from error, especially in a world filled with conflicting messages about God and salvation.

Intimacy with God
The indwelling Spirit fosters a deep, personal relationship with God, allowing us to experience His love and communicate with Him intimately.

Living in the Spirit
As recipients of the Spirit, we are called to live lives that reflect His presence, exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit and being witnesses of Christ's love to the world.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the assurance of the Holy Spirit's presence impact your daily life and relationship with God?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit's guidance in your decisions and actions?

3. How can the truth of the Spirit's indwelling help you combat doubts or fears about your salvation?

4. What practical steps can you take to discern and stand firm against false teachings in today's culture?

5. How does understanding the role of the Holy Spirit enhance your ability to love others as Christ loves us?
Connections to Other Scriptures
John 14:16-17
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to His disciples, emphasizing the Spirit's role in dwelling within believers and guiding them into all truth.

Romans 8:16
Paul speaks of the Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are God's children, reinforcing the assurance of God's presence.

Galatians 4:6
Paul mentions that God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father," highlighting the intimate relationship we have with God through the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Paul reminds believers that they are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in them, underscoring the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Paul speaks of God establishing believers in Christ and sealing them with the Spirit as a guarantee of what is to come.
God's Life in ManT. G. Selby.1 John 4:13
The Evidences of True Religion in ManA. Macleod, D. D.1 John 4:13
The Work of the Holy SpiritD. Moore, M. A.1 John 4:13
Threefold Recommendation of the Duty of Loving One AnotherR. Finlayson 1 John 4:7-21
People
John, Jude
Places
Ephesus
Topics
Abide, Continuing, Dwell, Fact, Hereby, Portion, Spirit, Union, Witness
Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 John 4:13

     1513   Trinity, mission of
     2227   Immanuel
     3203   Holy Spirit, and assurance
     3212   Holy Spirit, and mission
     3257   Holy Spirit, gift of
     3278   Holy Spirit, indwelling
     3293   Holy Spirit, witness of
     7028   church, life of
     8105   assurance, basis of
     8112   certainty

1 John 4:7-16

     1205   God, titles of

1 John 4:7-21

     8115   discipleship, nature of
     8348   spiritual growth, nature of

1 John 4:9-19

     6512   salvation, necessity and basis

1 John 4:13-16

     5973   unreliability

Library
Love of God and Man
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. Eversley. Chester Cathedral, 1872. 1 John iv. 16, 21. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. . . . And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." This is the first Sunday after Trinity. On it the Church begins to teach us morals,--that is, how to live a good life; and therefore she begins by teaching us the foundation of all morals,--which is love,--love to God and love to man. But which
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

First Sunday after Trinity God is Love.
Text: 1 John 4, 16-21. 16 God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. 17 Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Christ's Mission the Revelation of God's Love
'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'--1 John iv. 10. This is the second of a pair of twin verses which deal with substantially the same subject under two slightly different aspects. The thought common to both is that Christ's mission is the great revelation of God's love. But in the preceding verse the point on which stress is laid is the manifestation of that love, and in our text the point mainly brought out is its
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Servant as his Lord
'... As He is, so are we in this world.'--1 John iv. 17. Large truths may be spoken in little words. Profundity is often supposed to be obscurity, but the deepest depth is clear. John, in his gospel and epistles, deals with the deepest realities, and with all things in their eternal aspects, but his vocabulary is the simplest in the New Testament. God and the world, life and death, love and hate, light and darkness, these are the favourite words round which his thoughts gather. Here are nine little
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

Love and Fear
'There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.'--1 John iv. 18. John has been speaking of boldness, and that naturally suggests its opposite--fear. He has been saying that perfect love produces courage in the day of judgment, because it produces likeness to Christ, who is the Judge. In my text he explains and enlarges that statement. For there is another way in which love produces boldness, and that is by its
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

The Ray and the Reflection
'We love Him, because He first loved us.'--1 John iv. 19. Very simple words! but they go down into the depths of God, lifting burdens off the heart of humanity, turning duty into delight, and changing the aspect of all things. He who knows that God loves him needs little more for blessedness; he who loves God back again offers more than all burnt offering and sacrifices. But it is to be observed that the correct reading of my text, as you will find in the Revised Version, omits 'Him' in the first
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ephesians, Peter,John

May the Sixth the Perfecting of Love
"Herein is our love made perfect." --1 JOHN iv. 11-21. How? By dwelling in God and God in us. Love is not a manufacture; it is a fruit. It is not born of certain works; it springs out of certain relations. It does not come from doing something; it comes from living with Somebody. "Abide in Me." That is how love is born, for "love is of God, and God is love." How many people are striving who are not abiding. They live in a manufactory, they do not live in a home. They are trying to make something
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Love's Logic
But, dear friends, I trust after many years of instruction in the doctrines of our holy faith, I need not keep to the beaten doctrinal track, but may lead you in a parallel path, in which the same truth may be from another point. I purpose to preach an experimental sermon, and possibly this will be even more in accordance with the run of the passage and the mind of its writer, than a doctrinal discourse. We shall view the text as a fact which we have tested and proved in our own consciousness. Under
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

A Psalm of Remembrance
Let me add another figure to render this truth yet more apparent. Suppose an eloquent foreigner, from a sunny clime, should endeavour to make you appreciate the fruits of his nation. He depicts them to you. He describes their luscious flavour, their cooling juice, their delicious sweetness; but how powerless will be his oration, compared with your vivid remembrance, if you have yourself partaken of the dainties of his land. It is even so with the good things of God; describe them as we may, we cannot
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Love
Can you imagine a being placed halfway between this world and heaven? Can you conceive of him as having such enlarged capacities that he could easily discern what was done in heaven, and what was done on earth? I can conceive that, before the Fall, if there had been such a being, he would have been struck with the singular harmony which existed between God's great world, called heaven, and the little world, the earth. Whenever the chimes of heaven rang, the great note of those massive bells was love;
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Dark Times
1 JOHN iv. 16-18. We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Have we learnt this lesson? Our reading, and thinking, and praying, have been in vain, unless
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

"And if Christ be in You, the Body is Dead Because of Sin; but the Spirit is Life Because of Righteousness. "
Rom. viii. 10.--"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." God's presence is his working. His presence in a soul by his Spirit is his working in such a soul in some special manner, not common to all men, but peculiar to them whom he hath chosen. Now his dwelling is nothing else but a continued, familiar and endless working in a soul, till he hath conformed all within to the image of his Son. The soul is the office house, or workhouse,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"For what the Law could not Do, in that it was Weak Though the Flesh, God Sending his Own Son,"
Rom. viii. 3.--"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak though the flesh, God sending his own Son," &c. Of all the works of God towards man, certainly there is none hath so much wonder in it, as the sending of his Son to become man; and so it requires the exactest attention in us. Let us gather our spirits to consider of this mystery,--not to pry into the secrets of it curiously, as if we had no more to do but to satisfy our understandings; but rather that we may see what this concerns
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Torment of Fear
(First Sunday after Trinity.) 1 John iv. 16, 18. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. The text tells us how to get one of the greatest blessings;
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

"The Fruit of the Spirit is Love"
I want to look at the fact of a life filled with the Holy Spirit more from the practical side, and to show how this life will show itself in our daily walk and conduct. Under the Old Testament you know the Holy Spirit often came upon men as a divine Spirit of revelation to reveal the mysteries of God, or for power to do the work of God. But He did not then dwell in them. Now, many just want the Old Testament gift of power for work, but know very little of the New Testament gift of the indwelling
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender

Scriptural Predictions of an Apostasy.
Who has not wondered, as they read of the Savior's and the apostles' warnings of "false teachers," grievous wolves, delusive powers, and deceptive lights, what it all could mean? These things certainly are not without meaning. Jesus says, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

The Established Christian Urged to Exert Himself for Purposes of Usefulness.
1, 2. A sincere love to God will express itself not only in devotion, but in benevolence to men.--3. This is the command of God.--4. The true Christian feels his soul wrought to a holy conformity to it.--5. And therefore will desire instruction on this head.--6. Accordingly, directions are given for the improvement of various talents: particularly genius and learning.--7. Power.--8. Domestic authority.--9. Esteem.--10. Riches.--11. Several good ways of employing them hinted at.--12, 13. Prudence
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Manifestation of Holy Love.
"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us." --1 John iv. 16. The question which now presents itself is: In what way is the divine, majestic act of making man a partaker of true love accomplished? We answer that this is-- 1. Prepared by the Father in Creation. 2. Made possible by the Son in Redemption. 3. Effectually accomplished by the Holy Spirit in Sanctification. There is in this respect, first a work of the Father, which the Heidelberg Catechism designates, "Of God the Father
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Love in the Triune Being of God.
"God is Love."--1 John iv. 8. Between natural love even in its highest forms and Holy Love there is a wide chasm. This had to be emphasized so that our readers might not mistake the nature of Love. Many say that God is Love, but measure His Love by the love of men. They study love's being and manifestations in others and in themselves, and then think themselves competent to judge that this human love, in a more perfect form, is the Love of God. Of course they are wrong. Essential Love must be studied
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

I May Briefly Reduce the Chief Persuading Motive to this So Needful and So Much...
I may briefly reduce the chief persuading motive to this so needful and so much desiderated grace into some three or four heads. All things within and without persuade to it, but especially the right consideration of the love of God in Christ, the wise and the impartial reflection on ourselves, the consideration of our brethren whom we are commanded to love, and the thorough inspection into the nature and use of the grace itself. In consideration of the First, a soul might argue itself into a complacency
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Dwelling in Love
"We love Him, because He first loved us."--1 John iv. 19. Mechthild of Hellfde, 1277. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 I rejoice that I cannot but love Him, Because He first loved me; I would that measureless, changeless, My love might be; A love unto death and for ever; For, soul, He died for thee. Give thanks that for thee He delighted To leave His glory on high; For thee to be humbled, forsaken, For thee to die. Wilt thou render Him love for His loving? Wilt thou die for Him who died? And so by
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Whether Initial Fear Differs Substantially from Filial Fear
Whether Initial Fear Differs Substantially from Filial Fear We proceed to the eighth article thus: 1. It seems that initial fear differs substantially from filial fear. For filial fear is caused by love, whereas initial fear is the beginning of love, according to Ecclesiasticus 25:12: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of love." Initial fear is therefore other than filial fear. 2. Again, initial fear fears punishment, which is the object of servile fear. Thus it seems that initial fear is the
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Here Some one Will Say, this is Now not to Write of virginity...
52. Here some one will say, This is now not to write of virginity, but of humility. As though truly it were any kind of virginity, and not that which is after God, which we had undertaken to set forth. And this good, by how much I see it to be great, by so much I fear for it, lest it be lost, the thief pride. Therefore there is none that guardeth the virginal good, save God Himself Who gave it: and God is Charity. [2211] The Guardian therefore of virginity is Charity: but the place of this Guardian
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

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