1 John 4:2
1 John 4:3
1 John 4:4
1 John 4:5
1 John 4:6
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 4:13
1 John 4:14
1 John 4:15
1 John 4:16
1 John 4:17
1 John 4:18
1 John 4:19
1 John 4:20
1 John 4:21
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS CHILDREN
Click chart to enlarge
Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission
Another Overview Chart - 1 John - Charles Swindoll
| BASIS OF FELLOWSHIP | BEHAVIOR OF FELLOWSHIP | ||||
| Conditions of Fellowship |
Cautions of Fellowship |
Fellowship Characteristics |
Fellowship Consequences |
||
| Meaning of Fellowship 1 Jn 1:1-2:27 |
Manifestations of Fellowship 1 Jn 2:28-5:21 |
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| Abiding in God's Light |
Abiding in God's Love |
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| Written in Ephesus | |||||
| circa 90 AD | |||||
| From Talk Thru the Bible | |||||
What is this? On the photograph of the Observation Worksheet for this chapter you will find handwritten 5W/H questions (Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?) on each verse to help you either personally study or lead a discussion on this chapter. The questions are generally very simple and are stated in such a way as to stimulate you to observe the text to discern the answer. As a reminder, given the truth that your ultimate Teacher is the Holy Spirit, begin your time with God with prayer such as Psalm 119:12+ "Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes." (you can vary it with similar prayers - Ps 119:18, 26, 33, 64, 66, 68, 108, 124, 135, 171, etc) The questions are generally highlighted in yellow and the answers in green. Some questions have no answers and are left to your observations and the illuminating/teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some qualifying thoughts - (1) Use "As is" - these are handwritten and will include mistakes I made, etc. (2) They may not be the best question for a given verse and my guess is that on some verses you will think of a far superior 5W/H question and/or many other questions.
Dr Howard Hendricks once gave an assignment to his seminary students to list as many observations as they could from Acts 1:8. He said "So far they’ve come up with more than 600 different ones! Imagine what fun you could have with 600 observations on this passage. Would you like to see Scripture with eyes like that?" (P. 63 Living by the Book - borrow) With practice you can! And needless to say, you will likely make many more observations and related questions than I recorded on the pages below and in fact I pray that the Spirit would indeed lead you to discover a veritable treasure chest of observations and questions! In Jesus' Name. Amen
Why am I doing this? Mortimer Adler among others helped me develop a questioning mindset as I read, seeking to read actively rather than passively. Over the years I have discovered that as I have practiced reading with a 5W/H questioning mindset, it has yielded more accurate interpretation and the good fruit of meditation. In other words, consciously interacting with the inspired Holy Word of God and the illuminating Holy Spirit has honed my ability to meditate on the Scripture, and my prayer is that this tool will have the same impact in your spiritual life. The benefits of meditation are literally priceless in regard to their value in this life and in the life to come (cf discipline yourself for godliness in 1Ti 4:8+.) For some of the benefits - see Joshua 1:8+ and Psalm 1:2-3+. It will take diligence and mental effort to develop an "inductive" (especially an "observational"), interrogative mindset as you read God's Word, but it bears repeating that the benefits in this life and the rewards in the next will make it more than worth the effort you invest! Dear Christian reader let me encourage you to strongly consider learning the skills of inductive Bible study and spending the rest of your life practicing them on the Scriptures and living them out in your daily walk with Christ.
Although Mortimer Adler's advice is from a secular perspective, his words are worth pondering...
Strictly, all reading is active. What we call passive is simply less active. Reading is better or worse according as it is more or less active. And one reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading. (Adler's classic book How to Read a Book is free online)
John Piper adds that "Insight or understanding is the product of intensive, headache-producing meditation on two or three verses and how they fit together. This kind of reflection and rumination is provoked by asking questions of the text. And you cannot do it if you hurry. Therefore, we must resist the deceptive urge to carve notches in our bibliographic gun. Take two hours to ask ten questions of Galatians 2:20+ and you will gain one hundred times the insight you would have attained by reading thirty pages of the New Testament or any other book. Slow down. Query. Ponder. Chew.... (John Dewey rightly said) "People only truly think when they are confronted with a problem. Without some kind of dilemma to stimulate thought, behavior becomes habitual rather than thoughtful.”
“Asking questions is the key to understanding.”
--Jonathan Edwards
That said, below are the 5W/H questions for each verse in this chapter (click page to enlarge). This is not neatly typed but is handwritten and was used for leading a class discussion on this chapter, so you are welcome to use it in this "as is" condition...
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1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit:
Greek - En touto ginoskomen (1PPAI) hoti en auto menomen (1PPAI) kai autos en hemin hoti ek tou pneumatos autou dedoken (3SRAI) hemin
KJV 1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
BGT 1 John 4:13 Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.
NET 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.
CSB 1 John 4:13 This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit.
ESV 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
NIV 1 John 4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
NLT 1 John 4:13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
NRS 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
NJB 1 John 4:13 This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit.
NAB 1 John 4:13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.
YLT 1 John 4:13 in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us.
MIT 1 John 4:13 Here is how we know we remain in God and he in us: He has shared his spirit with us.
GWN 1 John 4:13 We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.
BBE 1 John 4:13 And his Spirit which he has given us is the witness that we are in him and he is in us.
RSV 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit.
NKJ 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
ASV 1 John 4:13 hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
Amplified - By this we come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us: because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit.
Wuest - In this we know experientially that in Him we are dwelling and He Himself in us, because He has given us out of His Spirit as a permanent gift.
- 1Jn 4:15,16 3:24 John 14:20-26 Ro 8:9-17 1Co 2:12 3:16,17 6:19 Ga 5:22-25 Eph 2:20-22
- 1 John 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Related Passages:
Romans 8:16+ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
1 John 2:24+ (RECIPROCAL ABIDING) As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
1 John 4:15+ (RECIPROCAL ABIDING) Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
EVIDENCE OF
SALVATION
In 1 John 4:13-16 we find three evidences of genuine Christianity, three grounds of assurance that one is the "real deal." (1) having the presence of the Spirit (1Jn 4:13), (2) acknowledging Jesus as God's Son (1Jn 4:14, 15), and (3) abiding in love (1Jn 4:16). Throughout this epistle, John offers assorted indications of authentic Christian experience which provide a basis for assurance of our eternal security. The presence of these signs testifies to one's true spiritual condition.
By this we know (ginosko - present tense continue to grow in personal, experiential knowledge) that (hoti) we abide (meno - present tense - continually dwell) in Him and He in us, because (hoti) He has given (perfect tense) us (plural) of His Spirit (pneuma) (NEB = "Here is the proof that...") - By what? While this could refer to what has been stated (if we love one another - 1Jn 4:12), most favor that John is referring to the Father's gift of the Spirit as the means by which we know. In short, this is his reader's (and our) ground of assurance that we have personally come to know God (that we abide in Him and He in us). We is John and his readers (who are believers). By this could also refer to the truth John just mentioned and it connects to the gift of the Spirit. In context (1Jn 4:12+), we know (present tense) because we have begun to experience love for one another (1Jn 4:12+). Before we received His gift of the Spirit we did not know this quality of love and could not have loved one another. To say it another way, before the Spirit poured out the love of God within our hearts (Ro 5:5+) and began to bear His fruit (Gal 5:22-23+) in our lives, believers had no inherent power to manifest supernatural God-like love. We know this mutual abiding (we in God, God in us) is real because of His Spirit Who indwells us. In turn, we know we have His Spirit because we are able to confess Jesus and are able to love one another, both of which are supernatural not natural responses. We abide (live) often in the Gospel of one dwelling in the home of another and here describes believers continually living in fellowship with God (meno - present tense)!
H A Ironside seems to favor the "by this" as looking to what preceded writing "If we love in this divine way, we abide in Him. You cannot abide in Christ and have hatred in your heart. You cannot abide in Christ and have jealousy in your heart; you cannot have unlovely thoughts and unholy desires. All these break fellowship with the Lord."
Knowledge possessed through the intellectual process of learning is one thing. Knowledge gained by experience, by an active relationship between the one who knows (in this context believers) and the person known (in context God Himself), is far superior to apprehension of facts (about God). Ginosko describes the experiential knowledge which every Christ follower should zealously seek to pursue regarding the Person of Christ (e.g., see ginosko in Jn 8:32+, Php 3:10-11+).
In this case the knowledge has to do with the genuine believer's experience of God's Spirit. How can we know we have been given the Spirit? In simple terms, we can know because we begin to experience a life radically different than when our old nature was in full control of our thoughts, words and deeds. In short "the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2Cor 5:17+)
John had earlier said that "the one who keeps (present tense = not perfection but direction) His commandments abides (meno - present tense - continually dwells) in Him, and He in him. And we know (ginosko - present tense continue to grow in experiential knowledge) by this that He abides (meno - present tense - continually dwells) in us, by the Spirit Whom He has given us. (1Jn 3:24+)
Henry Alford comments that John nearly repeats 1Jn 3:24+. "But why introduced here? In the former verse (1Jn 4:12+), the fact of His abiding in us was assured to us, if we love one another. Of this fact, when thus loving, we need a token. Him we cannot see: has He given us any testimony of His presence in us? He has given us such a testimony, in making us partakers of His Spirit. This fact it is to which the Apostle calls our attention, as proving not the external fact of the sending of the Son (1Jn 4:14+), but one within ourselves, the indwelling of God in us, and our abiding in Him.”
Kenneth Wuest adds "the saint experiences the work of the Holy Spirit in him, and from that experience, he deduces the fact that the Holy Spirit is in him, a gift of God. This experiential knowledge confirms the fact that the saint dwells in God and God in him." (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission)
This passage ‘is the high-watermark
of the thought of the epistle’
--Dodd
John Stott explains that "The previous two sections have been exhortations—a warning not to believe every spirit (1Jn 4:1–6+) and an appeal to love one another (1Jn 4:7–12+). These two tests of belief and love are now applied more personally, no longer in exhortation but in affirmation. The belief and love, which John has been urging upon his readers, are now assumed, and deductions are drawn from them. Moreover, their relation to each other is for the first time indicated. This passage ‘is the high-watermark of the thought of the epistle’ (Dodd). That ‘the Father has sent His Son’ is not only the chief test of doctrinal orthodoxy but also the supreme evidence of God’s love and inspiration of ours....the ability to believe and the ability to love are alike attributable to the Holy Spirit. Thus belief and love are seen to be related both in the mission of the Son and in the indwelling of the Spirit. (Borrow The Letters of John)
That we abide (meno - present tense) in Him and He in us, because He has given (perfect tense) us of His Spirit (pneuma) - This is what we grow in knowledge of - we gain an increasing sense or awareness of our reciprocal abiding, our oneness, our intimacy and ultimately our assurance with God. In 1Jn 3:24+ this mutual abiding (abides in Him, and He in him) is linked to our obedience, our keeping of His commandments (compare 1Jn 4:7-21 = with our demonstration of brotherly love), a knowledge which ultimately (and in my opinion somewhat mystically) is continually being made aware to our inner man by His Spirit. It is the Spirit Who continually gives us the consciousness of our mutual relationship with God. Our awareness of mutually abiding is not based on any personal achievement such as how much we pray, how many verses we memorize, how often we share the Gospel, etc. It is because He has given us of His Spirit. In Romans Paul writes "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." (Ro 8:15-16+)
D Edmond Hiebert makes the observation that "In 1Jn 3:24+ and 1Jn 4:15+ this mutual indwelling is presented as the experience of the individual believer (Ed: singular pronouns); but here the use of the plural pronouns, “we … us,” presents this twofold relationship as the experience of the Christian community. Clearly it is a relationship that is true of every true believer. But it is the reality of God’s abiding in us that vitalizes the relationship with fellow believers." (1 John 4:7-21)
One thinks of Peter's command "grow (present imperative = continually as enabled by the Spirit) in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18+)
He (abides or lives) in us - This is the third time in this section in which John describes God's indwelling believers (1Jn 4:12, 13, 16), the last two verses describing reciprocal indwelling ("we abide in Him and He in us") Notice that when John describes the reciprocal indwelling here in 1Jn 4:12+, he follows up with evidence for it, explaining "He has given us of His Spirit."
This is the burden of John in the whole letter:
to teach us how to be sure that God abides in us.
John Piper on we abide in Him and He in us - This is the burden of John in the whole letter: to teach us how to be sure that God abides in us. Are you sure that God abides in you today? He wrote this letter to help you answer that question. John's Clear Goal - Consider how many times he has made us think about this. You might want to put a little "a" in the margin by each of these verses to stand for assurance.
1 Jn 2:3—By this we may be sure that we know him . . .
1 Jn 2:5b—By this we may be sure that we are in him . . .
1 Jn 3:10—By this it may be seen who are the children of God . . .
1 Jn 3:14—We know that we have passed out of death into life . . .
1 Jn 3:19—By this we shall know that we are of the truth . . .
1 Jn 3:24b—By this we know that he abides in us . . .
1 Jn 4:2—By this you know the Spirit of God . . .
1 Jn 4:6b—By this we know the spirit of truth . . .
1 Jn 5:2—By this we know that we love the children of God . . .
1 Jn 5:13—I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you might know that you have eternal life.
(Piper continues) So one thing is very clear from this letter: John wants Christians to be sure of something. He wants us to be confident of something. He wants to help us get rid of our doubts about something. What? What does he want us to be sure of? Assurance That We Abide in God. There are some today who teach that our abiding in God and God's abiding in us simply refers to an advanced stage of intimacy between God and the mature Christian. They say that you can still be a Christian and yet not abide in God and not have God abiding in you. They say that what John wants to give assurance of is not that you are truly born again but that you are walking in intimacy with the Father. Here's a quote from one popular evangelical teacher: "The unsaved world does not know God...and the believer who harbors hatred toward another believer is stepping into a comparable sphere of spiritual darkness and death. This by no means calls his salvation into question, but it firmly negates every claim to intimacy with the Father and the Son. In the final analysis, it is this intimacy that the epistle of 1 John is all about" (1 Jn 1:3, 4). (Zane Hodges, The Gospel Under Siege, 1981, p. 65 [ED: SEE CRITIQUE OF THIS BOOK]) The motive behind this interpretation is the desire to keep the assurance of salvation separate from the spiritual and moral condition of the believer's heart and life. In other words this teacher wants to be able to give people assurance of salvation even if, to use his words, they are "harboring hatred toward another believer." (ED: See John's clear rebuttal of this false statement - 1Jn 3:10, 14+) And he does this by saying that when John gives the test of love, he is testing Christian maturity not salvation. He says that if we equate "abiding" with "being a Christian," the message of John's letter is hopelessly obscured. The theological deductions that arise as a result are fundamentally and irreconcilably hostile to the simple Biblical Gospel and to the offer of assurance of salvation based on the testimony and promise of God alone. (p. 66) In other words, if you think that 1Jn 4:13 of our text this morning has to do with salvation when it speaks of "abiding in God and God abiding in us," then (he says) your view is hostile to the gospel. Because for this teacher the gospel is the good news that you can be saved by a kind of intellectual faith that may not change your heart attitudes or make you into a loving person. (ED: SEE The Unusual Teachings of Zane Hodges) The reason I spell this out in some detail is that this is an amazingly widespread view, coming as it does from one of the (former?) bastions of evangelical orthodoxy (Dallas Theological Seminary). But it is a view of 1 John that as far as I know has no significant precedent in the history of interpretation.
Abiding in Christ does not refer to a second level of maturity.
It refers to whether you are in the vine or in the fire.
It is a tremendously important issue. You must decide whether you think the issue in 1 John (and particularly in this text) is the assurance of salvation or the assurance of Christian maturity and intimacy. Either in the Vine or the Fire - What does John mean by abiding in God and God abiding in us? Is it an intimate second stage of Christianity or is it just plain being a Christian? Jesus said in John 15:6, "If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned." Abiding in Christ does not refer to a second level of maturity. It refers to whether you are in the vine or in the fire. (1 John 4:13-16: God Abides in the One Who Loves - This is an important sermon for evangelicals to read - click for the entire message) (Bolding added)
William Barclay - One other thing emerges in this passage. It has taught us of God and it has taught us of Jesus; and it teaches us of the Spirit. In 1 John 4:13 John says it is because we have a share of the Spirit that we know that we dwell in God. It is the work of the Spirit that in the beginning makes us seek God at all; it is the work of the Spirit that makes us aware of God's presence; and it is the work of the Spirit that gives us the certainty that we are truly at peace with God. It is the Spirit in our hearts which makes us dare to address God as Father (Ro 8:15-16). The Spirit is the inner witness who, as C. H. Dodd puts it, gives us the "immediate, spontaneous, unanalysable awareness of a divine presence in our lives."
THE GIFT OF
GOD'S SPIRIT
That we abide (meno - present tense) in Him and He in us, because He has given (perfect tense) us of His Spirit (pneuma) - John repeats the truth of "reciprocal abiding," we in God, God in us (3x - 1Jn 2:24, 1Jn 4:13, 1Jn 4:15), only possible by His Spirit. Notice that has given is in the perfect tense which speaks of the permanence of the Father's Gift given at the moment of regeneration. He is in us to stay, as James says “The Spirit Who He has been caused to take up permanent residence in us.” (James 4:5+) Do you "wrestle" with the doctrine of eternal security? If so, notice how even the tense of the verb (perfect tense) underscores the assurance we can have regarding our salvation. We cannot lose the gift of the Spirit. In John 14:16+ Jesus promised the disciples that the Father would "give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." In short, genuine believers cannot lose their salvation! On the other hand, if you are continually plagued with doubts about whether you are truly saved, you might want to ponder Paul's words in 2Cor 13:5+.
H A Ironside on God has given us of His Spirit - He has Himself implanted within us something that He has given us from His Spirit. That is the new nature. His Spirit is that of love, and this is the very essence of the new nature. All you and I have to do is to let the Spirit of God control us (Eph 5:18+ - filled = controlled) and we will manifest the love of Christ.
C H Spurgeon on He has given us of His Spirit - And His Spirit is the spirit of love. Wherever it comes, it makes man love his fellow man and seek his good; and if you have that love in your heart, it came from God, and you dwell in God. (1 John 4)
Herschel Hobbs - “The indwelling Spirit, therefore, is not an extra experience coming at a subsequent point in the Christian’s life. At the outset, He serves as evidence that we are Christians—that God dwells in us and we in Him.” (Borrow The Epistles of John)
Belief and love are not the conditions of the indwelling,
however, but the tests and evidences of it.
John Stott observes that "It is by the Spirit that we come to acknowledge the incarnation of the Son (cf. 1Jn 4:1–3+ and 1Cor. 12:3), and by the same Spirit that we are enabled to love (1Jn 4:12–13; cf. 1Jn 3:23–24+). In our fallen and unredeemed state we are both blind (unable to believe) and selfish (unable to love). It is only by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:17+) and whose first-fruit is love (Gal. 5:22+), that we ever come to believe in Christ and to love others. Emphasis on the Holy Spirit is, in fact, ‘the predominant idea of this section’ (Ebrard). This, then, is the sequence of thought: we know that we live in God and God in us ‘because he has given us of his Spirit’ (1Jn 4:13), and we know he has given us of His Spirit because we have come to ‘acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God’ (1Jn 4:15+), and to live ‘in love’ (1Jn 4:16+). Some commentators make the mistake of seeing in this paragraph the conditions of our living in God and of His living in us. Belief and love are not the conditions of the indwelling, however, but the tests and evidences of it. John writes not ‘by this we live in Him’, but ‘by this we know that we live in Him’. The theme of this section, as of the whole letter, is ‘the grounds of assurance’ (Dodd). (Borrow The Letters of John)
NET Note on of His Spirit - The genitive of His Spirit here, like the phrase in 1Jn 3:24+, probably reflects a partitive nuance, so that the author portrays God as ‘apportioning’ His Spirit to individual believers.
D Edmond Hiebert - The expression of His Spirit conveys a partitive sense, that “Christians receive from God a share (only) in the Spirit Who fills the whole church.” Only of the incarnate Son could it be said in the fullest sense that He received “the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34 NASB). (1 John 4:7-21)
David Jackman on of His Spirit the partitive sense of the Spirit (as in the NET Note above) does not imply that the Spirit is divisible into parts - "This is the same mistake as thinking of the fullness of the Spirit as somehow getting more of the Spirit into us than we now have, as though we could receive Him by installments. He is a Person, one and indivisible; though we must also observe that the fact that He indwells one Christian does not mean that He cannot equally indwell all. So it is impossible for one to have 60% of the Spirit, but not at all impossible that He has less than all of us." (BORROW The message of John's letters)
Indeed, we each have all of the Spirit of Christ (cp Col 2:10+) we are ever going receive, but now the Spirit is in the process of sanctification seeking to get all of us (daily fully surrendering, giving wholehearted obedience, daily dying to self, etc), a process that will not be completed until we are glorified! O blessed day when we see Him face to face for then we will be fully, forever like Him (1Jn 3:2+)!
Henry Alford on of the Spirit - We each have the indwelling of one and the same personal Spirit, but each according to our measure, 1Cor. 12:4, 11. One only had the Spirit without measure, in all His fullness: even Christ; John 3:34. And the presence of the Holy Spirit is most aptly adduced here where love is in question, His first fruit being love (Gal 5:22+), and His presence being tested by His fruits
The world is but a fleeting dream,
A passing cloud, a meteor beam;
Its brightest joys like shadows glide,
And leave my heart unsatisfied.
Refrain
O dwell with me, Thou heavenly Guest,
In whom alone is perfect rest;
O dwell with me; no love like Thine
Can fill this longing heart of mine.
The hopes of earth are born to die,
’Tis Heaven alone can satisfy,
I long to see that home above,
Celestial city that I love.
Refrain
When friendships fail and all seems dark,
The God of Heav’n will steer my bark;
In His own time I’ll reach the shore,
And dwell with Him forevermore.
--Fanny Crosby
Kenneth Wuest on of His Spirit - “Of His Spirit” is literally, “out of His Spirit.” Paul’s words in 1Cor 12:4–11 are of help here. John in using ek “out of,” does not mean to infer that the individual saint receives only part of the Holy Spirit, for a person cannot be divided and parceled out in parts. Each saint receives the Holy Spirit Himself in His entirety. John is here referring to that which the saint experiences of the indwelling Holy Spirit, namely, the operation of the spiritual gifts. No saint is given all of them. The individual saint who is the recipient of these spiritual gifts of the Spirit receives certain ones (ek) out of the total number. But the presence of these gifts in him, shown by their outworking in his life, is also an evidence of the presence of the Spirit in him, and this latter, a proof of the fact that God dwells in that saint and that saint dwells in God. (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission)
Just a reminder - Every believer has the Spirit. We do not need to pray for the Spirit. He is present, personal and permanent. Persons lacking the Spirit are not believers as Paul plainly states in Romans 8:9+ "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." Dear believer, do not let anyone confuse you about the Spirit. He is your personal, permanent possession!
God sent His Son to die for us.
God sent His Spirit to live in us
Warren Wiersbe - Imagine the wonder and the privilege of having God abide in you! The Old Testament Israelite would look with wonder at the tabernacle or temple, because the presence of God was in that building. No man would dare to enter the holy of holies, where God was enthroned in glory! But we have God’s Spirit living in us! We abide in this love, and we experience the abiding of God in us. “If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23). (Bible Exposition Commentary)
A E Brooke - The believer feels in the enjoyment of this affection that the centre of his life is no longer within himself nor on earth; because the spirit by which it is inspired, by which alone it can be inspired, is the Spirit of God.
Spirit holy, Spirit holy,
All my being now possess;
Lead me, rule me, work within me,
Thru my life Thy will express.
Oh, how sweet is Thy abiding!
Oh, how tender is the love
Thou dost shed abroad within me
From the Father-heart above!
-- Charles W. Naylor
Steven Cole expands John's teaching on the Spirit in 1Jn 4:13 - God’s Spirit is both the Spirit of truth (John 14:17) and the Spirit of love (Gal. 5:22+). John has just spoken about love and he will go on to speak about the truth and love. As we saw last week, John does not separate truth from love or put love above the truth, so as to minimize or negate the truth. In 1Jn 4:13, he is going to the source of love and truth in us, namely, God’s Spirit. Note that John here does not say that God has given us His Spirit, although that is true. He says, “He has given us of His Spirit.” The Greek word means “out of.” Thus John is looking at something which God has imparted to us out of His Spirit, namely, truth (1Jn 4:14-15) and love (1Jn 4:16). In John 3, when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the new birth, He said (1Jn 3:6-8+), “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” The Christian life is not only a matter of subscribing to certain doctrines, although it includes that. It is not merely a matter of stopping certain sinful practices and adding certain godly ones, although it does require that. At its root, Christianity is receiving new life from the Holy Spirit. At the moment that you are born of the Spirit, He comes to indwell you. Thus Paul writes (Ro 8:9), “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” To come back to 1 John 4:13, the apostle says, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” You may wonder, “Is this just an inner, subjective feeling that the Holy Spirit is in me?” In the context, John is saying, “Don’t focus on subjective feelings. Look for evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life.” You can’t see the wind, but you can see its effects. Do you see love? Do you believe and confess the truth about Jesus Christ? These are effects of the Holy Spirit in your life. These things show that God has given you of His Spirit. When you see them, you can know that you abide in Him and He in you. We could list many other effects that God’s Spirit produces in believers (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Love of God [Crossway], pp. 97-101, develops these in some detail). Here are a few: Are you concerned about the things of God? Do you have a desire to experience more of Him? Do you love God’s Word? Do you have a sense of sin, so that you recognize that you are a sinner? Do you hate your sin and struggle daily against the flesh? This inner war between the flesh and the Spirit is a sign that you have the Holy Spirit within you (Gal. 5:17+). Do you have a living relationship with God, where you see His hand at work in your life? Do you have the sense that you may come before God as your loving Father, not as your Judge? Do you find joy in using any spiritual gifts that He has given you in ministry to others? (1 John 4:12-16 Assurance of Abiding)
Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on the Holy Spirit, His objective evidence in our lives and how we receive Him - I have pointed out that there are certain tests that we can apply to ourselves in order that we may know whether we have received the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. That is the most important question for anyone in this world today....I have got to meet God, and therefore the urgent question for me is, have I received His Spirit? Am I dwelling in God, and is God dwelling in me? Now there are certain general tests that one can apply to oneself, and we have seen some already. A sense of sin, a sense of unworthiness, a realization of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done, and an increasing longing to be more like Him—an awareness of a conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, this internal warfare—the fruit of the Spirit, and the possession, perhaps, of certain of the special gifts which the Holy Spirit in His sovereignty dispenses to certain people at certain times—these are the general tests. (Borrow Life in Christ : studies in 1 John)
Love of God, so great and holy,
Grace of God, so full and free,
Templed in a Child so lowly,
Canst Thou come and dwell in me?
Sin has held a long dominion,
Darkened thought, debased desire,
Fettered will, corrupted conscience,
Worshiped with unholy fire.
I am all defiled and guilty;
Yet Thy temple, Lord, would be!
Stronger than the strong man enter;
Bind my foe; deliver me.
Love of God, so great and holy,
Grace of Christ, so full and free,
While I kneel, Thy child and lowly,
Make Thy promise good in me.
- A. C. Sewall
We abide (meno - present tense) in Him and He in us
Guy King elaborates on our supernatural position in Him - "In Him" (1Jn 4:13) - a privileged position, beyond all human comprehension, but not, thank GOD, beyond our apprehension.
You will recall that the phrase is one characteristic of Paul, who constantly uses it - "in the Lord", " in Christ". Led of the SPIRIT, he confidently affirms that all that we Christians have, or hope for, is because of our being "in Him". Such a position brings us such a plethora of graces and blessings. "We dwell in Him", says John, "and He in us", he adds; for there is, as we have seen, a reciprocal aspect about it - if the poker is in the fire, the fire is soon in the poker; if the sponge is in the water, the water is in the sponge; if the body is in the air, the air is in the body - and, to infinitely greater purpose, if we dwell in Him, He dwells in us. It is this second side of the coin that gives the value to the specie; and if only we recognize it, we shall be saved from so much spiritual collapse. Recall the low moral condition into which the Corinthian Christians had fallen, and note Paul's indication of its root cause - "What? Know ye not that....the Holy Ghost... is in you" (1Corinthians 6:19- +). With the Holy One there they ought not, and need not, be unholy; nor we!
What of the Old Home? Of the unrepentant unbeliever, the threefold record runs:
(1) "Born in sins", John 9:34 - not true of our LORD, but true of all else. Do you remember the pathetic lines of poor Tom Hood, in his Past and Present:
"I remember, I remember, the house where I was born
The little window where the sun came peeping in at morn."
Spiritually, this was it: "born in sins". If we are no longer there, let us thank GOD for the grace that moved us; but to continue,
(2) "Lived in them", Colossians 3:7+ - all we believers lived there once, and what a life of disappointment it was; what an unsafe and unsatisfactory house to be in.
(3) "Die in your sins", John 8:24 - there is the poignant Obituary Notice of the impenitent. That, then, is our original dwelling-place - in sin; until we come to be - in Him.
What of the New Home? How different from the old place. Here is love, and joy, and peace, and satisfaction, and service, and all blessing. Here we abide all the years of our earthly life - not only with Him, but in Him - until the great Removal Day when, in the mercy of GOD, we move into that other "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens", 2Co 5:1+.
Members of the Fellowship: how infinitely privileged we are in our Position, while Here - and when There. (1 John 4:7-21 The Position of the Fellowship)
Steven Cole - Almost every Christian at some time has struggled with assurance of salvation. Perhaps you heard some godless university professor rail against the Christian faith, or you heard about a book or movie like The Da Vinci Code, and it caused you to doubt the truth of Christianity. Then the enemy hit you with the thought, “How could you be a genuine Christian and have these thoughts?” Or, it may have been during a time of severe trial, where God did not seem to be answering your prayers. The difficulties in your life multiplied without relief. You cried out to God, but He seemed to be on vacation. You just couldn’t make sense out of what was happening to you. Then, you began to doubt both the Christian faith and whether you were really a Christian at all. The enemy has many such ways to shake our assurance of salvation. In the case of John’s first readers, false teachers were spreading heresy among the churches. They had left to form new churches, and many had followed them. When your friends join a new group with new teachings, it can cause you to question whether what you believe is really true. So the apostle John writes to his little children to give them assurance that they were truly abiding in Christ. Note these verses:
1Jn 2:3+: “By this we know that we have come to know Him….”
1Jn 2:5b+: “By this we know that we are in Him….”
1Jn 2:13+: “… you know Him who has been from the beginning.”
1Jn 2:13b+: “… you know the Father.”
1Jn 2:20+: “… you all know.”
1Jn 3:10+: “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious….”
1Jn 3:14+: “We know that we have passed out of death into life….”
1Jn 3:19+: We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him….”
1Jn 3:24b+: “We know by this that He abides in us….”
1Jn 4:2+: “By this you know the Spirit of God….”
1Jn 4:6b+: “By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
1Jn 5:2+: By this we know that we love the children of God….”
1Jn 5:13+: These things I have written … so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Clearly, John wants us to know some things with assurance. He wants us to be solid and secure in our relationship with God. In our text, he wants us (1Jn 4:13+) to “know that we abide in Him and He in us….” In 1Jn 4:12+, John mentions God’s abiding in us. Then in 1Jn 4:13, 15, & 1Jn 4:16+, he repeats the same truth in terms of mutual abiding, God in us and we in God. John wants to give us assurance of this mutual abiding relationship. While “abide” is John’s word for fellowship with God, it would be a mistake to think that only some believers enter into this abiding relationship, while other believers do not abide. To be sure, the abiding relationship grows and deepens over a lifetime. Those who have walked with Christ for decades enjoy closer fellowship with Him than those who are newer in their faith. But in John’s mind, every Christian abides in Christ and Christ in him. If you are not abiding in Him and He in you, then you are not saved. So when we talk about assurance of abiding, we are talking about assurance of salvation. John’s message here is… We can be assured that God abides in us and we in Him if we see His Spirit producing in us love for one another and confession of the truth about Jesus Christ. (1 John 4:12-16 Assurance of Abiding) (Bolding added)
Know (1097)(ginosko) refers to knowledge gained by experience, a knowing intimately and not just intellectually. For example, John uses ginosko to describe those who refused to believe in Jesus writing "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." (Jn 1:10+, see context Jn 1:11-13+) After most of the followers departed from Jesus in Jn 6:66+, Jesus confronted the twelve disciples asking "You do not want to go away also, do you?" (Jn 6:67+) to which Peter replied "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know (ginosko) that You are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68-69+) Notice that here John links believing in Jesus with knowing Him. And the greatest use of ginosko in the Bible (IMO) is John 17:3+ “This is eternal life, that they may know (ginosko) You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent." To know God and Jesus Christ is salvation, eternal life. On the other hand if Jesus does not know you, that means you are dead in your trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-3+) and will spend eternity away from His glorious present (2Th 1:9+). Jesus was crystal clear when He declared "I never (never ever - oudepote) knew (ginosko) you; DEPART (present imperative) FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS." (Mt 7:23+) Dear reader, I pray for your soul, that you never hear these words, thinking that you have made a profession of Jesus, but never truly experienced possession of Jesus. In His Name. Amen.
GINOSKO IN JOHN'S WRITINGS - Jn. 1:10 ; Jn. 1:48; Jn. 2:24; Jn. 2:25; Jn. 3:10; Jn. 4:1; Jn. 4:53; Jn. 5:6; Jn. 5:42; Jn. 6:15; Jn. 6:69; Jn. 7:17; Jn. 7:26; Jn. 7:27; Jn. 7:49; Jn. 7:51; Jn. 8:27; Jn. 8:28; Jn. 8:32; Jn. 8:43; Jn. 8:52; Jn. 8:55; Jn. 10:6; Jn. 10:14; Jn. 10:15; Jn. 10:27; Jn. 10:38; Jn. 11:57; Jn. 12:9; Jn. 12:16; Jn. 13:7; Jn. 13:12; Jn. 13:28; Jn. 13:35; Jn. 14:7; Jn. 14:9; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 14:20; Jn. 14:31; Jn. 15:18; Jn. 16:3; Jn. 16:19; Jn. 17:3; Jn. 17:7; Jn. 17:8; Jn. 17:23; Jn. 17:25; Jn. 19:4; Jn. 21:17; 1 Jn. 2:3; 1 Jn. 2:4; 1 Jn. 2:5; 1 Jn. 2:13; 1 Jn. 2:14; 1 Jn. 2:18; 1 Jn. 2:29; 1 Jn. 3:1; 1 Jn. 3:6; 1 Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 3:19; 1 Jn. 3:20; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 4:2; 1 Jn. 4:6; 1 Jn. 4:7; 1 Jn. 4:8; 1 Jn. 4:13; 1 Jn. 4:16; 1 Jn. 5:2; 1 Jn. 5:20; 2 Jn. 1:1; Rev. 2:23; Rev. 2:24; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 3:9
Abide (resides, dwells) (3306)(meno) in simple terms means to remain in the same place or position over a period of time. It means to reside, stay, live, lodge, tarry or dwell. Meno describes something that remains where it is, continues in a fixed state, and so endures. In the present context John speaks of the intimate oneness that believers (continually - present tense) have with God.
Warren Wiersbe - That important little word abide (or dwell, KJV) is used six times in 1 John 4:12–16. It refers to our personal fellowship with Jesus Christ. To abide in Christ means to remain in spiritual oneness with Him, so that no sin comes between us. Because we are “born of God,” we have union with Christ; but it is only as we trust Him and obey His commandments that we have communion with Him. Much as a faithful husband and wife “abide in love” though they may be separated by miles, so a believer abides in God’s love. This abiding is made possible by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:13). (Bible Exposition Commentary)
MENO 24 times in First John - 1 John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 19, 24, 27-28; 3:6, 9, 14-15, 17, 24; 4:12-13, 15-16. (Note: four verses have more than one use)
Spirit (4151) pneuma from pneo - to blow) speaks of the movement of air (blowing Jn 3:8, breathing Lk 8:55). In this context it clearly refers to evil spirits and indicates that behind the false teachings of the pseudo-prophets were spirits of lying and deceit and falsehood. The false prophets were merely the "front men," the physical dummies if you will of the evil spirit "ventriloquists" so to speak.
Wuest on spirit - The word as used here refers to “one in whom a spirit is manifest or embodied, hence one actuated by a spirit, whether divine or demonical” (Thayer). Paul finds the source of false doctrine in demons who actuate the false teachers who propound heresy (1Ti 4:1 "doctrines of demons" [daimonion]). Thus these spirits are human beings actuated either by demons. In this case they would be the teachers, pastors, and evangelists who circulated around the local churches. (Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission)
PNEUMA IN JOHN'S WRITINGS - Jn. 1:32; Jn. 1:33; Jn. 3:5; Jn. 3:6; Jn. 3:8; Jn. 3:34; Jn. 4:23; Jn. 4:24; Jn. 6:63; Jn. 7:39; Jn. 11:33; Jn. 13:21; Jn. 14:17; Jn. 14:26; Jn. 15:26; Jn. 16:13; Jn. 19:30; Jn. 20:22; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 4:1; 1 Jn. 4:2; 1 Jn. 4:3; 1 Jn. 4:6; 1 Jn. 4:13; 1 Jn. 5:6; 1 Jn. 5:8; Jude 1:19; Jude 1:20; Rev. 1:4; Rev. 1:10; Rev. 2:7; Rev. 2:11; Rev. 2:17; Rev. 2:29; Rev. 3:1; Rev. 3:6; Rev. 3:13; Rev. 3:22; Rev. 4:2; Rev. 4:5; Rev. 5:6; Rev. 11:11; Rev. 13:15; Rev. 14:13; Rev. 16:13; Rev. 16:14; Rev. 17:3; Rev. 18:2; Rev. 19:10; Rev. 21:10; Rev. 22:6; Rev. 22:17
C H Spurgeon - Morning and Evening -
We dwell in him.” —1 John 4:13
Do you want a house for your soul? Do you ask, “What is the purchase?” It is something less than proud human nature will like to give. It is without money and without price. Ah! you would like to pay a respectable rent! You would love to do something to win Christ? Then you cannot have the house, for it is “without price.” Will you take my Master’s house on a lease for all eternity, with nothing to pay for it, nothing but the ground-rent of loving and serving him for ever? Will you take Jesus and “dwell in him?” See, this house is furnished with all you want, it is filled with riches more than you will spend as long as you live. Here you can have intimate communion with Christ and feast on his love; here are tables well-stored with food for you to live on for ever; in it, when weary, you can find rest with Jesus; and from it you can look out and see heaven itself. Will you have the house? Ah! if you are houseless, you will say, “I should like to have the house; but may I have it?” Yes; there is the key—the key is, “Come to Jesus.” “But,” you say, “I am too shabby for such a house.” Never mind; there are garments inside. If you feel guilty and condemned, come; and though the house is too good for you, Christ will make you good enough for the house by-and-by. He will wash you and cleanse you, and you will yet be able to sing, “We dwell in him.” Believer: thrice happy art thou to have such a dwelling-place! Greatly privileged thou art, for thou hast a “strong habitation” in which thou art ever safe. And “dwelling in him,” thou hast not only a perfect and secure house, but an everlasting one. When this world shall have melted like a dream, our house shall live, and stand more imperishable than marble, more solid than granite, self-existent as God, for it is God himself—“We dwell in him.”
Being filled with the Spirit is an inside job. If you insist on an outer experience, then you make emotions the king. --Jack R. Taylor
Years ago someone stated, "I used to think a few men had a monopoly on the power of the Holy Spirit. I have since learned the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on a few men."
As this love is being manifested in our lives, we are knowing that it is the work of the Holy Spirit in generating that love through us and this assures us that we belong to Him.
Robert Neighbour - How We May Know We Are Born of God
• We Know by Our Faith in Him (I John 5:1).
• We Know by Our Righteous Conduct (I John 2:29).
• We Know by the Indwelling Spirit (I John 4:13).
• We Know by Our Victory over the World (I John 5:4, 5).
• We Know by Our Love One toward Another (I John 4:7).
• We Know by Our Hearing the Truth (I John 4:6).
• We Know by Our Having the Son (I John 5:12).
There are many believers who seem to have times of despondency and despair concerning their new birth. They wonder if, after all, they are not deceived as to their salvation.
We are living in an age when doubt, concerning the things of God, fills the air. This spirit of doubt seems to be innoculating many saints who are not rooted and grounded in the faith.
The Book of I John is written to this very class. The Holy Spirit desires to place the feet of the saved upon the solid rock of perfect assurance.
John writes that "ye may know that ye have eternal life" (I John 5:13).
We trust that this first study in John's Epistle will be owned of the Spirit in the establishing of believers. We want all true saints to experience that rest of mind, and sense of security, which is so invaluable to all development in Christian life.
We Know by the Indwelling Spirit
"Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit" (I John 4:13).
We have before us something that is quite unique in the experience of the believer.
The father, in an earthly family, may instruct his son; he may set a splendid example before him; indeed he may do many things to aid him in a true life; but he cannot "indwell" him.
The Heavenly Father goes far beyond the possibilities of an earthly father. He not only tells us how to walk, and how to live; but He places within us His Spirit, that we may be empowered, to walk and to live. He puts the "enabling" in us.
Spurgeon - The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world 1 John 4:14
It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without His Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent of the Father that He might be the Saviour of men.… Didst thou ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, be this thy day’s meditation. The Father sent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Saviour see the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the eternal, ever-blessed God.
1 John 4:13 Many storms come into our Christian lives that make us wonder about our faith in Christ. I know that I have backed off on my faith by not dedicating my life fully to the Lord at times and by being more concerned with what I wanted instead of what God wanted for me. It is hard to come out of a slump like this, but I knew that God was always there for me and that He would guide me to the end. I would just have to listen. Trials will come into our lives to test our faith. We don’t know why things happen the way they do, and we often question God about them. I know I was like this when my parents got divorced. I kept asking God why He’d allow my family to be separated and why He’d let them argue so much. I was reading my Bible one night and came across James 1:12: “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” God puts trials in our lives to strengthen our faith. All we have to do is listen to what He tells us to do and we will make it through any storm. God will never forsake His children and will never leave any of us in any hard situation. (Teen to Teen)
Bill Hybels - The Spirit As a Witness (See Courageous Faith Through the Year - Page 139)
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 1 JOHN 4:13
In today’s culture we thrive on legal documents. When you get married, you get a marriage license. When you buy a home, you get a title. When you buy a car, you get registration papers. In our adoption into God’s family, the evidence God has given us is more important and more binding than any piece of paper—it is the daily and hourly announcement of the Holy Spirit to our own spirits that we belong to God.
God does not want us to wonder how we stand with him. I cannot always explain the inner witness of the Spirit or describe it, but I can testify that it is real. When people say to me, “I don’t know if I’m a Christian or not. I hope I am,” I get worried, because the Bible clearly states that when you give your heart to the Lord, he becomes real to you and you know you belong to him. The Holy Spirit lives inside you and repeatedly whispers, “Have confidence—you are part of God’s family.”
PRAY: Do you ever wonder whether or not you are a Christian? If you have asked Jesus to be your forgiver and leader, you are! Talk to God about your doubts. Listen for his reassurance.
THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (See Strength for Today: Daily Readings for a Deeper Faith - Page 18)
“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” 1 JOHN 4:13
Experiencing the ministry of the Holy Spirit
is evidence of genuine saving faith.
In John 14:26, Jesus described the Holy Spirit as “the Helper.” One of the most important ways He helps us is by assuring us that we belong to God. Several works of the Holy Spirit, if present in our lives, give evidence of the genuineness of our salvation. In 1 Corinthians 12:3 Paul writes, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Apart from the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, you would not know who Christ was, nor would you confess Him as Savior and Lord. If you have experienced that work of the Holy Spirit, that is evidence you are a true child of God.
Another essential ministry of the Spirit is that of illuminating Scripture. First John 2:27 says, “The anointing which you received from Him abides in you … His anointing teaches you about all things.” Do you understand the Bible when you read it? Does it convict you of sin? Does it lead you to rejoice and worship God? If so, that is evidence of the Spirit’s illuminating work in your life.
Do you long for intimate fellowship with God? That, too, is the result of the Spirit’s work in your life (Gal. 4:6). Do you feel compelled to praise God? The filling of the Spirit produces praise (Eph. 5:19). Does your life manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23)? Are one or more of the gifts of the Spirit operating in your life (1 Cor. 12)? Those, too, are evidences of the Spirit’s work in your life.
All of those ministries of the Holy Spirit are the way He “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16). If they are manifest in your life, they provide evidence that you abide in God and He in you (1 John 4:13). Let the Holy Spirit’s work in your life dispel the dark shadows of doubt.
Suggestions for Prayer: Pray that God would help you examine your life for evidence of the Spirit’s work.
For Further Study: Read 1 John 3:24. What is our part in obtaining assurance? ✧ Are there any commandments you are willfully violating? If so, confess them, repent of them, and begin to experience the blessedness of assurance.
J C Philpot - ." 1 John 4:13
A right knowledge and living experience of the Person, graces and operations of the Holy Spirit upon the soul, is a very essential thing. Man is so deeply sunk, so utterly fallen, so unable to bring himself back, that he needs this holy Teacher to lead him into a saving, experimental knowledge of the truth of God; for we know nothing but by his teaching, have nothing but by his giving, and are nothing but by his making. The more clearly, then, that we are led to see, and the more deeply we are taught to feel what we are as fallen sons and daughters of Adam, the more shall we feel our need of, and the more shall we value when realized, his blessed operations upon the heart and conscience.
Now, in the case of Aaron, (viewed not only as a type of Christ, but as personally ministering at the altar of the tabernacle, and thus consecrated to the office of high priesthood,) it was not sufficient that he was washed, nor that he was clothed; he must be also anointed by the holy anointing oil before he could stand in the sanctuary of God. So it is with a son of the Most High, one of "the kings and priests" that form "the royal priesthood;" it is not sufficient for him to be washed in the blood of the Lamb, and clothed in his justifying righteousness; he must be consecrated to God's service by the holy anointing; in other words, be sanctified, regenerated and renewed in the spirit of his mind, that, by being made a partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), he may enter into a spiritual experience of the truth of God here, and enjoy the eternal pleasures which are at God's right hand hereafter.
From the very nature of the fall, it is impossible for a dead soul to believe in God, know God, or love God; it must be quickened into spiritual life before it can savingly know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. And thus there lies at the very threshold, in the very heart and core of the case, the absolute necessity of the regenerating operations of God the Holy Spirit upon the soul. The very completeness and depth of the fall render the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit as necessary, as indispensable as the redeeming work of the Son of God. The Apostle therefore puts them together. "But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." If, therefore, the soul is to enter into eternal glory, it must be prepared for glory by being made a partaker of grace. It must, in this present life, this time state, be made fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, be capacitated while here below for the eternal fruition of the Triune God, by receiving a new and heavenly nature begotten of the Holy Spirit, which as a pure spirit (for "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit") is capable of seeing, enjoying, and eternally delighting in the open vision of the Deity as manifested in the glorious Person of the God-man.