1 John 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13: Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14: And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16: 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.

Introduction

The key word in this passage is “dwelleth”. It is used five times in this section, and it simply means to live, to settle, to inhabit, to stay, to abide, to remain. In the present context John speaks of the intimate and permanent relationship that believers have with God. What a wonderful truth it is that those of us who have been born of again, “God dwelleth in us, and we in God”. In John’s mind, every Christian abides in God and God abides in him. This is what is at heart of true biblical Christian experience and testimony. When we witness and testify to the world, this is essentially what we are saying. We are not simply religious, but what we humbly but confidently claim is that the great and glorious God who spoke the universe into existence, lives in us and we live in Him. That we know God and God knows us. That we know God in a personal and intimate way. That God is our Heavenly Father, and that God abides in us, and we abide in Him. Though no man has seen God at any time, and that’s all of us, we Christians can confidently say that God does really exist, and we have a real abiding relationship with Him. In the words of the apostle John, “we dwell in Him, and He in us”.

This is the whole concern and burden of John in this letter. The apostle John wants to give us assurance of this mutual abiding relationship. So, in this section, John will teach us how to be sure that God dwells in us, and we dwell in God.  In these verses we see three evidences of that truth in our lives, namely, the Comforter in Us, the Confession We Make, and the Charity We Abide In.

I – The Comforter in Us

1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

Hereby know we, that is, this is how we know that God dwells in us and we dwell in God—it is by the Holy Spirit in us. God did not only tell us that He loves us and even show us that He loves us, but He also gave us of His Holy Spirit. This is how we know that we have an abiding relationship with the Father, it’s because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

You ask me how I know He lives

He lives within my heart!

Christ lives within our hearts through His Holy Spirit. This is one of the most exiting truths about being born again Christian. A Christian is not just someone who is religious, or who comes to church, or is a morally upright person. No, a Christian is much more than that. A Christian is someone who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. 

The gospel of John records Jesus saying in ...

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Our Lord here reveals to His disciples that the Comforter, who is the Spirit of truth, will come and not only shall be with them but also shall be in them. The New Testament teaches that when a person completely places his trust in Jesus as his Saviour and Lord, not only is he forgiven of his sins, but he is also indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit comes and lives within him. His indwelling is not just for a special class of Christian but for all Christians. This is true of every single Christian without exception. 

The Holy Spirit would not only go with them through life, but actually dwell in them. What a precious truth that the Holy Spirit of God would make His home in every redeemed sinner! What an awesome truth that God the Holy Spirit would live in the believer, not simply pay a quick visit but making His “home” in us. This is a mystery! This is beyond comprehension. It surpasses knowledge. Solomon asks in 1 Kings 8:27, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?” This is not a question of doubt, not a question of unbelief but a question of astonishment that God would dwell with men. This is deep and profound that the true and living God, the One who holds the universe in His hand would condescend to dwell with redeemed sinful and depraved men.

If the vast universe cannot contain God, how much more our puny little body. And yet it is revealed in the Scripture that if you are a born-again believer in Christ you “are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” (1 Cor 3:16)

This truth may be beyond our comprehension, but it is truth, nonetheless. There is a story about a boy flying a kite. The kite was so high that it had disappeared into the clouds. A man came by and asked, “Why are you holding on to that string.” The boy said, “I’ve have a kite up there.” The man looked up and said, “I don’t see it.” The boy replied, “Well, I know it’s there because I can feel the tug.”

This is what the Spirit of God does for us. We may not always see the evidence that we are children of God, but we will feel His tug in our hearts continually that reminds us that we belong to Him, and He belongs to us.

II – The Confession We Make

1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

This is how we know that God dwells in us, and we dwell in God—not only because of the Holy Spirit in us, but also because of what we confess. And what do we confess? Before we look at what we born again Christians confess, let’s us look at what John and the other apostles declare.

1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

I believe that the “we” in this verse refers to the apostles themselves. The phrase “And we have seen and do testify” is similar to John’s opening line in this letter in which he wrote “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;”

The words “seen” and “testify” indicate that the apostles were firsthand eyewitnesses of the Son of God. Though no man has seen God, the apostles have seen the incarnate Son of God when He walked on earth. They have heard Him, they have seen Him, they have looked upon Him, and they have touched Him. John’s point is that their testimony is not based on speculation or imagination, but it is grounded on their personal experience. What they have witnessed firsthand they proclaim. And what do they proclaim? They proclaim the “Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”  This is the Gospel in a nutshell. The Gospel is “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (Jn 3:17) It is sad that the unbelieving world so often accuse God of being a Judge, not realizing that His Son’s primary purpose was not to condemn nor to judge but to forgive and to save. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Tim 1:17)

Now based on the apostle’s testimony of who Christ is, we come to “confess that Jesus is the Son of God”. Understand that our confession and conviction of who Christ is and what He has done is based upon the foundations of the apostles and the prophets.

Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20: And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21: In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Now our confession that Jesus is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world shows that we are indwelt by the Spirit of God. Why? Because according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:3 “... no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” It’s only by the Holy Spirit can anyone confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is true anyone can recite Jesus is Lord, even atheists and unbelievers who are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But John is talking about merely saying or reciting a phrase. This is a firm and a transforming conviction that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God. By this deep solid strong conviction and confession that we know, and assured that God dwells in us, and we in God.

III – The Charity We Abide In

1 John 4:16 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.

The evidence that we are in God and God is in us is not simply He has given us of His Spirit, not simply because we have been able to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but thirdly, because we dwell in love. We know that we are in God and God is us because we abide in love.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love ...

Here, the apostle John reminds us that we have come to know and believe the love God has for us. Contrary to what many believe, faith is not a blind leap in the dark, but faith is based on absolute truth and knowledge. Believers have come to know and believe God’s love for them because God publicly demonstrated His love for us at the Cross. The supreme demonstration of God’s love is the Cross, where He gave His only begotten Son to die in the place of sinners.

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Someone has said, “We have come to know and believe in the past with continuing results in the present and future.” That’s the growing and continuing experience of Christians. The more we understand the love of God, the more we love God and the more we love God, the more we understand the love of God.

Then what he said in verse 8 John repeats in verse 16, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love ...”

God Himself is love, and we have come to know and believe His love for us, therefore you love. You cannot love unless you know and believe this truth, that God is love and God’s love for us. You cannot love like God calls you to love unless you embrace that truth.

Reading on ...

1 John 4:16 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.

John then explains that the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. Again, this is how we know that we are in God and God is us—it’s because we abide in love. I believe to abide in love means first, to abide in God’s love for us. This is what our Lord exhorted His disciples in John 15:9-10, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”

“Continue ye in my love”, that is, continue in my love towards you.

This is very important because this is the one that will produce true love in our hearts. As John writes in verse 19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

There is a name I love to hear, 

I love to sing its worth; 

It sounds like music in my ear, 

The sweetest name on earth.

Refrain:

O how I love Jesus, 

O how I love Jesus, 

O how I love Jesus, 

Because he first loved me!

So, to abide in love means to abide in God’s love for us, but also to abide in love for others. Abiding in God’s love for us and abiding in love for others are closely connected. You cannot abide in one and not the other. As we saw last Sunday in 1 John 4:11, you cannot separate the two: “If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” If we have come to know and believe God’s love for us, then we have a moral obligation to love others.

Closing Thoughts

This is how we know and assured that we are in God and God is in us: because He has given us of His Spirit, because we confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and because we dwell in love. The life of a Christian who abides in God’s love for him, but also to abide in love for others is a powerful witness for God in the world.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Our Lord is not just talking about having nice and kind thoughts toward others, which no one else can see. He was talking about love that can be seen. Men cannot see God, but they can see God’s love through our loving deeds and actions toward one another. The world will not believe that God loves sinners until they see His love at work in His children’s lives. May God help us believers by His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to abide in love.

Now, let me speak to those who are still lost today; to those who are have not the Spirit of God abiding in them. Have you come to know and believe the love of God for you? Have you come to know and believe that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world? Have you come to know and believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to suffer and die for sinners? Understand that it is not enough simply to know these truths, you must believe these in your heart.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11: For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12: For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13:  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

May God by His Holy Spirit help you to know and believe and confess Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord! As you do, He will give you blessed assurance that you dwell in God and God dwells in you.

AMEN!