1 John 4:13-16 - You Can Know

Chad Werkhoven
15 minutes ago
3 min read

You can increase your assurance as you give thanks.

Today's passage helps form the basis for the classic hymn Not What My Hands Have Done (especially v4-5)

1 John 4:13-16 (NIV)

¹³This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Point 4 - Irresistible Grace

Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints

Article 9: The Assurance of This Preservation

Concerning

this preservation of those chosen to salvation
and concerning the perseverance of true believers in faith,
believers themselves can and do become assured
- in accordance with the measure of their faith,
- by which they firmly believe
  - that they are and always will remain true and living members of the church,
  - and that they have
    - the forgiveness of sins
    - and eternal life.

Summary

One of the saddest realities in the Christian church is the number of people who aren't really sure if they're a Christian or not. They believe in Jesus, but they don't firmly believe that they are and always will remain true and living members of the church, and that they have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. They completely lack assurance. Maybe you're one of them.

The Apostle John wants you to know that you live in Christ, and that Christ lives in you. Notice here that John doesn't want you to just feel this, or even just to intellectually understand it. The word he uses here translated as know represents an experiential, learned, relational knowledge. In other words, John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wants you to experience this certain assurance in every aspect of your being!

Dig Deeper

So John doesn't just explain that you ought to know that you live in Christ, he here explains that you know that you live in Christ because He has given us of His Spirit. Commentator Karen Jobes explains that the Spirit helps you know that you live in Christ by "convicting us of our need for atonement, applying the blood of Jesus to each one of us, and reassuring believers of the central truth of the gospel, that Jesus’ death and resurrection provide the entrance to eternal life."

But maybe you're still left wondering. If your knowledge of being included in Christ comes from the Spirt, how can you be sure that you've been given the Spirit? John anticipated your question. If you acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in you and you in God. Simply put, the more you confess your faith in Christ, the more proof and assurance you'll have that the Spirit lives in you.

This Thanksgiving (or whenever you're reading this), remember these words of John: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose love we know and rely upon.
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for the assurance the Spirit gives you, and pray that you'll confess Christ all the more so you can experience even more assurance;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: