Let’s dive in.
“[13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. [17] By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. [19] We love because he first loved us. [20] If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [21] And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
Last week, we learned that love is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit— “Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” This means that Christlike love is a miraculous work, something we cannot produce on our own efforts. Therefore, our willingness to love should be a tangible way to know we are in Christ.
Well, likewise, John here is showing us how the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the living proof that we are in Christ and Christ is in us— “by this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”
So, how do I know that I am a Christian? How do I know that I am in Christ? How do I know that Christ is in me?
The Holy Spirit has been given to you as proof. Ephesians 1 says, “we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” Likewise, Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. So, proof that you are in God and God is in you is the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life, and proof of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life is Christlike love. Love is fruit of the Holy Spirit. Christlike love is a miraculous work, something we cannot produce on our own efforts. Therefore, our willingness to love is a tangible way to know we are in Christ. God has given you the power to carry out the very thing he’s called you to do, which is love.
Now, there are two quick things I want to draw our attention to here in these verses:
First, I want us to notice the language John is using here to describe our relationship with God.
n this passage, John repeatedly says that we are in God and God is in us.
- “If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (v.12).”
- “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his Spirit (v.13).”
- “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God (v.15).”
- “Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him (v.16).”
When I was a young believer, I always subtly struggled with the question, “Which is it? Am I in Christ? Or is Christ in me?”
Well, the Bible teaches that the answer is, “Yes.” Both are equally true. Our relationship with God becomes so intertwined that we are in him, and he is in us. We abide in him, and he abides in us. There’s immense richness and beauty in both realities.
For God to be “in us” means that he is comforting, convicting, leading, teaching, and sanctifying us. He doesn’t leave us alone in this life. He dwells with us by being in us. But, in the same way God is in us, we are also “in Him.” We are members of his body, a part of his family, united as one in him. He is our joy, he is our life, he is our righteousness. To be “in him” means his righteousness covers us. We are justified, declared righteous before God, and in right standing with God because we are in God.
The second thing I want us to see is that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a gift received through faith, not a wage earned through works. John is saying that the way we know that we are in God and God in us is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that God has graciously extended to us— “he has given us His Spirit.”
I don’t want to beat a dead horse. But, if I’m going to be redundant with something, it will be the gospel. The temptation of our heart is to read these verses through the lens of law, not grace. The temptation is to think, “If I don’t do, God won’t love. If I don’t love others, God won't love me.”
In a merit-based world, it’s easy to view God in that way. But that way of thinking is the opposite of what the Bible teaches. This passage says that we love because God loves. We do because God has done.
God is not Santa Claus. He doesn’t survey our actions and give us something only when we’re not on the naughty list. No, he’s an amazing God who offers amazing gifts to the least deserving. So, our act of love is a response to the love we’ve received. Our act of grace is a response to the grace we’ve received. Our act of obedience is a response of worship. Christlike love is a response to the love of Christ, not a means of earning the love of Christ.
Look at the progression in the following verses— “[14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.”
Big picture, John is here connecting our belief with our action, our confession with our living. But, before we get to that big picture truth, I want us to do some heavy lifting here first.
First, I believe the “we” in verse 14 is John and the other apostles. John is telling others what he (and the other disciples) have visibly seen demonstrated through Jesus's life. This is the beautiful reality of the Bible, particularly the gospels in the New Testament. These writings are full of eyewitness accounts of Jesus. In the Old Testament, you find promise after promise that God will send someone to make things right. He will send a Savior, He will send a King. Well, the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were written to show that Jesus is the promised Savior of the Old Testament. So, as we read the testimony of those who walked with Jesus, we see that Jesus's life, words, and works demonstrated to us the truth that the Father had sent him to save the world. Jesus spoke like the Son of God and lived like the Son of God. He gave sight to the blind, healed the sick, raised the dead to life, and fed the 5,000. Miracle after miracle, sermon after sermon, Jesus proved to be the One sent by the Father to save the world. The Scriptures tell us that he came to save us by dying for us (just as they promised). And he rose from the grave, just as the Scriptures promised.
There are a lot of beliefs in the world about Jesus. Some say he was simply a prophet or a messenger. Others say he was a blasphemer. But, we cling to and believe the apostles testimony that he is the Son of God who came to save us from our greatest enemy, sin and death. We confess that he is the Son of God who came to save sinners through his death on the cross.
The central confession of the Christian faith is that Jesus, the Son of God, has come to save sinful humanity through his death on the cross. And to confess Jesus as the Savior of the world, you’re simultaneously confessing your own need to be saved. In confessing Jesus as Savior, you also acknowledge your need for salvation. In confessing him as Savior, you’re admitting your own brokenness. Saying “Jesus is my Savior” means I know I’ve done wrong and I need Jesus to rescue me.
I saw an Instagram reel this week of people at a church writing on a piece of canvas things God has saved them from. After they wrote their thing down, they then took a paintbrush and painted over it in red, symbolizing how Jesus’ blood covers us.
Nosy me wanted to look closer and see what people were writing. On the canvas were things like “Anxiety,” “daddy issues,” and “depression.”
Now, I’m not saying that the gospel doesn’t impact these things; it certainly does. But I want to be very clear. It is your sin that the cross first addresses, not someone else’s. For me, it is my sin first that the cross addresses, not someone else’s. Christ came to save you from the wrath that would be poured out on you because of your sin. Christ came to die for the villain; the world is full of villains, and you are one of them!
Lust, jealousy, anger, resentment, hatred, drunkenness, enmity, divisions, sexual immorality, etc… These are a few of the many sins listed in the Bible that are present in your heart and life. So, confessing Jesus as your Savior is to confess your need for a Savior.
The progression here is beautiful and straightforward. All who confess Jesus as Lord will be saved, and the moment we’re saved, the Holy Spirit comes and indwells us. It’s as simple as that. All who look themselves in the mirror, acknowledge their need to be saved, and confess Jesus as their only hope for salvation will be saved. And all who make this confession will have God abiding in them, and they are abiding in God.
Have you made this confession?
Now, I want us to see this verse within its greater context. John is saying that those who confess Jesus as the Son of God will begin to walk in God's love. Our confession and our lives will coincide. To be saved from somethingmeans you don’t want to go back to that something. So, to confess Jesus as Savior is also to confess him as Lord. When we confess him as Lord, we hand over the keys to our lives, inviting the Holy Spirit to lead us. And the Holy Spirit will lead us to love, not away from it.
John says in verse 16, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” So, once again, we are linking love to the cross, and the cross to our lives. The ultimate display of love was sending the Son of God to save the world. So, when we confess Jesus as the Son of God, we come to know and believe God's love for us, impacting how we live. In embracing the message of the cross, we embrace the way of the cross.
If you stick a lukewarm soda into a cooler full of ice, it will naturally become cold because of its proximity to the ice. In the same way, those who are abiding in Christ will naturally become Christlike. The closer we walk with God, the more loving we become. Those who cling to the loving work of the cross will begin to be transformed into loving people.
John then says, “[17] By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
John is saying that the cross is a fear killer. It completely dismantles our greatest fears.
Judgment is coming. One day, we will all stand before God and answer for our lives. God will separate the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, the righteous from the unrighteous. And all who confess Jesus as their Savior are justified before God because of what Christ has done for them on the cross. Because we are in Christ and Christ is in us, we have confidence for the day of judgment. We don’t have to fear what comes after death because perfect love casts out fear.
And John is telling us that future hope impacts daily living. The call of Christian obedience is not to obey so you might stand one day; it’s to obey because you will stand one day. So, we don’t obey out of fear of judgment. We obey because our punishment has been poured out on Jesus, which frees us from condemnation and shame. We love because God first loved us. Perfect love perfects us. It makes us more and more like Jesus.
For several years, I managed a cafe called “Mars Hill Cafe.” There were many, many sweet moments at the cafe, and there were many, many difficult moments at the cafe. There were certainly some days I would love to forget, some days where we just couldn’t get our bearings straight, where everything went wrong at once, and it felt like you were a snowball being rolled down a hill collecting more and more disastrous moments. I remember there would be times when there’s chicken on the grill, corn salad still left to be made, and a line of 20 people out the door. Next thing you know, there are 18 tickets in the window, and you think you’ll never get caught up.
In those moments, as silly as it seems, what would bring me the most comfort would be playing out the worst-case scenario in my mind. I would ask myself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen today? The building burns down, and we lose the cafe? I get fired? I die?” Then, I would answer those questions, “Either the building burns down or I get fired. Either way, in 6 hours I will lie on my bed next to my wife. If I die, as painful as that might be, I will be with my Savior and Lord, Jesus, for all eternity in a much less stressful situation than this.”
Because of the cross, we don’t have to overlook our greatest fears. Instead, we can address them. Through the lens of the cross, we can look our concerns face to face and say, “You don’t scare me anymore.” The Christian faith addresses our deepest fears and enables us to joyfully and confidently walk through life.
John then concludes, “[19] We love because he first loved us. [20] If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [21] And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
God’s love impacts our love. If anyone has experienced the love of God, they will seek to love like God. Anyone claiming to love God will seek to love God’s people. All who love God will also love others. Real love for God is shown in real love for people.
So, how is your heart today, friends? Is there hate in your heart toward a brother or sister? Is there unforgiveness in your heart today? Are you a liar today, claiming to love God in word while hating someone in your heart?
God commands us to love Him and His people.