Top Level Notes for 1 John 4:13-17
Verse 13: When we love one another, God lives (takes up residence) in us. His love is then brought to maturity in us.
- Because of this (God living in us) we come to know that He not only lives in us, but we live IN Him. We know that He is in us by perceiving the Holy Spirit in us who He has given.
Verse 14: John has the added extra for his church because a lot of them were able to witness Jesus and see (through His life) that He indeed had been sent by the Father to save the world.
- We have not seen Jesus in the flesh but our call, by John, to rest assured is no less important.
Verse 15: John now embarks on reiterating what he has already taught us in this part of the letter.
- Anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, has the Father living in them. In the same way we live in the Father.
- We have the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit and us living in Him means that we reflect His goodness and mercy.
Verse 16: As we live more and more in Him and see Himself in us we begin to understand the crazy love He has for us.
- Since God is love, the more we continue in Him and He in us, the more our understanding of His love grows and becomes real in us.
Verse 17: In this place where God is in us and we are in Him -> the love is brought to completion so that we are only emulating love as well. It is then that we can walk fearless into the Day of Judgement, because we are His image in this world as He once was.