Throughout the book of First John our teacher the apostle for whom this book was named has been sharing with us about loving God and loving others. As of late we have been learning how we are to accomplish the task of loving people even when they are different than we, and by God's Spirit living within us we may accomplish that task. But just to whom is this Spirit of God available, and how do we receive this Spirit of God? How does God begin to dwell within us? John the apostle answers those questions in today's verse which is found in First John chapter four and verse fifteen. He wrote:
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God.
Notice with me first that John uses the word “Whosoever.” This means that the indwelling Spirit of God is available to everyone. Every man, woman, boy and girl can receive the Spirit of the living God abiding in them. Jesus said this in the Gospel of John in chapter three and verse sixteen:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Let us be clear with Jesus and John about this. The good news or gospel of Jesus Christ is available to anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. The idea of confession is not simply to say so with our mouths, but it literally means “to agree with, trust in, rely upon and cling to”. Many people “say” that Jesus is their Savior with their mouths, but their lives tell directly the opposite story. One person said it this way, “your actions are speaking so loudly that I cannot hear a word you are saying.”
When we confess that Jesus is the Son of God, our lives change. Sin is put away, and we go in a completely opposite direction from the behaviors we had before we agreed with Him. (Remember “sin” is to miss the mark, and we all have missed the mark.) We are in the process of being perfected, and although we do occasionally sin because we have that nature within us, we do not live unbridled lives that demonstrate that God is not living within.
God desires fellowship with us, and He wants to live within us. He desires that we live within him, and as we walk together He refines us, changes us, and forms us into His image. Our old lives are passed away, and our lives now have become new. Paul the apostle wrote it this way in the book of Second Corinthians in chapter five and verse seventeen:
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Basically if we confess that Jesus is the Son of God, we trade our old lives for new ones, and the life that we now live enjoys the Spirit of the living God within us who is directing our every word, our every action and our every move as He refines us day, by day, by day.
Next time we shall look once again at the proof that God is living within us, so read ahead and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
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