"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abides in him"
1 John 4:15
Does God live in you? The Bible teaches that those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God may be assured that God abides in them. Many believers may be unaware that God actually lives in them. The apostle Paul was aware of this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 6:19: "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"
Pneuma is the word in the Greek New Testament translated Spirit. The word could be translated air. The Holy Spirit is like the very air that we breathe. We cannot see Him with our eyes, but He is always there with us and in us.
Pneuma is the word in the Greek New Testament translated Spirit. The word could be translated air. The Holy Spirit is like the very air that we breathe. We cannot see Him with our eyes, but He is always there with us and in us.
How can we know that God lives in us? Our confession of faith in Jesus Christ is stated as a reason in our verse for today. When God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, we experience three abiding gifts - faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13). Our faith in Christ is born of the Spirit of God. Our hope of life everlasting in Christ is further evidence. The greatest evidence of God living in us is love. "God is love" (1 John 4:8). His love is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). God abides in us through the three abiding gifts of the Spirit.
Because God abides in us, we come to certain sure conclusions. First, He is with us always, regardless of where we are or how we feel. He abides with us. Also, He has given us three sure ways of knowing that He abides in us - faith, hope and love. In addition, He wants us to be aware of His presence in us everyday, all the time. As a believer in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we know that God lives in us.
Father, we confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
