The proof of our union with God: faith and love.

1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. In vss. 13-16, John encouraged his readers (and all who are His) that they know if they are one with God. In this verse, we learn the proof that God lives in us and we in Him. That’s what John meant when he wrote, “By this we know.” Surely this proof echoes Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 14:20. “In that day (the day you receive the Holy Spirit) you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” John went one step further in this verse and vss. 14-16) by giving the proof that one has the Holy Spirit: They have the fruit or work of the Holy Spirit evident within them. What is that fruit? It is faith and love. Here’s the reasoning. If you have the Holy Spirit, then you know, or it proves three realities. 1). Jesus is in God. 2). You are in Jesus. and 3). Jesus is in you. The proof that you have the Holy Spirit is that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, sent from God in the flesh as a propitiation for your sins (vs. 15), and you love with Him (vs. 16). Faith and love are “of His Spirit.” It is only by the Holy Spirit that one believes in Jesus (vs. 2) and by the same Spirit that we are enabled to love (vs. 12-13). The natural man isn’t able to believe in Jesus to the glory of God nor is he able to love with God’s love, which is supernatural. Do you have the proof in your life that you abide in Jesus and He abides in you? John wasn’t suggesting that if you try to believe in Jesus and try to live to love you will earn union with God. He was saying that if you believe in Jesus and love your brothers and sisters in Christ, then it is proof that you abide in Jesus and He abides in you. You have the finished work of God’s love operating in your life to assure you that you are one with God. I hope this encourages you today, because if it does, then you are living to love with Jesus. If it’s convicting, because you don’t see His work in your life, then take heart. Repent of believing in yourself and trust in Jesus as God’s provision for your salvation and for the power to live for the glory of God. Receive the Holy Spirit to manifest and perfect the life, faith, and love of Christ in your life.