1 John 4:13 ¹³By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given to us from his Spirit.

This verse follows a similar pattern as verse 2 and 3:24 by providing further assurance that we are right with God. John invited his readers in 1:7 to “walk in the light.” This verse adds further guidance for what this light looks like. John links love to the Holy Spirit, a theme also significant in Paul’s writings (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in us and the proof of abiding in God. We open ourselves to the presence of God by listening in faith and acting in obedience. The Spirit will plant within us the seed of love. The Spirit will confirm to our conscience an awareness that there is no barrier of sin between God and us. Our hearts have been purified by the atoning blood of Christ, and we have become open channels of God’s love. When we lack love or live like the unbelieving world, we can create barriers in our relationships with others.

If we want to know and experience God’s purposes for us in love, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, which comes by faith and through the confirmation of living in the light, like Jesus. The Spirit cannot fill us if we allow sin to fill us. The answer is simply saying “yes” to the Spirit by trusting in God’s promises and commands. This is not a “works-based” salvation but the response of the consecrated life that has been totally given to God. People wonder why they struggle against the darkness of the world and the doubts in their minds. We all struggle against the darkness, but those who have given themselves to God will find victory. John has highlighted three key ways in this chapter to know we are abiding in God: confessing that Jesus came in the flesh, having the indwelling Holy Spirit, and loving others. We do not receive all the Spirit but only from (ek) the Spirit. The more we give to God, the more God gives of himself to us. Only Jesus had the fullness of the Spirit. We grow into this relationship more and more as we consecrate more of ourselves with the daily decisions we make.