Invisible Faith

627.  "Invisible Faith"                           October 12, 2012
1 John 4-Part 6   (verses 12-16)
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 
1John 4:15  KJV

LET IT GLOW

I have heard the old cliche' that "seeing is believing." I consider it a falsehood. It doesn't take belief or faith when I can see something. I can't see you, but I believe you are there, reading this, and you do exist. There is evidence that is so by my counter of readers. So if I get discouraged, thinking I am alone, I just check the counter. Faith is required when something is not visible. I can't see God, but I have faith that He is real and exists. I can call it invisible faith.

What is John telling believers that we know about God, who is invisible?

• No one has seen God.(verse 12) He is a Spirit.  
• He dwells in us, if we love one another. (verse 12b) The love of God makes us obligated to love one another, for this is the only way we can show that we really have love.
• His love is perfected in us. (verse 12c) Perfected means to complete (perfect), add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full. (Thayer's Lexicon)
• He dwells in us. (verse 13)
• He has given us His Spirit. (verse 13b) Given (didomi in Greek) used here is different from that used in 3:24, showing the certainty of the fact that the apostles rather than the false teachers are moved by the spirit of God, and are united in their testimony about Christ. (Liberty Bible Commentary)
• The apostles saw Jesus and testify that God sent Hin to be the Savior of the world. (verse 14)

LET IT GROW

Verses 15-16 in NIV say, If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

The King James Translation uses the verbs confess and dwell; known and believed.

I have noticed that in just four chapters, John keeps repeating dwell. It is found in 3:17,24: 4:12,13,15,16. Dwell means to remain (meno in Greek). "Either God dwells or we dwell", as John puts it.

How do I know God is near? He dwells in me. But I can't see God. His Holy Spirit speaks to me.
He speaks to me through His Word.

His children are appointed as the visible recipients of our outward kindness which flows from love to Himself, "whom not having seen, we love."  ( Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Bible Commentary)

We see God through the evidence of love. The Father has no tangible body which may be seen. He took on the form of man when He appeared as Jesus.

The greatest evidence of God's presence and work is love. Where God is present and working, there will be love.

We must agree with God who Jesus is. We find out what God says about Jesus through the Word of God. We may know something without being in agreement (confess) with it; God demands our true agreement.

LET IT GO

I confess that Jesus is God's Son, my Savior, my Redeemer.

Although I do not see God, I believe He is.

The Holy Spirit dwells in me and fills me with love, as evidence of His existence.

I want to show others that God is real, alive, and exists by showing them His love through me.