1 John 4:14 Commentary

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1 John 4:14

Comments

The effect of the Spirit dwelling in our hearts is that his testimony becomes ours. His testimony is that the Father sent his Son into the world to redeem his elect, that the Son of God took our nature and was born under the law, that he fulfilled the law perfectly and earned for us perfect righteousness, that he laid down his life a ransom for our sins, that he rose from the dead proving the success of the atonement, that he ascended into heaven and returned triumphant as the God-man to his Father’s glory, and that he will come again at the last day to judge the world. This testimony has by faith become ours as the Spirit who dwells in us makes these to be the truths by which we live. This is not a superficial testimony made with the lips only, but is one that comes from the essence of our renewed being.

Application

We should not think that the Son overcame the reluctance of the Father for it was the Father who initiated the plan to send the Son to be the Saviour of the world. The Father loves the church just as much as the Son and he has formed a plan for the history of the world that ensures that everyone will be gathered in.

The effect of the witness of the Spirit in our hearts is that we may be certain of the truth of the gospel. Although the things we believe are not yet seen, we are as sure of them as if we had seen them with our own eyes.

Questions

Does John speak only of the apostles when he says, ‘and we have seen and testified’ or does he speak for all believers? Although he has used the pronoun ‘we’ to refer to the apostles in the first five verses of the epistle, since then he has consistently used it to include all God’s children, so it is certain that he describes the testimony of all believers here. The testimony of the apostles has become the testimony of all believers.

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1 John 4:14 Commentary and Bible Study