Devine Scripture

1 John 4:13

What does 1 John 4:13 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 John 4:13 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 John 4:13 means

Assurance of mutual abiding—our dwelling in God and His in us—comes because He has given us of His Spirit. The Spirit internalizes the gospel, unites us to Christ, and produces love and confession in our hearts. This is not a vague feeling but God’s own presence testifying within and empowering obedience. The Spirit is the down payment of our fellowship with God, aligning our lives with His truth and love. Thus our confidence rests not on our performance but on God’s gift. Where the Spirit’s fruit and confession appear, believers may know they truly belong to God and He to them.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And his Spirit which he has given us is the witness that we are in him and he is in us.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

in this we know that in Him we do remain, and He in us, because of His Spirit He hath given us.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

In this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, that he has given to us of his Spirit.

Context

Verse 13 complements verse 12. After describing love as the arena of God’s abiding, John grounds assurance in the objective gift of the Spirit. This keeps love from becoming mere moralism and ties experience to God’s initiative. The next verses (14–15) add the apostolic testimony and the believer’s confession, forming a threefold cord: Spirit, witness, and confession, all centering on the sent Son.

v.12No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:

v.13This passage

v.14And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • 1 Corinthians 6:19

    Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;

  • 1 John 3:24

    And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

  • Ephesians 2:20

    being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone;

  • 1 Corinthians 3:16

    Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

  • 1 Corinthians 2:12

    But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.

  • 1 John 4:15

    Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.

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