Limitless Word
By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit.
1 John 4:13 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
  • KJV Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
  • NKJV By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
  • NASB By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.
  • NLT And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

We know we abide in God and he in us because he has given us his Spirit. The indwelling Spirit is the assurance of our union with God.

Overview

John offers a ground of assurance: the Holy Spirit's presence confirms the mutual indwelling between God and the believer. The gift of the Spirit is both a seal of belonging and the source of the love and confession that mark genuine faith. This complements the previous tests of love and right belief, weaving together the Spirit, love, and truth as evidences of new life in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • 1 Jn 3:24Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
  • Eph 2:20–22built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
  • 1 Cor 3:16–17Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
  • Gal 5:22–25But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  • 1 Cor 2:12We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
  • Rom 8:9–17You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
  • 1 Jn 4:15–16If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
  • John 14:20–26On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
  • 1 Cor 6:19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 John 4:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'

How 1 John 4:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.