1John 4:13 - On Repetition and Redundancy and Repetition. And Pudding.

"In this we are knowing that in Him we are abiding and He in us, that out of His Spirit He has given to us."

-Some commentators skip right over this verse altogether.  It’s only been 13 verses, and already John is reminding us of the truth which he just shared in 1Jn 3.24.  The wording is almost identical.  Here it is slightly modified, however, in that he now uses the perfect tense.  Here it is not, He GAVE us His Spirit.  Here John says, He HAS GIVEN us His Spirit.  The difference is subtle, but significant.  It means not only did God give us His Spirit, sometime in the past, but that there are - or should be - continuing results in the present.  It wasn’t simply this sealing, this divine down payment on eternity.  No, it is this power, this gifting and enabling to be able to love one another and serve and build up one another here in the present, every day, week in and week out, to completely override our own weakness and indifference.  And the difference God’s Spirit makes should be by no means subtle.  This is dry bones come to life.  This is Lazarus raised from the dead and freed from those ratty old grave clothes.  This is the new creation!  Christ lives in me!  The Holy Spirit, this divine Helper, is sent to help us do these greater works, the first and foremost of which is this new-old command to love one another.  And again, this is the proof of the pudding.  This proves to the world - and to us - that God is truly in us, that He lives in us and is abiding in us, that we really do have a personal relationship with Him.

-Some people hate redundancy.  And for good reason.  So do I.  You hate to pay for the same ground twice.  Redundant = unnecessary (or so it would seem).  And this feels redundant.  Great truth, for sure, but it still feels unnecessary for John to repeat himself, especially so soon after he just said this.  It feels superfluous.  BUT... John clearly does not feel it is unnecessary to repeat himself here.  He feels he must in fact do so.  It is the power of repetition.  Repeating something can become annoying at times.  The overplayed song or commercial.  My eldest child, whom I love dearly, is rather fond of finding an otherwise innocuous sound and repeating it incessantly until it becomes truly annoying.  I have no idea where he gets this of course...  :)  But repetition does two things: it signifies a point of emphasis, and it facilitates retention.  No doubt this is in John’s mind (and God’s), as he wants these believers to be able to know for sure that God has accepted them and saved them.  He wants to emphasize this truth, and drive it home into their (and our) thick heads.  So he is repeating himself, variations on a theme.  Look for this holy divine Presence, His power in your life.  Look for these glimpses of the Lord of heaven come down to earth and loving His children - through you.  Look for these evidences of sharing and giving and lives-downlaying in your assembly.  They should be there, right out there in plain sight for all to see.  This is how we know...