1John 4:15 - Whoever...

”Whoever should be confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, God in him is abiding and he in God.”

-Whoever.  Whoever.  In other words, the doors are wide open, to any and to all who would come in.  In fact, Scripture uses this word over and over.  Whoever will believe.  Whoever will call on the Name of the Lord (cf Joel 2.32, Romans 10.13) - and this is not strictly a New Testament concept!  But so it doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’ve done.  It doesn’t depend on the size of your bank account or on the color of your skin or your family or country of origin, or which language you speak (God speaks them all!).  Whoever.  Entrance is granted to anyone who is willing to meet the condition, which in this case is simply to confess that Jesus is the Son of God.

-Confess means to agree with, to say the same thing as what someone else is saying.  Here that someone is God Himself, Who has clearly stated that Jesus is His beloved Son, in Whom He is well pleased, and as such He is to be obeyed as well as revered.  Jesus then is the gate.  All who would gain entrance to those streets of gold must enter through Him.  What do you say about Jesus?  “Who do you say that I am?”, He asks (Matthew 16.15).  That’s the million dollar question, the question of the ages.  This is what separates the wheat from the chaff.  It has launched a thousand ships (of missionaries) and has set brother against brother.  It matters not what the media or the masses say about Jesus - what about you?  Who do you say that Jesus is?

-For the one who is agreeing with God about what He says about His Son - anyone, whoever they are - John says that God is abiding in them, and they in God.  If you want to know if God is really in a person’s life, just ask them who Jesus is.  If you want to know where you yourself stand, put the same question to yourself.  It’s that simple, really - cut and dry.  You can know for certain that God is living and remaining in you, when you are confessing that Jesus is His Son.  Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but rather will be saved unto eternal life, to live forever with God in heaven.  This is a football.