DRAFT ONLY

The passage
    A person is "born of God", 4:7, and gains "eternal life", 1:2, through the "blood of Jesus (which) purifies us from all sin", 1:7. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness", 1:9. This new birth through Christ, John describes as living in Christ and Christ living in us, 4:13. This is very much in line with Paul's doctrine of our being "in Christ" and "Christ in us", by grace through faith. But what evidence do we have to verify this truth? John identifies five pieces of evidence:
    v13. The evidence of the indwelling Spirit. We know that we are in fellowship with God (that we are in a relationship with him in Christ, that we abide in his love, that "we live in him and he in us") because of the evidence of the Spirit's presence in our lives. John doesn't spell out this evidence, but we can find it in the manifestation of the gifts and in the fruits of the Spirit. Particularly in faith, hope and love, and especially love, the eternal quality which remains (abides).
    v14. The evidence of the apostles. One evidence, certainly for the original apostles of Jesus, was that they saw the man Jesus, but in seeing him they saw not just the man but the Son of God, the saviour of the world. The apostles certainly knew that Jesus was the saviour of the world, and their witness is a valued evidence of our standing in Christ.
    v15. The evidence of a firm ascent in the person of our God. The old form of words, "confesses", did not convey the true meaning of this verse. It is not saying that a person who confesses their faith in Christ becomes a Christian. The verse is often used that way, but is probably used wrongly (although it is a valid truth). The point John is making is that the person who lives in God and in whom God lives, is a person who "acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God". The person who is "born of God" acknowledges the truth about God. They have a doctrinally sound view of his person based on revealed truth. John is having a shot at those in the church who thought they could be "spiritual" Christians while denying the basic tenets of the Christian faith.
    v16-19. The evidence of a confidence in God's continued love for us. Speaking for himself and his fellow apostles, John is able to testify that they have come to understand, and hold firmly to ("rely" - literally, believe), God's love expressed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, 4:9. We find we are confident of our approval before God, on the basis of Jesus' death, and therefore need not be afraid of judgement.
    v20-21. The evidence of our love for the brotherhood. John returns to his initial proposition outlined in 4:7.

The evidence of the Spirit
    In the opening verse of this section, John speaks of the Spirit's presence in the life of a person. The Spirit is an evidence that "we live in him and he in us". Two questions immediately come to mind. In what sense is the Spirit present in us, and what is it that demonstrates his presence such that it is an evidence of our standing in Christ?
    First, the sense in which the Spirit is present. There is much debate on this issue. The phrase in v13, "he has given us of his Spirit", is an interesting one. It could be rightly translated, "he has given us part of His Spirit". Immediately we would protest, surely it is not possible for the Spirit to be divided? Surely he is a person, indivisible? Yet there is a sense where the Spirit apportions his gifts, and he does so in great diversity. This is probably what John means. In that sense love is such a gift, a gift apportioned with variety and diversity. The factors determining such diversity would depend on God's sovereign will, our Christian standing, the stage of our Christian walk, faith, etc. In v14 John goes on to talk about the revelation the apostles received in the days they walked with Christ throughout Palestine. Revelation is similarly a gift of the Spirit of God apportioned as he wills.
    Second, the sense in which the Spirit evidences our standing in Christ. We need to ask, by what means are we aware of the Spirit's presence? The answer of course is that his presence makes a marked difference to our lives. His gifts show themselves and so display his intimate involvement in our lives. For John the gifts are righteousness, love and belief. Righteousness in the sense of a striving to fulfill God's basic requirements (always imperfectly). Love in the sense of an active compassion toward the brotherhood directed by revealed truth. Belief in the sense of a reliance on the revealed Word of God. We might want to say that such are "fruits of the Spirit", and so they are. Yet they are also gifts in the sense that we cannot obey unless the Spirit gives us the means to obey. We cannot love unless the Spirit gives us the means to love. We cannot hold firmly to our Lord in the time of testing unless the Spirit gives us the strength to keep on keeping on. Such are a gift of God to his children.