“WE BELONG TO GOD”

6 “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

1 John 4:6

Out of the countless religious groups in the world that claim they are from God, how can we know for a fact that they actually belong to the God of the Bible?

In the previous verse, we learned that false teachers tickle their audience’s ears, so the world listens to them.

In today’s Scripture, John makes a straightforward statement: we are from God. He is making a claim that he and his readers come from God. The Greek preposition “ek”  denotes origin. He is bold enough to make this claim because of the personal relationship shared between believers and Christ. In his Gospel, John says:

12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John 1:12-13

The Apostle is fully convinced of the spiritual standing of those who put their trust in Christ for the salvation of their souls.

In this regard, he argues that whoever knows (ginosko) God listens to them (believers). The Greek term is more than just knowing facts; it connotes a personal relationship with a person or thing. John practically repeats what Jesus said to the disciples:

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Luke 10:16

Since John and the Apostles only repeated what was preached to them (the Gospel), they served as God’s messenger. They delivered a message that originated from God. Therefore, whoever listened and believed accepted not only the message but the One from whom the message came. On the other hand, anyone who rejects this revelation is by no means belonging to God. This is a test that allows one to discern the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Having the right view of Christ—including His Person and work—is essential to our salvation and inclusion into the family of God. We have to put our trust in the biblical Jesus, the Son of God who took on human form, lived a perfect life, died on the Cross for sinners, and rose on the third day. If this Jesus is the object of our faith, we belong to God.

Pursue the Savior today!