What Does 1 John 4:15 Mean in the King James?
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Confession here means saying in accord, and it is bound to mutual indwelling: God remains in the speaker, and the speaker in God.
THE MEANING
When you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in you, and you in God. The verse joins what you say to a living relationship of mutual presence.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that confession is only a spoken label with no living relation attached: the verse joins it to God’s dwelling in you and your dwelling in God.
THE ROOT
ὁμολογήσῃ
homologēsē
GROWS FROM
λογ-
λογ- (log-, the stem for saying or speech; compare λέγω, legō, “to say”).
This verb joins ὁμο- (homo-, “same”) with a saying-word stem: to confess is to say in agreement, to acknowledge. English “confess” can sound like a bare statement, while the Greek carries a sense of voiced accord that the verse links to God abiding in the speaker.
ALSO GROWS
logos: word, speech, account
λόγος
It shares the λογ- stem and makes visible the word-family within confession: this is an acknowledgment spoken aloud.
homologia: confession, acknowledgment
ὁμολογία
It shares the same λογ- stem and preserves the sense of saying in agreement.
μένει
menei
GROWS FROM
μένω
μένω (menō): remain, stay, abide.
“dwelleth” in this verse is menei. The verse uses this verb in both directions: God remains in the person, and the person remains in God. Its word-family includes both the idea of staying and the word for an abode, giving this mutual presence the shape of a shared dwelling.
ALSO GROWS
monē: abode, dwelling place
μονή
This noun belongs to the same remain-family; in John 14:23 it names the abode made with the person.
epimenō: remain, continue, persist
ἐπιμένω
This compound carries the same remain-root into the sense of continuing, underscoring that abiding is staying rather than a passing visit.
THE PATTERN
Confessing Jesus as God’s Son belongs with reciprocal abiding: God dwells in the person, and the person dwells in God.
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.THE THREAD
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.Here “dwelleth” is μένει (menei, “remains”), from μένω (menō, “remain, abide”); “abode” is μονή (monē, “dwelling place”), from the same word-family. The shared root turns mutual abiding into the image of God making a home with a person.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us