How can 1 John 4:15 be true about anyone acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God would be indwelt by God when the demons did just that in Matthew 8:29?
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Asked April 15 2020
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Jack Gutknecht
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Tim Maas
I would say that the verses cited in the question are speaking of different types of acknowledgement. The demons in Matthew 8:29 were speaking in a factual sense, with knowledge that they will someday be eternally doomed or destroyed by the word of that same Jesus. (This is the same type of "head knowledge" belief in Jesus that James was speaking of in James 2:19, which causes those same demons to tremble, but nevertheless does not/cannot save them, because it does not arise from the placement of faith in Him for salvation.) Those spoken of in 1 John 4:15 as being indwelt by God are people whose acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God arises from sincere belief and faith (rather than simple factual assent), in recognition of their need for the salvation that only Jesus can provide to them, and in the hope or desire that He will do so
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