March 10, 2019
Evening Service

This morning in the first 4 verses of chapter 4, John commanded us to “test the spirits whether they are of God.”  We looked at four questions that we can ask about these false prophets to lead us to a decision whether they are from God or not.  They must include the church as a key part of our walk with God, live a life that is committed to Christ, teach only things that align with the Word of God, and most importantly acknowledge that Jesus is both fully human and fully God.  God also has equipped us with the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives to lead and guide us to the truth.  We are left to our own knowledge and understanding to discern the truth but “the anointing we have received” will guide us to truth.  The deceptive and evil side of our enemy is strong, but John assures us that “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”  John now returns to another of his primary reason for writing to the church; to encourage us to love one another.

1Jn 4:7-8  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  (8)  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

            Love is often thought of as a feeling, but in reality love is much more than that.  It is a choice that bring about certain actions as is described beautifully and in great detail in I Cor. 13; which we refer to as the love chapter. Paul defined love like this:

 

1Co 13:4-8  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  (5)  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  (6)  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  (7)  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  (8)  Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

            Love originates from God is a vital part of a Christian’s life and lifestyle.  John states it so simply in that if you love then you are born of God, but without love you don’t really know Him at all.  He even defines God by stating that “God is love.”  It is His primary character trait that dictates how He interacts with us.  He is holy, just and perfect and He loves us with a that same holy, just and perfect love.  How has God shown us that He loves us?

 

1Jn 4:9-11  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  (10)  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  (11)  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

            John restates his statement from chapter 3:16 that “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”  God loved us so much that He sent Jesus into this world to live a perfect life to die a death that we deserved.  He took our place and paid the debt that we could never pay.  His sacrificial love gave us the opportunity to live through Him.  He gave His all for us because He loved us “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) It was not after we cleaned up our act, prayed more, made church 2 weeks in a row, raised our credit score and lowered our cholesterol but “while we were still sinners.”  He accepted us just as we came to him.  This creates biggest challenge we face is now to love one another with that same type of selfless, sacrificial, and perfect love. “Beloved, if God so love us, we also ought to love one another.”

 

 1Jn 4:12-16  No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.  (13)  By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  (14)  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.  (15)  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  (16)  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

            We are not able to love others as God has loved us with our own abilities or strengths.  It is again the Holy Spirit that enables us to love to the level that John is calling us to.  One of the biggest changes that occurs in our lives when we choose to follow Jesus, is that our heart is filled with love and compassion for others where once hate and contempt lived.  The Holy Spirit molds us into the image of God and we know that “God is love.”  This is a calling for all of us not to judge and condemn those around us but to love them as we have been loved.  Love never fails and love wins every time.  We are most like God when we are loving our brothers and it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to do that.

 

1Jn 4:17-18  Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.  (18)  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

            Loving and being loved gives us reassurance that we are abiding with God which gives us confidence (boldness) at the day of judgment that we belong to Him.  In that level of perfect love there is no fear.  We have no need to dread the day of judgement, because we have passed from judgement into life.  “There is no fear in love.”  If you are in fear or afraid of the end times, then you need to be “made perfect in love.”  Dwell on scriptures that reveal His immeasurable love for us and then allow Him to love others through us.  His love will quickly quiet your fears and replace them with confidence.  As we see Him do things in our lives and uses us to do things we thought were impossible we know that we know He loves us.

 

1Jn 4:19-21  We love Him because He first loved us.  (20)  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  (21)  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

            John confirms the true source of our love comes from knowing “Because He first loved us.”  Our love is a response and reaction to the realization of how much we are loved.  True love flows from us towards God and from us to our brothers.  John calls us liars if we say we love God who we have never seen and hate our brother who we have.   Love will engulf every part of a Christian’s heart, mind and soul.

             He then summarizes all that he has said in this section in verse 21.  “And this commandment we have from Him that he loves God must love his brother also.”  This makes it clear that it is not up for debate or that it depends on circumstances but a commandment; you must love your brother.  This is the real test of our love for God in that we learn to love imperfect people that He has placed into our daily lives.  When done with the right attitude, it becomes who we are more than what we do.  We love because we are loved.

            How are you doing with that?  It is easy to love God and your brothers at church, but what about those imperfect people you work with or live by or are related to?  We are commanded to even love our enemy!  We are commanded to love our brothers as we have been loved!

 

Heavenly Father thank You for loving us and help us to love our brothers with that same love.