THE CONTEXT: This is a pastoral letter to churches in conflict--written to address the conflict and to prevent its spread. A number of scholars think of this as a sermon in written form. The problems in the churches were caused by false teachers who had left the church (2:19). These false teachers were haughty and unloving. They denied the Incarnation and the deity of Jesus and claimed not to be sinners. They may have been precursors of the Gnostic heretics who plagued the second century church. These false teachers remained influential. The danger was that they would persuade neophyte believers to accept their heretical teachings. 1
JOHN 4:7-8. BELOVED, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER
7 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 doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
"Beloved (agapetoi), let us love (agapomen) one another" (v. 7a). These words, agapetoi and agapomen, are variants of the verb agape, which is the kind of love that demonstrates concern for the welfare of the other person.
Note the assonance (the repeated sound) between agapetoi and agapomen. Those are the first two words of this verse (the words, "let us," are part of agapomen), and those two words have a poetic quality that we are likely to miss in the English translation.
This emphasis on loving one another repeats what John said elsewhere (2:7-11; 3:10-18). He will continue this emphasis through verse 21, and will repeat it again in 2 John 1:5.
This emphasis is not original with John. Jesus told his disciples to love one another (John 13:34; 15:12, 17). Paul and Peter make the same emphasis (Romans 12:10; 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22).
Elsewhere, Jesus commanded loving one's enemies (Matthew 5:44) and one's neighbors (Mark 12:31), but the emphasis in these verses is loving members of the Christian community--brothers and sisters in Christ.
"for love is of (from) God" (v. 7b). God is source of love--the fountain from which love flows. Since we are "from God" (4:4) and "children of God" (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1), it is only fitting that we should love as God loves.
"and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows (Greek: ginosko) God" (v. 7c). Jesus told Nicodemus:
"Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can't see the Kingdom of God.... That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew'" (John 3:3, 6-7).
When John says, "everyone who loves...knows God," "knows" (ginosko) means more than casual acquaintance. The one who knows God has a deep and abiding relationship with him.
"He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love" (v. 8). This verse states the other side of the coin--the obverse of verse 7. While the person who loves "is born of God and knows God," the person who doesn't love doesn't know God and has no deep and abiding relationship with God. Love, then, is the acid test of discipleship.
This is true because "God is love." How can we claim to have a deep and abiding relationship with God if we fail to manifest this most important characteristic of God--agape love.
1 JOHN 4:9-12. GOD SENT HIS ONLY SON
9 By this God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only 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 as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.
"By this God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only (Greek: monogene) Son into the world" (Greek: kosmos) (v. 9a). God manifested his love in many ways. He established a covenant with Abram (Genesis 12:1-3) that grew into a covenant with Israel. He led Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 4ff.)
But the ultimate expression of God's love was sending his Son--"his one and only Son" (monogene) into the world (kosmos) "that we might live through him."
The Greek word monogene means "one and only" or "unique" or "one of a kind." While all believers are children of God, Jesus was the unique Son of God.
The kosmos (world) is a world opposed to God. God loved the kosmos, and sent his Son to save the kosmos (John 3:16-17)--but the people of the kosmos "loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil" (John 3:19).
It might seem odd that God would love the kosmos--and especially that he would send his only Son into the kosmos to save it--but as Jesus said when criticized for eating with sinners and tax collectors, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17).
"that we might live (Greek: zao) through him" (v. 9b). This was God's purpose in sending his Son into the world--that we might live.
The Greek word zao has several meanings. It can mean:
In this context, John probably means both eternal life and a blessed life.
But longevity can also be part of the blessing that we receive as believers. While people of faith do suffer what Hamlet called the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," our faith assures us that God is with us both in life and in death. That assurance reduces anxiety and the health issues associated with anxiety. Our faith also helps us to avoid self-destructive behaviors, such as drug and spouse abuse. That isn't true in all cases, of course, but it is often true.
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved (egapesen--from agapao) us" (v. 10a). If we want to know what love looks like, we have only to note the example of God's love. God didn't love us in response to our love for him--or because we are inherently lovable. God took the love-initiative even when anyone else would have walked away, because "God is love" (v. 8).
The verb egapesen is aorist tense, indicating a singular, undivided, and decisive event.
"and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice (Greek: hilasmon) for our sins" (v. 10b). Jewish law required the sacrifice of animals as a way of atoning for the sins of the person offering the sacrifice. Blood was required--The sacrifice of life was required--but the one offering the sacrifice was allowed to substitute the blood/life of the sacrificial animal for his own blood/life. Thus the one offering the sacrifice was allowed to live--cleansed from sin.
Hilasmon (atoning sacrifice) can mean (1) propitiate (2) expiate or (3) atone:
Many Christians today favor the words expiate or atone rather than propitiate, because they don't believe that God's wrath requires appeasement.
"Beloved" (Greek: agapetos) (v. 11a). The word agapetos means "beloved" or "dear." In the New Testament it always means one or more of the following:
John personally loves these believers. However, "beloved" in this verse is ambiguous, and could also mean "beloved by God." John is surely aware of this ambiguity, and probably wants these believers to remember that God loves them--and that John's love for them is an outgrown of God's love.
"if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another" (v. 11b). We have received unselfish love from God. Now God wants us to give unselfish love to one another. It is only right that we should do so.
"No one has seen God at any time" (v. 12a). John used these exact words in John 1:1-18 (see also 1 John
4:20; John 5:37; 6:46). It is only through Jesus that we can see the face of God (John 1:18). Jesus told Philip, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9).
When Moses asked to see Yahweh's glory, Yahweh replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, ...but you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live" (Exodus 33:20). The idea is that humans are not equipped to see God's face, any more than we are equipped to touch a high-voltage electrical line.
This will no longer be true in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:4), but is true for the present.
John is writing to challenge the false teachers, who have claimed spiritual superiority. This "no one" would apply to them. They have not seen God at any time.
"If we love one another, God remains (Greek: meno) in us" (v. 12b). Even though we have not seen God, he remains (meno) in us. The Greek word meno means dwelling in a particular place--remaining there--abiding there. When used of relationships, as it is here, meno suggests steadfast relationship--heart and soul unity. When we love each other with agape love (selfless love), then we have a heart and soul unity with God.
"and his love has been perfected (Greek: teleioo) in us" (v. 12c). The word teleioo means has been completed or accomplished or perfected. When we love each other with agape love, God's love takes root within our being. A reciprocal action begins--a kind of perpetual motion. We love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they love us. It just goes on and on.
1 JOHN 4:13-16. HE HAS GIVEN US HIS SPIRIT
13 By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
"By this we know that we remain (meno--abide) in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" (v. 13). The false teachers have tried to undermine the faith of these new Christians, so they need reassurance that their relationship with God is valid and real. John reassures them that they have received God's Spirit--God's Spirit has taken up residence in their lives. Knowing that, they can be reassured that their relationship with God is real and vital.
"because he has given us of his Spirit" (v. 13b). We have not somehow earned God's Spirit or appropriated it through some personal initiative. The Spirit is a gift of God.
"We have seen (Greek: theaomai) and testify" (Greek: martureo) (v. 14). The Greek word theaomai means to see or behold attentively or with a sense of wonder. It is certainly appropriate to view God's sending his Son with a sense of wonder. How could it be that God would stoop to our level--but he did and does.
When John uses the word "we" here, he is probably referring to the apostles and others who saw the risen Christ with their own eyes--who heard him speak and watched him eat and saw him ascend into heaven.
Martureo (testify) is one of several similar Greek words from which we get our word martyr. Martureo
actually means witness or to bear witness, but those who bear witness to Christ often pay a high price for their faithfulness--sometimes even martyrdom.
"that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world" (kosmos) (v. 14b). This is the object of the apostolic testimony. God not only gave us his Spirit (v. 13). He also gave us his Son (see John 3:16).
For the meaning of kosmos, see the comments on verse 9a above.
"Whoever confesses (Greek: homologeo) that Jesus is the Son of God" (v. 15a). The word homologeo (confess) is a combination of homou (together with) and lego (to say). It can mean either a confession of sin or a confession of faith, but in this verse it means a confession of faith.
Homologeo is aorist tense in this verse, so it is referring to a one-time event--a public profession of faith. If it were present tense, it would refer to an ongoing, continuous profession. Both are appropriate to the Christian, of course, but this verse emphasizes the value of the one-time decisive confession of faith.
The confession/profession/agreement is "that Jesus is the Son of God"--the unique Son of God sent into the world "as the Savior of the world" (v. 14b).
The false teachers can affirm the idea of a spiritual Christ, but not a Christ in human form. They reject the idea that Jesus could be the Son of God, because they believe that the spiritual is good but the material (such as the human body) is bad. Thus they cannot accept the Incarnation (that word literally means "in flesh)--God dwelling among us in human form.
"God remains (Greek: meno--remains or abides) in him, and he in God" (v. 15b). As noted in the comments on verse 12b above, when used of relationships as it is here, meno suggests steadfast relationship--heart and soul unity.
"We know and have believed the love which God has for us" (v. 16a). Both "know" and "have believed" are perfect tense, indicating a completed action in the past--"have come to know" and "have come to believe."
John is telling these fledgling Christians that they have already experienced something momentous and decisive--knowing and believing that God loves them. He needs to remind them of that, because they are in danger of wavering under the onslaught of the false teachers. If they can only remember that God loves them, they can face those onslaughts with confidence.
"God is love" (Greek: agape--self-giving love) (v. 16b). God loves, because it his nature to love.
When something is in our nature, it is relatively unchangeable. I have brown eyes, so no amount of wishing is going to change my eyes to blue. I have a certain IQ--while I can improve my competence by diligent study, I will never be a genius. Alcoholics have a vulnerability to alcohol that goes beyond what others experience. Tone-deaf people will never become great musicians.
So when John says that God is love, he is saying that love is embedded in God's nature. Therefore, they can depend on God to love them.
The love with which God loves us is agape--self-giving love--love that is concerned with the welfare of the
other. That is reflected in the great love verse, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16; see also Romans 5:5, 8; 1 John 3:1).
"and he who remains (Greek: meno--remain or abide) in love remains (meno) in God, and God remains (meno) in him" (v. 16c). We might think of love as the ocean in which God abides. When we also abide in that ocean of love, then we have a deep and abiding relationship with God.
These fledgling believers can find comfort and confidence in that reality. They are, in fact, swimming in God's ocean of love--and have a deep and abiding relationship with God. John is reassuring them that they are (mixing metaphors) standing on solid ground and have no need to feel threatened by the false teachers.
1 JOHN 4:17-18. PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR
17 In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.
"In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness (Greek: parresia--boldness or confidence) in the day of judgment" (v. 17a). The Day of Judgment is a frightening prospect for many people. Jesus portrays that day in Matthew 25:31-46, where he sits on a throne, surrounded by all the angels, with all the nations assembled before him. He says that he will separate the sheep from the goats, directing the sheep to his right hand (the favored hand) and the goats to his left hand (the disfavored hand). Then he will bless the sheep and pronounce a curse on the goats. The difference will between blessed and cursed be determined by the way they have treated the vulnerable people in their midst: The hungry, the thirsty, strangers, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner.
It is no wonder, then, that people worry about how Christ will judge them. Will he embrace them or reject them--bless them or curse them? Everything hangs in the balance, because that moment will determine their eternal destiny.
What John has to say in this verse coincides with what Jesus said in Matthew 25. When we abide in love, we remain in God and God remains in us (v. 16)--and love is made complete (perfect) in us. Therefore we can approach Christ's throne with confidence on the Day of Judgment, knowing that God loves us and has made provision for us through eternity.
"because as he is, even so are we in this world" (v. 17b). This is difficult to understand, but I'll offer this possibility. If "he" refers to Jesus, then this could mean that, just as Jesus was the Son of God, we are also children of God, the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love" (v. 18). This verse states the other side of the coin--the obverse of verse 17. Love makes us bold--gives us confidence (v. 17)--and it also casts out fear (v. 18). As noted in the comments on verse 17a above, people are often afraid when they contemplate the possibility that God will judge them harshly.
But "perfect love casts out fear." Is John speaking of our love for God or God's love for us? Almost
certainly the former. However, our love for God is rooted in our faith that God loves us. If we can accept that, everything else will fall into place.
Paul dealt with this same issue in his letter to the Roman church, saying:
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God. For you didn't receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:14-17a).
And again in his second letter to Timothy:
"For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).
1 JOHN 4:19-21. WE LOVE HIM, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US
19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn't love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.
"We love him, because he first loved us" (v. 19). Our love for God is our response to God's love for us.
"If a man says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn't love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" (v. 20). Also, our love for our Christian brother or sister is our response to God's love for us.
As noted above, God loves our brothers and sisters in Christ. How can we claim to love God if we despise those whom God loves? Don't we break God's heart when we hate those whom he loves?
John suggests that it is more natural to love our Christian brother or sister than it is to love God, because we can see our brothers and sisters--rub elbows with them--share a table with them--give them assistance and receive assistance from them as needed. It can be harder to love God, whom we have not seen with our eyes, but have experienced only through the eyes of faith.
Furthermore, John says that the person who hates his brother or sister but claims to love God is a liar. You can't have one (love for God) without the other (love for brother and sister).
However, there is another side that we must consider. When we look around at our brothers and sisters in the pews, we will likely find several people whom we don't really love--and one or two who make things miserable for us and the rest of the church. It is often easier to love our Christian brothers and sisters in foreign lands where we have never set foot than to love the person sitting next to us in the pew. The person whom we have never met has never offended us. That isn't always true for those whom we have met.
"This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother" (v. 21). Earlier, John said:
"This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER, even as he commanded. He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us" (vv. 23-24).
When a scribe asked Jesus, "Which commandment is the greatest of all?" Jesus answered:
"The greatest is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. "The second is like this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31; see also John 13:34; 15:12, 17)
Neither of these commandments were original with Jesus, of course. The commandment to love God came from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which the Jews knew as the Shema--and which they recited in their synagogue worship and daily prayers.
The commandment to love neighbor comes from Leviticus 19:18, which says:
"You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
BLB - 1 John 4:7-21 - Commentary
B. Love perfected among us.
1. (1 John 4:7-8) The call to love.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
a. Beloved, let us love: The ancient Greek sentence begins in a striking way- agapetoi agapomen, "those who are loved, let us love." We are not commanded to love one another to earn or become worthy of God's love. We love one another because we are loved by God, and have received that love, and live in light of it.
b. Let us love one another, for love is of God: John's emphasis on love among the people of God (shown in passages like 1 John 2:9-11 and 3:10-18) is powerful. Here, he shows why it is so important. If love is of God, then those who claim to be born of God, and claim to know God, must be able to love one another in the body of Christ. i. Again, John insists that there is something that is given to the believer when they are born of God; a love is imparted to their life that they did not have before. Christians are not "just forgiven"- they are born anew by God's Spirit.
c. And knows God: There are several different words in the ancient Greek language translated "know" into English. This specific word for knows (ginosko) is the word for a knowledge by experience. John is saying when we really experience God it will show by our love for one another. i. Of course, this love is not perfected in the life of a Christian on this side of eternity. Though it may not be perfected, it must be present - and it should be growing. You can't truly grow in your experience of God without also growing love for one another. John can boldly say, He who does not love does not know God. If there isn't real love for God's people in your life, then your claim to know God and experience God isn't true.
d. Love is of God: The love John speaks of comes from the ancient Greek word agape; it is the concept of a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting re-payment- it is the God-kind of love. i. Since this is God's kind of love, it comes into our life through our relationship with Him. If we want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God. i. Every human relationship is like a triangle. The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. As the two people draw closer to the top of the triangle, closer to God, they will also draw closer to one another. Weak relationships are made strong when both people draw close to the Lord!
e. Everyone who loves is born of God ... He who does not love does not know God: This does not mean that every display of love in the world can only come from a Christian. Those who are not Christians still can display acts of love. i. "It is because men are created in the image of God, an image that has been defaced but not destroyed by the Fall, that they still have the capacity to love ... Human love, however noble and however highly motivated, falls short if it refuses to include the Father and Son as the supreme objects of its affection." (Marshall)
f. For God is love: This is a glorious truth. Love describes the character and heart of God. He is so rich in love and compassion, that it can be used to describe His very being. i. When we say God is love, we are not saying everything about God. Love is an essential aspect of His character, and colors every aspect of His nature. But it does not eliminate His holiness, His righteousness, or His perfect justice. Instead, we know the holiness of God is loving, and the righteousness of God is loving, and the justice of God is loving. Everything God does, in one way or another, expresses His love. ii. "He hates nothing he has made. He cannot hate, because he is love. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the just and the unjust. He has made no human being for perdition, nor ever rendered it impossible, by any necessitating decree, for a fallen soul to find mercy. He has given the fullest proof of his love to the whole human race by the incarnation of his Son, who tasted death for every man. How can a decree of absolute, unconditional reprobation, of the greater part or any part of the human race, stand in the presence of such a text as this?" (Clarke) iii. "Never let it be thought that any sinner is beyond the reach of divine mercy so long as he is in the land of the living. I stand here to preach illimitable love, unbounded grace, to the vilest of the vile, to those who have nothing in them that can deserve consideration from God, men who ought to be swept into the bottomless pit at once if justice meted out to them their deserts." (Spurgeon) iv. Great problems come when we try to say love is God. This is because love does not define everything in the character of God, and because when most people use the term love, they are not thinking of true love, the God-kind of love. Instead, they are thinking of a squishy, namby-pamby, have-a-nice-day kind of love that values being "nice" more than wanting what is really best for the other person. v. The Bible also tells us that God is spirit (John 4:24), God is light (1 John 1:5), and that God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
g. God is love: There are few people who really know and really believe that God is love. For whatever reason, they won't receive His love and let it transform their lives. It transforms our life to know the love of God in this way. i. "There is love in many places, like wandering beams of light; but as for the sun, it is in one part of the heavens, and we look at it, and we say, 'Herein is light.' ... He did not look at the Church of God, and say of all the myriads who counted not their lives dear unto them, 'Herein is love,' for their love was only the reflected brightness of the great sun of love." (Spurgeon)
2. (1 John 4:9-11) The meaning of love and its application.
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. 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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
a. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent His only begotten Son: This shows us what love is and what it means. Love is not only defined by the sacrifice of Jesus (as stated in 1 John 3:16); it is also defined by the giving of the Father. It was a sacrifice for the Father to send the Second Person of the Trinity, and a sacrifice to pour out the judgment we deserved upon God the Son. i. We need to appreciate this fully, and receive the Fatherly love God has to give us. Some of us, for whatever reason, have come to think of God the Father as aloof and mean, perhaps the so-called "angry God" of the Old Testament. In this wrong thinking, many imagine they prefer the nice and loving Jesus instead. But the Father loves us too; and the love Jesus showed in His ministry was the same love God the Father has towards us. We can receive the healing power in our Father's love.
b. That God has sent His only begotten Son into the world: John is careful to call Jesus the only begotten Son. This special term means Jesus has a Sonship that is unique (only) and begotten indicates that Jesus and the Father are of the same substance, the same essential Being. i. We use the term create to describe something that may come from someone, but isn't of the same essential nature or being. A man can create a statue that looks just like him, but it will never be human. However, we use the term beget to describe something that is exactly the same as us in essential nature and being. We are adopted sons and daughters of God, but we are not of the same essential nature and being as God - we are human beings. But Jesus is the only begotten Son, meaning His Sonship is different than ours; He was and is of the same essential nature and being as God the Father. We are human beings; He is a "God-being" - who added humanity to His deity.
c. That we might live through Him: The love of the Father was not only in the sending of the Son, but also in what that sending accomplishes for us. It brings life to all who trust in Jesus and His work on their behalf, because He is the propitiation for our sins. i. Propitiation has the idea of a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. God rightly regarded us, apart from Him, as worthy targets of His judgment. We were rebels and enemies of Him, even if we didn't know it. But on the cross, Jesus took the punishment our sin deserved - His sacrifice turned away the judgment we would have received. We easily think how this shows the love of Jesus, but John wants us to understand it also shows the love of God the Father: He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ii. That we might live through Him: The greatness of God's love is shown not only in saving us from the judgment we deserved, but also in wanting us to live through Him. Do we live through Him? This is a great way to define the Christian life, to live through Him.
d. God has sent His only begotten Son: This shows the love of God, because love gives its best. There was nothing better God the Father could give to lost humanity than the gift of the Son of God Himself. As Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 9:15, Jesus was the Father's indescribable gift. i. "If there was to be reconciliation between God and man, man ought to have sent to God; the offender ought to he the first to apply for forgiveness; the weaker should apply to the greater for help; the poor man should ask of him who distributes alms; but 'Herein is love' that God 'sent.' He was first to send an embassy of peace." (Spurgeon)
e. He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins: This shows the love of God. It might have shown enough love that the Father sent the Son, and not some lower-grade angel; but He sent the Son, not on a fact-finding mission or merely a mission of compassion - He sent the Son to die for our sins. i. "If God had merely sent Jesus to teach us about Himself, that would have been wonderful enough. It would have been far more than we deserved. If God had sent Jesus simply to be our example, that would have been good too and would have had some value ... But the wonderful thing is that God did not stop with these but rather sent His Son, not merely to teach or to be our example, but to die the death of a felon, that He might save us from sin." (Boice)
f. For our sins: This shows the love of God. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. We can think of someone paying a great price to save someone deserving, someone good, someone noble, someone who had done much for them. But God did all this for rebels, for sinners, for those who had turned their backs on Him. i. "But who among us would think of giving up his son to die for his enemy, for one who never did him a service, but treated him ungratefully, repulsed a thousand overtures of tenderness, and went on perversely hardening his neck? No man could do it." (Spurgeon)
g. In this is love: Real love, agape love, is not defined by our love for God, but by His love for us. His love for us initiates our relationship of love with Him, our love only responds to His love for us. We can't love God the way we should unless we are receiving and living in His love. i. Our love for God doesn't really say anything great about us. It is only the common sense response to knowing and receiving the love of God.
h. If God so loved us: Having received this love from God, we are directed to love one another. This pattern of receiving from God, then giving to others was familiar to John. (John 13:14) i. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, and showed such great love and servanthood to them, we might have expected Him to conclude by gesturing to His own feet and asking who among them was going to do to Him what He had just done for them. Instead, Jesus said: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. (John 13:14) The proper way to love God in response to His love for us is to go out and love one another. ii. This love will lead to practical action. "Has anybody offended you? Seek reconciliation. 'Oh, but I am the offended party.' So was God, and he went straight away and sought reconciliation. Brother, do the same. 'Oh, but I have been insulted.' Just so: so was God: all the wrong was towards him, yet he sent. 'Oh, but the party is so unworthy.' So are you; but 'God loved you and sent his Son.' Go write according to that copy." (Spurgeon) iii. If we do not love one another, how can we say that we have received the love of God and have been born of Him? Love is the proof we are taught to look for. If you had a pipe that was clogged - water kept going into it, but never came out, that pipe would be useless. You would replace it. Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. We want the Lord to clear us and fill us so that His love can flow through us.
C. The nature of a love relationship with God.
1. (1Jo 4:12) Seeing God through the evidence of love.
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.
a. No one has seen God at any time: John relates a basic principle about God the Father - that no one, no one, has seen God at any time. Anyone claiming to have seen God the Father is speaking - at best - from their own imagination, because as John plainly states, no one has see God at any time. i. In speaking of God the Father, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:17: Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible. Jesus declared of God the Father, God is Spirit, (John 4:24) meaning that God the Father has no tangible body which may be seen. ii. Knowing God the Father is invisible should make us more humble in our relationship with Him. God the Father is not completely knowable by us; we can't completely figure out God, or know all His secrets. He is beyond us. iii. Of course, no one has seen God the Holy Spirit at any time either, though He has represented Himself in various ways. And just as certainly, God the Son, Jesus Christ, has been seen - John himself testified to this in 1 John 1:1-3. But of God the Father, it can truly be said, no one has seen God at any time. iv. "The Old Testament theophanies, including the apparently contradictory statement in Exodus 24:10, did not involve the full revelation of God as He is in Himself but only a suggestion of what He is in forms that a human being could understand." (Boice)
b.If we love one another, God abides in us: This is the greatest evidence of God's presence and work among us- love. Since no one has seen God at any time, this provides evidence for the presence of God. i. Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is power. Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is popularity. Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is passionate feelings. But the greatest evidence of God's presence and work is love. Where God is present and working, there will be love. ii. Sometimes Jesus seemed weak and lacking in power, but He was always full of love. Sometimes Jesus wasn't popular at all, but He was always full of love. Sometimes Jesus didn't inspire passionate feelings in people at all, but He was always full of love. Love was the constant, greatest evidence of the presence and work of God in Jesus Christ.
c. His love has been perfected in us: Perfected uses the Greek word teleioo, which doesn't mean "perfect" as much as "mature" and "complete." If we love one another, then the love of God is "mature" and "complete" in us. i. John comes back to the familiar idea: if we really walk in God's love towards us, it will be evident in our love for one another. ii. The mature Christian will be marked by love. Again, the true measure of maturity is not the image of power, or popularity, or passionate feelings - but the abiding presence of God's love in our lives, given out to others.
2. (1 John 4:13-15) Assurance of the work of the Triune God in us.
By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
a. We know we abide in Him: By beginning with the words by this, John connected the thought of this verse directly to the previous verse. We can know by experience that we live in God, if His love has been perfected in us. And we know that His love has been perfected in us if we love one another. i. Plainly, a Christian can say, "We know." One doesn't have to merely "hope" one is saved, and "hope" they will make it to heaven, and have no assurance of salvation before they pass from this world to the next. We can know, and we can know now, on this side of eternity.
b. We abide in Him, and He in us: Our abiding in Jesus is not a one-sided affair, with us struggling to abide in Him, and Jesus trying to escape us. Just as true as it is that we should abide in Him, it is true that He does abide in us. i. Jesus said in John 15:4, Abide in Me, and I in you. And in John 15:7, He said If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you. One of the ways Jesus abides in us - lives in us - is through His word.
c. He has given us of His Spirit: John brings up the work of the Holy Spirit in us at this point for two important connections. First, it is the Spirit of God in us that is the abiding presence of Jesus - the presence of His Spirit is how He abides in us. Second, it is the testimony of the Holy Spirit within us that makes it possible for us to know that we abide in Him. As Paul puts it in Roman 8:16: The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit gives us this assurance.
d. We have seen and testify: The "we" who give testimony in this verse are those who saw Jesus originally, the eyewitnesses to His presence. They knew the Father sent the Son as Savior of the world.
e. We have seen and testify: Speaking as one who has the Spirit of God (He has given us of His Spirit), John declares three essential truths about who God is and how He saves us.
f. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God).Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God: It isn't enough to know the facts about who Jesus is; we must confess the truth. The idea behind the word confess is "to be in agreement with." We must agree with God about who Jesus is, and we find out what God says about Jesus through the Word of God. You may know something without being in agreement with it; God demands our true agreement. i. Though John has been writing much about love, he does not ignore the issue of truth. John does not think it is "enough" if a person has some kind of love in their life if they do not confess that Jesus is the Son of God. It isn't a matter of deciding between love or truth; we must have both. ii. "To acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God is not simply to make a statement about his metaphysical status but to express obedient trust in the One who possesses such a status." (Marshall) iii. "To believe in Christ and to love the brethren are not conditions by which we may dwell in God but rather are evidences of the fact that God has already taken possession of our lives to make this possible." (Boice)
3. (1 John 4:16) The Christian's response to God and His love.
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.
a. And we have known and believed the love God has for us: This is the Christian's proper response to who God is, and how He loves us. We are called to take the love and grace God gives, to know it by experience and to believe it. This is what fellowship with God is all about. i. People respond to the love of God differently.
-Some respond with a sense of self-superiority ("I'm so great, even God loves me!").
-Some respond with doubt ("Can God really love even me?").
-Some respond with wickedness ("God loves me, so I can do what I want").
-God wants us to respond by knowing (by experience) and believing the love God has for us.
ii. The Christian must know and believe the love God has for us. One should consider what would it take to make them stop believing God loved them. Paul knew that nothing could separate him from the love of God that was in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:35-39), and each Christian should have the same confidence. iii. "To feel God's love is very precious, but to believe it when you do not feel it, is the noblest." (Spurgeon)
b. He who abides in love abides in God, and God in him: The Christian who has this kind of relationship with God will be virtually "immersed" in God's love; it becomes their environment, their place of abiding.
4. (1 John 4:17-18) The perfecting of love, both now and in eternity.
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. 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.
a. Love has been perfected: For perfected, John doesn't just use the Greek word teleioo (which has the idea of "maturity" and "completeness); he writes teleioo teleioo - speaking of love that is "perfectly perfected" or "completely complete."
b. In the day of judgment: This is when the completeness of love's work in us will be demonstrated. As much as we can know the completeness of God's love now, we will know it all the more in the day of judgment.
- You may know you are a sinner now; you will really know it in the day of judgment.
- You may know now you are not better in yourself than those who are going to hell; you will really know it in the day of judgment.
- You may know the reality of hell now; you will really know it in the day of judgment.
- You may know the greatness of Jesus' salvation now; you will really know it in the day of judgment.
c. That we may have boldness in the day of judgment: This shows the greatness of God's work in us. We might be satisfied to merely survive the day of judgment, but God wants to so fill our lives with His love and His truth that we have boldness in the day of judgment. i. The Bible says that one day, all of humanity will gather before God's Great White Throne and face judgment. This day is coming! "The day of judgment is as fixed in God's eternal timetable as any other day in world history." (Boice) ii. Some think they will go there and judge God ("when I seen God, there's a few questions I have for Him!"), but that is nonsense. The only way to have boldness in the day of judgment is to receive, and walk in, the transforming love of God today.
d. Boldness in the day of judgment: How can anyone have such boldness? We can imagine Jesus being bold before the throne of God, but us? Yet, if we abide in Him, and He in us (1 John 4:13), then our identity is bound up in Jesus: as He is, so are we in the world. i. How is Jesus now? He is glorified, justified, forever righteous and bold, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Spiritually, we can have that same standing now, while we are in the world, because as He is, so are we in the world. ii. Certainly, this glory is in us now just in "seed" form; it has not yet fully developed into what it will be. But it is there, and its presence is demonstrated by our love for one another and our agreement with God's truth - and that all serves to give us boldness.
e. There is no fear in love: The completeness of love means we do not cower in fear before God, dreading His judgment, either now or in the day of judgment. We know all the judgment we ever deserved - past, present, and future - was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. i. What about the many passages of Scripture, Old and New Testament (such as Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 1 Peter 2:17), which tell us we should fear God? The fear John writes of here is not the appropriate reverence we should all have of God, but the kind of fear which involves torment - that agonizing kind of fear which robs our soul of all joy and confidence before God. It is the fear that is the opposite of boldness in the day of judgment.
f. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love: If our relationship with God is marked by this tormenting fear, it shows that we have not been made perfect- that is, complete, and mature- in His love.
Charles Spurgeon was a man who preached the whole counsel of God's Word, and was careful to not excessively repeat himself in any one area. Yet, he preached five remarkable sermons on these eight words alone.
5. 1 John 4:19) The reason for our love to Jesus.
We love Him because He first loved us.
a. We love Him: In this great statement, John begins by declaring the heart of every true follower of Jesus Christ. Simply and boldly put, we love Him. i. This is a fact for every true follower of Jesus. "There is no exception to this rule; if a man loves not God, neither is he born of God. Show me a fire without heat, then show me regeneration that does not produce love to God." (Spurgeon) ii. It is something that every Christian should be unafraid to proclaim: I love Him; I love Jesus. Can you say that? Are you embarrassed to say it? Can you say, "I love Jesus"? iii. "I cannot imagine a true man saying, 'I love Christ, but I do not want others to know that I love him, lest they should laugh at me.' That is a reason to be laughed at, or rather, to be wept over. Afraid of being laughed at? Oh sir, this is indeed a cowardly fear!" (Spurgeon) iv. "Look through all the pages of history, and put to the noblest men and women, who seem to still live, this question, 'Who loves Christ?' and, at once, up from dark dungeons and cruel racks there rises the confessors' cry, 'We love him;' and from the fiery stake, where they clapped their hands as they were being burned to death, the same answer comes, 'We love him.' If you could walk through the miles of catacombs at Rome, and if the holy dead, whose dust lies there, could suddenly wake up, they would all shout, 'We love him.' The best and the bravest of men, the noblest and purest of women, have all been in this glorious company; so, surely, you are not ashamed to come forward and say, 'Put my name down among them.'" (Spurgeon) v. "Be out-and-out for him; unfurl your colours, never hide them, but nail them to the mast, and say to all who ridicule the saints, 'If you have any ill words for the followers of Christ, pour them out upon me.... but know this - ye shall hear it whether you like it or not,- "I love Christ."'" (Spurgeon)
b. He first loved us: This verse not only declares our love for Jesus, it also tells us when He loved us. Some
people imagine that Jesus loved us because He knew we would love Him and come to faith in Him. But He loved us before that, and even before the worlds were created, when our only existence was in the mind and heart of God, Jesus loved us. i. He loved us when we were still sinners: "Every man that ever was saved had to come to God not as a lover of God, but as a sinner, and then believe in God's love to him as a sinner." (Spurgeon) ii. "Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. Ah! He loved some of you when you were in the dancing saloon, when you were in the playhouse, ay, even when you were in the brothel. He loved you when you were at hell's gate, and drank damnation at every draught. He loved you when you could not have been worse or further from him than you were. Marvellous, O Christ, is thy strange love!" (Spurgeon)
c. We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us where our love for Jesus comes from. It comes from Him. Our love for God is always in response to His love for us; He initiates, and we respond. We never have to draw God to us; instead, He draws us to Himself. i. "1. We love him because we find he has loved us. 2. We love him from a sense of obligation and gratitude. 3. We love him from the influence of his own love; from his love shed abroad in our hearts our love to him proceeds. It is the seed whence our love springs." (Clarke) ii. "His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. He that is first in love, loves freely; the other therefore loves under obligation." (Poole) iii. "I have sometimes noticed that, in addressing Sunday-school children, it is not uncommon to tell them that the way to be saved is to love Jesus, which is not true. The way to be saved for man, woman, or child is to trust Jesus for the pardon of sin, and then, trusting Jesus, love comes as a fruit. Love is by no means the root. Faith alone occupies that place." (Spurgeon)
d.We love Him because He first loved us: This verse tells us why we love Jesus, and how we can love Him more.
i. "Do not let the devil tempt you to believe that God does not love you because your love is feeble; for if he can in any way weaken your belief in God's love to you, he cuts off or diminishes the flow of the streams which feed the sacred grace of love to God." (Spurgeon) ii. "Love believed is the mother of love returned." (Spurgeon) iii. "Yet we must not try to make ourselves love our Lord, but look to Christ's love first, for his love to us will beget in us love to him. I know that some of you are greatly distressed because you cannot love Christ as much as you would like to do, and you keep on fretting because it is so. Now, just forget your own love to him, and think of his great love to you; and then, immediately, your love will come to something more like that which you would desire it to be." (Spurgeon) iv. "Now remember, we never make ourselves love Christ more by flogging ourselves for not loving him more. We come to love those better whom we love by knowing them better ... If you want to love Christ more, think more of him, think more of what you have received from him." (Spurgeon)
e. He first loved us: This means that it is true that He loves us now. Do you believe it? "Oh, if you do really believe that he has loved you so, sit down, and turn the subject over in your mind, and say to yourself, 'Jesus loves me; Jesus chose me; Jesus redeemed me; Jesus called me; Jesus has pardoned me; Jesus has taken me into union with himself.' " (Spurgeon)
6. (1 John 4:20-21) The commandment to love.
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? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
a. If someone says, "I love God": It is often easier for someone to proclaim their love for God, because that regards a private relationship with an invisible God. But John rightly insists that our claim of loving God is false if we do not also love our brother, and that this love must be seen. i. One may be a spiritual dwarf because they lack love. One may know the Word, may never miss a service, may pray fervently, and may demonstrate gifts of the Spirit. Yet in it all, that one may be like Cain, offering to God the fruit of their hands and not the fruit of the Spirit.
b. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar: By this crucial measure, Jesus said the world could measure our status as disciples by the measure of our love for one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35) i. There is a difference between the love of man, and divine love. "These verses are the equivalent of saying that a person cannot practice agape-love unless he can first practice philia-love." (Boice)
c. And this commandment we have from Him: We have a commandment to love. Though love springs forth from our abiding relationship with God and comes from our being born of Him, there is also an essential aspect of our will involved. We are therefore commanded to love our brother in Christ. i. Being born of God and abiding with Him give us the ability to love; but it is a choice of our will to draw upon that resource and give it out to others. Therefore we are given a command to love, that he who loves God must love his brother also. ii. Because of this, the excuse "I just can't love that person" (or other such excuses) is invalid. If we are born of Him and are abiding in Him then the resources for love are there. It is up to us to respond to His command with our will and whole being.
d. He who loves God must love his brother also: We can also learn how to love God by loving people. One might say, "I want to love God more; I want to grow in my love for Him. But how can I love a God who is invisible?" God would say to us, "Learn to love Me, Whom you cannot see, by loving My children, whom you can see." i. Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. God is more pleased when you get it right with your brother, than if you bring Him a sacrifice of praise or resources.
