1 John 4:7-21
Prayers & Announcements:
Last Week: In1 John 3:1-7, 16-24 we learned some important lessons: 1. We are God's adopted children. We know of situations where somebody reached out to save someone's life, but they didn't go so far as to make them a part of their family. But this is exactly what God has done for us: He saved us and made us members of His eternal family. 2. When Jesus came to cleanse us of sin, He did it for two purposes: (a) so we could be forgiven before a Holy God, (b) but also so that sin would cease to have its hold over us. This is Jesus' work in us. Although we can't completely remove the presence of sin in our lives, we can respond to that work by striving daily not to sin. 3. In order to show the agapé love demonstrated by Jesus on the cross, we should be willing to lay down our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. This is usually not one dramatic life or death gesture but laying down our lives piece-by-piece, a little at a time, in ways that serve and help others. 4. As Christians, we are commanded to love one another not only in word but in deed. Agapé love, as John explains it, means taking action, not just giving lip service. God knows our hearts, so when we love one another in word and deed, He will assure our hearts. 5. When we are in fellowship with God, and "our heart does not condemn us," we know our standing with God and can approach His throne with confidence. We experience answered prayer when we walk in the kind of obedience-i.e., "keep His commandments"-and love-i.e., "do things that are pleasing in His sight"-that John spoke of in this chapter. Truth: Love and fellowship are the key to answered prayer.
This Week: The context in which John is writing is the same as the previous chapter. False teachers have been sowing the seeds of a perverted gospel in many of the churches, leaving them divided and confused. The most dangerous are Gnostics who disclaim the deity of Christ. While John is using his apostolic authority to warn Christians everywhere (including us), he is most concerned about the potential impact of these false teachings on immature believers. The theme is today's lesson is "God is love" and how we can apply and perfect that love in our own lives.
Note: In the first six verses of the chapter, which we skip, John forms a lesson on the conflict between two spiritual realms, the "Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Falsehood." John's objective is to guide believers how to discern between the two. Simply stated, the Spirit of Truth is from God and the Spirit of Falsehood is from Satan or demonic sources. The point he makes is that we shouldn't take any teaching or preaching we hear at face value. Today, fortunately, we have the Bible as the ultimate litmus test. If you see or hear anything that conflicts with sound doctrine, even in a small way, it's probably from the Spirit of Falsehood. Well-meaning people can be misled.
Read 1 John 4:7-8 - God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
v. 7a: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God" - The Greek words for "Beloved" (agapétoi) and "love one another" (agapomen) are both variants of the verb agapé. Agapé may be defined as sacrificial love given for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. Notice that the source of love if God-the fountain from which all love flows. We aren't commanded to love one another to earn God's love (we already have that); we are commanded to love one another because we are loved by God, and have received that love and live in light of it.
v. 7b: "and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" -The Greek word for "know" (ginōskō) means knowledge by experience. So John is saying that when a person knows God by experiencing a personal relationship with Him, love for one another will show itself as a natural outgrowth of this spiritual relationship. Thus, if a person claims to know God, he or she will be stirred to love others in the body of Christ.
v. 8: "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love" - This doesn't mean that every display of love in the world can only come from a Christian; non-Christians can display acts of love. At the same time, human love always falls short-flawed-because it doesn't include God. The statement "God is Love" simply means that God constantly gives of Himself for humankind and seeks their benefit. There was eternal love between the persons of the Trinity even before time began and is the ultimate source of love that Christians are able to display today.
TRUTH 1: A person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. This doesn't mean that every display of love in the world can only come from a Christian; non-Christians can display acts of love. At the same time, human love always falls short-is flawed-because it doesn't include God.
Read 1 John 4:9-12 - God Sent His Only Son to Perfect His Love in Us
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so 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. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
vv. 9-10 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so 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." - God has displayed His love for mankind in many ways: He made a Covenant with Abraham, He led the Israelites our of slavery in Egypt, but the ultimate expression of God was sending His one and only Son into the world to die for us. The Greek for "one and only" (monogenē) means both one-of-a-kind and of the same substance, which identifies Christ as a co-equal member of the Trinity. The statement, "so we might live through Him," not only recognizes that the Father sent His Son but sent Him to serve an express purpose for all of humankind, and v. 10 reveals that purpose: so that Jesus could be the propitiation-a blood sacrifice that covered our sin and satisfied God's wrath. For that sacrifice, those who repent and accept Christ alone by faith alone will have eternal life in God's kingdom.
vv. 11-12: " Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." - Because we, as Christians, received sacrificial love of such magnitude from God, we are commanded to love (agapē) one another. In v. 12, John relates a basic principle about God the Father: no one has seen Him at any time. But we "see" God in the face of Jesus Christ, which reaches full expression when Christians show love for each other-that love mirrors the image of Christ. The Greek word for "perfected" (teleioó) in v. 12 means having reached the end-stage. As we love each other, God's love takes root in us (i.e., "God abides in us"), and with it, a shared action in which our Christian brothers and sisters show love toward us. Mature Christians are evident by their love for others-it seems to radiate from them-the image of Christ.
TRUTH 2: No one has seen God the Father at any time. But we, as Christians, can "see" God in the face of Jesus Christ, which reaches its full expression when Christians show love for each other-that love mirrors the image of Christ. This is God's "perfected" love.
Read 1 John 4:13-16 - He Has Given Us His Spirit
13 By this we know that we abide 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 to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
v. 13: "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit" - This is a major dynamic of the Christian faith: we don't just say we "think or hope"; we know we have the promise of salvation. This is possible because we know we have "His Spirit" in us, something not merely believed but felt and experienced.
v. 14-15: "We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." - The "we" refers to John and the other apostles, who saw, heard, and touched the risen Christ in person, and he states three essential truths in these verses: (1) the Father has sent the Son; (2) He was sent as Savior of the world; and (3) knowing and understanding Jesus is the foundation for having a personal relationship with Him (and thus, God). It isn't enough to simply know the facts about who Jesus is; we confess the truth of who He is. We must agree with God about who Jesus is, and we discover what God says about Jesus through His Word, the Bible.
v. 16: "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" - Both "we know" and "have believed" are a perfect tense, indicating a completed action in the past. This is a Christian's correct response to who God is and how he loves us. We are all called (1) to accept this love (by grace), (2) to know it by experience, and (3) believe it. By saying this, John is telling new Christians that they have already experienced something that's for sure-knowing and believing that God loves them. This would be important to new believers whom the false teachers were trying to confuse. "God is love," stated again, simply means that God loves because it's His nature to love. The Christian who "abides in God's love, and God abides in him" it virtually "immersed" in God's love; it becomes his place of abode, his refuge.
TRUTH 3: It isn't enough to simply know the facts about who Jesus is; we must confess the truth of who He is. We must agree with God about who Jesus is, and we can discover what God says about Jesus through His Word, the Bible.
Read 1 John 4:17-21 - Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
v. 17-18: "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." - According to v. 16, above, when we abide in love, we remain in God, God remains in us, and love is made perfect (complete) in us. On Judgment Day, because of this, when God separates the sheep from the goats (Mt. 25:31-46), we can be confident that we will be one of His sheep on His right hand and admitted into His heaven. The phrase, "as He is," refers to Jesus sinless time on this world. In v. 18, John says, "There is no fear in love" because the perfection of our love means we don't have to cower in fear of God, dreading His Judgment, either now or on the Day of Judgment. But a person who hasn't trusted in Christ, "one who fears," is doomed.
v. 19-20: "We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." - A simple fact: all love comes ultimately from God; genuine, agapé love is never self-generated by His creatures. Furthermore, John declares that a person who claims to love God but hates his brother or sister is a liar. This is a tough one, but it isn't optional. Theologian James Montgomery Boice, on this verse, suggests that we should first practice philia (friendship/ brotherly) love before we can achieve agapé love. We are commanded to love the unlovable, to love without being loved in return, and even to love those who hate us. Christ did, didn't He? In the last phrase John is saying how can say that you love someone you've never seen when you don't even love those you see around you.
v. 21: "And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also" - Though loves proceeds from our abiding relationship with God and comes from being born of Him, there is also an essential element of our will involved. Being born of God gives us the ability to love, but it is our choice to draw upon that divine resource and give it to others. Further, we can also learn to love God by loving people-that's how we can love the God who is invisible. What do you think pleases God more: when you get things right with a brother or a sister or when you bring Him a sacrifice of praise or resources?
TRUTH 4. Simple truth: all love comes ultimately from God; genuine, agapé love is never self-generated by His creatures. Furthermore, John declares that a person who claims to love God but hates his brother or sister is a liar. This is a tough one, but it isn't optional. Theologian James Montgomery Boice, on this verse, suggests that we should first practice philia (friendship/ brotherly) love before we can achieve agapé love. We are commanded to love the unlovable, to love without being loved in return, and even to love those who hate us. Christ did, didn't He? ASK: How can say that you love someone you've never seen when you don't even love those you see around you.
TRUTH 5. Though loves proceeds from our abiding relationship with God and comes from being born of Him, there is also an essential element of our will involved. Being born of God gives us the ability to love, but it is our choice to draw upon that divine resource and give it to others. Further, we can also learn to love God by loving people-that's how we can love the God who is invisible. What do you think pleases God more: when you get things right with a brother or a sister or when you bring Him a sacrifice of praise or resources?
