July 23, 2023
Morning Service

At the beginning of chapter 4, John encouraged us to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirts, whether they are of God.”  In the latter times deception will run rampant and John does not want us to be caught unaware.  We laid out three tools we have been given to test the spirits.  First we hold them up to the Light of Jesus and make sure those speaking hold Him to the high degree He requires.  He is the Son of God and salvation comes through Him alone.  Secondly, we have our Bibles to filter all information through.  We believe our Bible is the very Words of God without error and anything that opposes the Bible’s view is not of God.  Finally, we have an ace card up our sleeve; the Holy Spirit.  John tells us that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”  We must learn to trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us to reveal to us what is true and what is false teachings.  “Discerning the spirits” is a gift from God (I Cor. 12) that each of us should seek to enlighten us to know truth and not be deceived.  These are all tools God has placed in our hands to utilize in these times of great deception where what is good is being called evil and evil good.  The tools are only good if you use them.  Read and study your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in knowing, understanding and applying what you read.  As we continue this morning, John circles back for the fourth time to talk again about the central theme of this letter; love.

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.

            I have said before that you cannot separate a Jesus follower from love and this scripture proves that.  John tells us that those who love are “born of God and know God.”  He then tells us the opposite, those who do “not love do not know God.”  A Jesus follower will love God and those around him.  That is an easy test for us to put to ourselves to determine if we are on the right path; do we love?  Let’s play the role of the Pharisee this morning and dig deeper and ask “how much are we to love?”

 

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.

            To define how much, we are to love, we have to define how much we are loved.  We only have to look at Jesus to do that.  He is the full expression of God’s love towards us and the heart of the gospel message.  Love was manifested to us through God sending His only begotten Son into to this world to live a perfect life and become the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins; He lived to die for us.  He gave everything that He has in a holy, unconditional, passionate, and sacrificial manner that we would have an opportunity to accept this gift of love from Him.  He paid for us our debt of sin that we could never pay.  He did that not because we deserved it or earned it, but just simply because He loves us that much.

 

Rom 5:6-8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  (8)  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

            Jesus bore the cross to Calvary to create a pathway for each of us to take to be reconciled with God by the forgiveness of our sins.  He did not do that for us after we cleaned ourselves up and took steps towards God.  He did that for us when we were at our worst in the pit of sin unworthy of anything God had to offer us.  That is true love defined; giving when there is no guarantee of receiving anything back.  That is the gospel message in a nut shell.  Jesus became the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins before we even recognized the sin in our lives.  That is how much we are loved and that is how we are to love each other; holy, unconditional, passionate, and sacrificial.  Love without expecting anything in return.  John continues.

 

1Jn 4:12-15 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.

            When we make our confession of faith accepting Jesus as not only as the Savior of the world, but our own personal Savior, we are empowered with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot love like this way with only our own strength.  The Spirit equips us to love others in the manner God has loved us.  When I am able to realize how God loved me when I was unlovable, then I can be assured that God can love others through me as well.  I begin to “abide” in Christ allowing Him to work and love others through me.  I love because I am loved.  God is not defined by love, but God defines love.

 

1Jn 4:16 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.

            God is not just “loving,” God is love.  Love is not an adjective that describes God, it is the opposite God defines love.   All that anyone knows about real love is rooted in the character and nature of the Almighty God, who is the origin, originator, and orchestrator of all true love.  The definition of love comes from God who seeks the best for a person while asking nothing in return.  Being loved in that way allows us to love in that same manner; holy, unconditional, passionate, and sacrificial. It becomes who I am, not what I do as I abide in Him and He in me.  This love also produces other attributes in our lives as John continues.

 

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.

            When we abide in His love, knowing without a doubt that He does indeed love us we are given a boldness in the day of judgement.  We know He is ours and we are His and His promise of eternal life is a truth we can hold on to.  Abiding in His love also casts out all fear as we trust Him fully in every circumstance and situation.  “If God is for us, who could stand against us?” (Rom. 8:31) We have no fear for He walks with us as our Shepherd, His rod and staff comforts us.  It is His presence in our lives (abiding with Him) that drives away the fear and we are granted peace, joy and contentment.  We come to realize He is all we need and we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10) John now closes with some practical ways for us to measure ourselves.

 

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 shows us clearly that out love comes from being loved and then gives us a way to measure how we are doing with that.  We are a “liar” if we proclaim that we love God, but yet hate our brother.  That is a very practical statement that should cause you to examine yourself to see if there is any hate in your heart.  If there is, it is separating you from truly loving God as he desires you to.  We must not only be hearers of the Word, but doers as well.  Pray about it and seek others to help you if you cannot remove it from your heart.  John finishes the chapter with a crystal clear message; we are commanded in order to love God; we must love our brother also.  This is an impossible task on our own, but with God all things are possible as I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13) Paul describes love (which describes God Himself) in I Cor. 13.  As we read this grasp on to the fact the God is love.  This scripture defines the attributes of the God we serve and reveals those same attributes that are to visible in our life as well.

 

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.

            God never fails and He will never give up on you.  Let your love for others mirror God’s love for you.

 

Heavenly Father, open the eyes of our heart and allow us to see and understand how much You love us and empower us through the Spirit to allow You to love others in that same manner through us.  You are the Potter and we are the clay.