God is Love (Part 2) 1 John 4:13-21 1 John 4:13-21 13

---

God is Love (Part 2) 1 John 4:13-21 1 John 4:13-21 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 his 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 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for 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. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he 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: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Introduction This morning, we are continuing our study of God’s love from 1 John 4… Exposition I.

The Power for Love (Vs. 13) – The Holy Spirit

After instructing his audience about the need to love others, in verse 13, John goes on to speak of the power for such love. If anyone would ever hope to fulfill the command to love one another, they must be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is absolutely vital for the Christian life. Not only does the Holy Spirit seal our salvation until the day of redemption (Eph. 1), He also equips us to follow and serve Christ. In addition to giving all Christians gifts, the Holy Spirit also empowers us to love and care for others as Christ has loved and cared for us. II.

The Proof of Love (Vss. 14-16)

In addition to empowering our love for others, the Holy Spirit also leads us to confess God’s love for the world, as it is demonstrated in the sending of Christ as our Savior. Notice what verse 14 says, “We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” As we know from other places in John’s writings, the Father’s demonstrates His love for us by sending Jesus to be our Savior (John 3:16). Because God has demonstrated His love by sending Jesus, we have no grounds to question whether He loves us. So when we confess, as verse 15 says, that Jesus is the Son of God, the One sent by the Father, we are affirming that God is a God of love. We have all the proof we ever needed to know that God loves us. Therefore, as we return to verse 16, John reminds us that this God, who has sent His Son, abides in those who abide in Him, and the result is that those know God and abide in God truly demonstrate love for others. In summary, then, God has demonstrated that He is love by sending His Son into the World to be our savior. Those who would claim to know and believe in this God must also do as He has done. They must demonstrate love for others as God has demonstrated love for us.

III.

The Performance of Love (Vss. 17-19)

In verse 17, John returns to the theme of “perfected love,” which we saw last Sunday morning. In short, we saw that the love of the unseen God is made present, made demonstrated, made seen when we love one another. We are not perfecting the nature of God’s love. Instead, we are completing, perfecting His love by putting hands and feet to His love, when we love in truth and in action. Obviously, when we choose to love someone, there is a certain degree of vulnerability. There is the possible of fear of what might happen when we choose to love others as God has loved us. Now, at this point, we must remember, God is the God who declares the end from the beginning. He possesses exhaustive foreknowledge of all things while also maintaining the free choices of humans. Therefore, God’s love is qualitatively different from our love. God does not take risks or try. He accomplishes everything that He intends to accomplish. As Isaiah 14:24 says, “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” Yet, even still, God’s love for us was costly. The demonstration of God’s love was of infinitely value and cost. The Father truly forsook the Son so that we who were His enemies might be forgiven. That is amazing! So, when we look at the command to love others, we must not interpret it to mean that we are only to love when it is easy or convenient. For, perfect love cast out fear, as verse 18 tells us. Christ’s perfect love for us provoked Him to despise the shame and endure the cross for us! And in like manner, our perfect love for others should provoke us to overcome the fear, despise the shame and mockery, to risk being rejected by our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and loved ones in order that they might come to know the love of God through our words and our actions. As you think, “How could I possibly do this? How could I ever possible love and care for that person again?” John makes it simple: “We love because he first loved us.” Our love is not predicated upon someone else’s love for us. We are to love as God has loved. Conclusion (Vss. 20-21) John concludes the section in the plainest of terms. You cannot claim to love God and hate your brother or sister in Christ. The applications here are multiple. From racism to family relationships, if you hate someone who God loves, John says you are a liar. There is no wiggle room here. Hatred for others is not a biblical option. If you love God, your heart will be moved with love for others. If you heart is filled with hate toward others, you simply do not know God or His love, and my call to you this morning is to repent and cry out to God to have mercy on you!