Study Guide | 1 John 4:7-21 | Week 7

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Study Guide | 1 John 4:7-21 | Week 7 1 John 4:7-21 (ESV): “7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So 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. 17By 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. 18There 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. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If 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. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1. What are some ways the word “love” is used or defined today? Why do you think there are multiple meanings and uses? If someone has had a bad experience in a relationship that is typically characterized by love, such as parent/child or husband/wife, how does that affect their understanding of love? Give some examples of how this might happen.

2. In vs. 7 and all through his letter John continues to encourage his readers to “love one another.” Why do you think this is so important to him? When John says, “love is from God,” what do you think he means by this? How would this understanding impact a person’s definition or understanding of love? If love really is from God, then what should be the basis for determining our understanding of love?

3. What does John say in vs. 7 is true of those who love? And what does he say in vs. 8 about those who don’t love? Why do you think John believes love is such a major determining factor in discerning who has a relationship with God and who doesn’t?

4. When John says “God is love” in vs. 8, is “love” defining “God,” or is “God” defining “love”? Explain. What difference does this make? Why is this statement so important to Christianity? If God is love, what are the implications for our own lives and how we live them?

GATEWAY COMMUNITY CHURCH 760 Clear Lake City Blvd | Webster TX 77598 gateway-community.org | 281.286.1515

Study Guide | 1 John 4:7-21 | Week 7 5. A definition for agape (Greek) love, the kind of love John is writing about in this passage, says it is choosing to accept someone for who they are and sacrificially working for their good. Using this definition of love, would you say God is therefore active in our world today or more of a watchful bystander? Why? If God is active, what does that tell us about the nature or quality of love?

6. Do you think vs. 9 has any connection to John 3:16 (see below)? Explain. In vss. 9-11, how far does God’s love go for us? In vs. 10 the Greek word translated “propitiation” is also translated as “atoning sacrifice.” This phrase is a special term used in the Christian faith. Take a moment to look up “propitiation” and “atonement.” What do these terms mean? How do they apply to what Jesus did for us? Adding 1 John 3:16 into the mix (see below), what does love have to do with these two terms, and how far does God’s love go for us? What are the implications of this for how we live our lives? Jesus: “‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’” (John 3:16 ESV) 1 John 3:16 (ESV): “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

7. In Sunday’s message the Scripture below from 2 Corinthians is quoted. How does this verse connect to vss. 9-11? Combined with vss. 9-11, what is God telling us to do with the grace and salvation He has offered us? 2 Corinthians 5:19 (ESV): “…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

8. Why do you think John makes a point in vs. 12 of saying, “No one has ever seen God”? How does this connect with love and the way we live our lives?

GATEWAY COMMUNITY CHURCH 760 Clear Lake City Blvd | Webster TX 77598 gateway-community.org | 281.286.1515

Study Guide | 1 John 4:7-21 | Week 7 9. John writes of love being “perfected in us” in vs. 12. The Greek word translated as “perfect” carries the sense of something that fulfills its created purpose or that is mature. With this understanding of “perfect,” what is John saying about love in vs. 12. What is God doing in us when we abide in Him and strive to live out His love? How important is loving others for our own spiritual growth and maturity?

10. Why do you think John says it is important for us to “confess that Jesus is the Son of God” in vs. 15? What difference does this make in our Christian journey? Who should we “testify” to about this revelation? Why?

11. When God’s love is being perfected in us, when we’re seeking to trust and follow Jesus, John says in vs. 17 that “we may have confidence for the day of judgment”? What does he mean by this? How can we have this kind of confidence? What difference does this make?

12. How can John say in vs. 18 that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear”? Looking back at what we’ve covered so far in today’s Study Guide, what does John mean here by “perfect love” and how it “casts out fear”? What is God trying to do in us by encouraging us to abide in Him and become more loving?

13. What is John saying in vs. 19 when he writes, “We love because he first loved us”? What does this say about God’s Will for our lives? What are the implications of this for how we live our lives?

14. What is John saying in vss. 20-21? How does this impact our daily living? If God is love and I come to realize that He loves me, what does that say about my self-worth? Why do so many folks struggle in precisely this area? How do John’s teachings here on love impact how we see ourselves? What difference could that make in our lives this week?

To Go Deeper: The Greek language has four words that are all translated into English as “love.” Research these four words. Which one(s) apply most specifically to God? Think about how we experience these in our own lives.

Missed a sermon? Go to gateway-community.org/find-it/sermons/series/current to play or download a sermon (sermon videos are uploaded to www.facebook.com/GatewayCommunity by Monday evenings)

GATEWAY COMMUNITY CHURCH 760 Clear Lake City Blvd | Webster TX 77598 gateway-community.org | 281.286.1515