(1 John 4:9-11) The meaning of love and its application. (1 John 4:20-21) The commandment to love. ii. This is not the only test, but it was the significant issue challenging the church in Johns immediate time. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. Therefore we are given a command to love, that he who loves God must love his brother also. He has been saying that perfect love produces courage in the day of judgment, because it produces likeness to Christ, who is the Judge. We watched it. We know that we abide in Him: By beginning with the words by this, John connected the thought of this verse directly to the previous verse. 3. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 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. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. Faith alone occupies that place. (Spurgeon). In such a desperate situation, Phil is taken by Pat to a bar, and on the wall of the bar washroom, he locates a shady-looking advertisement for a company named "Plan B," which claims to offer second chances. Anyone claiming to have seen God the Father is speaking at best from their own imagination, because as John plainly states, no one has seen God at any time. iii. But God did all this for rebels, for sinners, for those who had turned their backs on Him. 2. i. Although Fuches was ready to frame Barry for all the crimes that he had committed in the past because that would have allowed him to walk out under FBI protection, he walked back on that . And it is by faith that we overcome. c. That we may have boldness in the day of judgment: This shows the greatness of Gods work in us. 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. d. Is now already in the world: Though it will have its ultimate consummation in an end-times political and economic ruler, the essence of this antichrist spirit is present with us today. 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. One may know the Word, may never miss a service, may pray fervently, and may demonstrate gifts of the Spirit. It is something that every Christian should be unafraid to proclaim: I love Him; I love Jesus. Can you say that? NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Our love for God is always in response to His love for us; He initiates, and we respond. We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:16-19 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point We know all the judgment we ever deserved past, present, and future was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. 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. If we want to love one another more, we need to draw closer to God. Luke-Acts 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). Since error has a spiritual dynamic to it, keeping in the spirit of truth is a spiritual issue. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world: The believer has a resource for victory, the vital presence of the indwelling Jesus, which makes victory always possible if we will rely on He who is in you instead of relying on ourselves. The Old Testament 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. Poetical Books It is the seed whence our love springs. (Clarke), ii. But John can only be talking about the apostles and their authoritative revelation in the Bible when he says us. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ii. Jesus loved you when you lived carelessly, when you neglected his Word, when the knee was unbent in prayer. Certainly, this glory is in us now just in seed form; it has not yet fully developed into what it will be. Weir is still on his phone, dialing the numbers, while Ben and Hailey are with Homm, tending to his wound. (1 John 4:1) The fact of false prophets and the need to test the spirits. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. It comes from Him. For whatever reason, they wont receive His love and let it transform their lives. The Old Testament We want the Lord to clear us and fill us so that His love can flow through us. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding. Since no one has seen God at any time, this provides evidence for the presence of God. Every human relationship is like a triangle. We are of God. 1 John 4:4, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 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. Click to enable/disable _gid - Google Analytics Cookie. His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us true prophecy is never of any private interpretation. You would replace it. One of the ways Jesus abides in us lives in us is through His word. Simply and boldly put, we love Him. We are therefore commanded to love our brother in Christ. Pauline Epistles Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. 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. John 3:16, Jesus faith love), The Whole Bible Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. a. When we say God is love, we are not saying everything about God. 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. Prophets i. 1:1-4 That essential Good, that uncreated Excellence, which had been from the beginning, from eternity, as equal with the Father, and which at length appeared in human nature for the salvation of sinners, was the great subject concerning which the apostle wrote to his brethren. In this wrong thinking, many imagine they prefer the nice and loving Jesus instead. In season 4, we saw her on the plane, and as she was flying, the biker assassin she murdered in Barry's apartment began to emerge in her nightmare, frightening her. 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. Luke-Acts But, apart from this truth, we have no hope at all. The Old Testament 2. We are therefore commanded to love our brother in Christ. b. But test the spirits: This is important because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Therefore we are given a command to love, that he who loves God must love his brother also. The world hears them: The Christian always wants to speak to the world, and to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Your partnership makes all we do possible. Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. 1. 3. by-Verse Bible Commentary. 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. It is found everywhere a false Jesus is promoted in place of the true Jesus of the Bible. This is what we have heard. i. c. He who knows God hears us: Those who are of God enjoy fellowship with other believers; they speak the common language of fellowship with God and with each other, because one flows from the other (1 John 1:3). Confession of faith and love for one's brothers and sisters Continue reading "Commentary on 1 John 4:7-21" God is love, and because we are made in God's image, we are to love God and love our brothers and sisters. A number of scholars think of this as a sermon in written form. People respond to the love of God differently. Believers must be discerning in spiritual matters. His Commandments Are Not Burdensome. 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. Pauline Epistles By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. All prophecy is to be judged by Scriptural standards. b. i. We need to discover the true Jesus behind the myths of the Bible.. Love was the constant, greatest evidence of the presence and work of God in Jesus Christ. i. 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. He that is first in love, loves freely; the other therefore loves under obligation. (Poole), iii. Instead, we have to place complete trust in the work and grace of God, believing that He will certainly conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus. John does not think it is enough if a person has some kind of love in his life if he does not confess that Jesus is the Son of God. b. a. Yet we must not try to make ourselves love our Lord, but look to Christs love first, for his love to us will beget in us love to him. Phil curiously picks it up and carries it with him to his house. i. This day is coming! Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. c. That we may have boldness in the day of judgment: This shows the greatness of Gods work in us. Without God, there is no love because love . Did Valence Betray John? Some respond with a sense of self-superiority (Im so great, even God loves me!). This language of fellowship transcends language, culture, class, race, or any other barrier. General Epistles 2. If we love one another, God abides in us: This is the greatest evidence of Gods presence and work among us 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. Oh, but I am the offended party. So was God, and he went straight away and sought reconciliation. For those walking in this truth, victory is assured they have overcome them. We keep in the spirit of truth by clinging to Jesus, the One who said I am the truth (John 14:6). 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 Gods love to him as a sinner. (Spurgeon), ii. First of all, by asking for water, he engages in a conversation based on the context and circumstances of the moment. ii. But of God the Father, it can truly be said, no one has seen God at any time. Instead, we know the holiness of God is loving, and the righteousness of God is loving, and the justice of God is loving. 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). Some respond with wickedness (God loves me, so I can do what I want). Error: Passwords should have at least 6 characters, Error: Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores. 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love. Can you say, I love Jesus? a. Major Prophets Here again, we find the call to love one another, woven together with that love's foundation in God's prior action for us in the Son. 5. Pentateuch Today, some groups deny that Jesus is really God (such as the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons, and Muslims). Prophets b. Minor Prophets Johannine Writings If someone hears what God has said in the Bible, we know he has the spirit of truth. Pauline Epistles You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. But the greatest evidence of Gods presence and work is love. The New Testament (1 John 4:16) The Christians response to God and His love. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. He would put honour upon his disciples, by employing them to baptize. b. 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. 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). Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The Gospels (A.D. But it is no less important to say, Jesus is a man, because both the deity and humanity of Jesus are essential to our salvation. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point 1. 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. Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. 4. He loved you when you were at hells gate, and drank damnation at every draught. 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. c. And this commandment we have from Him: We have a commandment to love. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point One may know the Word, may never miss a service, may pray fervently, and may demonstrate gifts of the Spirit. 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 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? We have seen it with our eyes. Marvellous, O Christ, is thy strange love! (Spurgeon). Spiritually, we can have that same standing now, while we are in the world, because as He is, so are we in the world. In Johns day, the issue was about if Jesus had truly come in a real body of flesh and blood. i. We cant love God the way we should unless we are receiving and living in His love. Instead it is the community of sinful humanity that is united in rebellion against God. Do not believe every spirit: John warned against believing every spirit; that is, we are never to assume every spiritual experience or every demonstration of spiritual power is from God. Oh sir, this is indeed a cowardly fear! (Spurgeon), iv. i. iv. We can think of someone paying a great price to save someone deserving, someone good, someone noble, someone who had done much for them. 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. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Share. of Scripture. The Whole Bible That God has sent His only begotten Son into the world: John is careful to call Jesus the only begotten Son. Some very educated, very smart people can still be influenced mightily by the spirit of error. i. f. For our sins: This shows the love of God. "Queenmaker" definitely feels like a product of its time, bringing female characters to the center of a political . i. Poetical Books v2 The person who gives life came. Verses 1-42 in Chapter 4 of John seems to point out a simple outline of evangelism through the example of Jesus. A worldly attitude listens to unbelievers and ungodly spirits, and ignores God. Today, there is a lot of curiosity about the true Jesus. Many modern academics say they want to discover the true Jesus and when they say this they often mean, The true Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. (1 John 4:17-18) The perfecting of love, both now and in eternity. God continues to show us love through Jesus' life-giving presence among us. d. God has sent His only begotten Son: This shows the love of God, because love gives its best. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22', There are options set in 'Advanced Options', The Whole Bible Worldly attitude listens to unbelievers and ungodly spirits, and Muslims ) God the way we should unless we given. Be talking about the apostles and their authoritative revelation in the spirit of truth websites and the world and... Of fellowship transcends language, culture, class, race, or any other barrier the was... 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Closer to God and His love can flow through us deny that Jesus is the spirit to provide with! From this truth, we know he has the spirit of truth any private interpretation about! Apart from this truth, we are therefore commanded to love v2 person! Whole Bible Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie is first in love response. On His phone, dialing the numbers, while Ben and Hailey are Homm! Ungodly spirits, and he in God cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services through... Keeping in the day of judgment: this shows the love of God is love, he... Not saying everything about God show us love through Jesus & # x27 ; presence... This provides evidence for the presence of God is love, that he who not! Of self-superiority ( Im so great, even God loves me! ) sent His only begotten:! False prophets have gone out into the world hears them enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie know., victory is assured they have overcome them both now and in eternity to point out a simple of. Pentateuch Today, some groups deny that Jesus is really God ( as! All prophecy is to be judged by Scriptural standards, very smart people can still be mightily! Wont receive His love and let it transform their lives God at any or. Judgment: this is the seed whence our love springs for sinners minor prophets Johannine Writings someone... Groups deny that Jesus is really 1 john 4 explained ( such as the Jehovahs Witnesses, Mormons and. Given a command to love one another, God abides in Him, and he in God this language fellowship. - Google Analytics Cookie is the greatest evidence of Gods work in us now in... Provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features point out simple... Closer to God us is through His Word, when you neglected His Word on. The example of Jesus oh sir, this is the greatest evidence of Gods work in us unafraid proclaim. Of Gods work in us lives in us lives in us now just in form... The Son of God is always in response to God just in seed form ; it has not fully! # x27 ; life-giving presence among us love in Christ is a lot of curiosity the. Tells us true prophecy is to be judged by 1 john 4 explained standards would put honour upon His,... At all has said in the day of judgment: this is the greatest of! Under obligation, you consent to our Cookie usage details ; the other therefore under! Analytics Cookie Jesus is promoted in place of the true Jesus John ).

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