Love Came Down: Experiencing God’s Heart This Christmas (Advent Love) Series

Love Came Down: Experiencing God’s Heart This Christmas (Advent Love)

1 John 4:7–12 (NLT): "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us."

Introduction: Love in the 21st Century

In Advent we’ve seen the themes of Hope, Peace, and Joy. Today we arrive at the heart of it all: Love.

On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we pause to reflect on the theme of Love—not a vague, sentimental emotion, not the love the world markets in song or commerce—but the love of God that changes everything.

1 John 4:7–12 (NLT): "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

Notice how John begins with love as the defining mark of a child of God. Today, I want us to see that Advent is not merely a season of lights, carols, and gifts—it is a season to behold God’s ultimate expression of love in Jesus Christ, and respond in repentance, faith, and obedient love.

1. God is Love: The Source and Standard

Verse 7: “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.”

Here, the Greek word for love is agape, the sacrificial, unconditional love that chooses the good of others above self. Unlike the fleeting love of feelings, agape originates in God Himself.

The early church faced divisions, persecution, and moral confusion. John wrote to remind believers that love is the hallmark of true Christian identity.

Love is not optional—it is the essence of God’s character.

1 John 4:8 makes it clear: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

In a world of transactional relationships, God calls His people to reflect His self-giving love. Ask yourself today: Is your love reactive, or is it reflective of God’s agape?

John Piper wrote, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Piper reminds us that true love for others flows from our satisfaction in God. If you are grasping for affection or validation elsewhere, you cannot reflect God’s love fully. Advent invites us to rest in God’s love first, then love others out of overflow.

Imagine a candle in a dark room. The candle does not have to look for darkness—it naturally dispels it. So it is with us: the more we abide in God’s love, the more our relationships illuminate the lives around us.

2. God Demonstrated Love Through Sacrifice

Verse 9–10: “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Here, John emphasises that love is action-oriented. God’s love is not mere sentiment—it is sacrificial and redemptive. The word “sacrifice” here in Greek, hilasmos, refers to an atoning act that restores our broken relationship with God.

In the Old Testament, atonement involved the blood of lambs, foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. The incarnation is God Himself entering creation to redeem it.

Romans 5:8 (NLT): “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

1 Peter 1:18–19 (NLT): “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”