God’s Love
1John 4:13-21
I think it’s safe to say that the one thing our world truly needs today is love. Songs are written about it all the time. John Lennon wrote the song “All You Need is Love.” Dionne Warwick made famous the song, “What the Word Needs Now is Love”. And you know what? They’re right, the world needs love. It has always needed love. But as with most of the world’s solutions to the world’s problems, a very important ingredient is always left out. And that ingredient is the Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, though we do need love, the love that this world offers isn’t sufficient because it’s inherently selfish. And I say that because the world’s love focuses on worldly people. God is nowhere in their thoughts, only themselves and the fulfillment of their desires.
So, the vast majority of these popular songs that glorify “love” are instilling within us the idea that love is our salvation. Love is what we should earnestly seek after. Love is the ultimate fulfillment of all our hopes and dreams. Love is the cure to life’s problems. Love is what we live for and it’s our ultimate standard. In other words, love is God.
But, as is usually the case, the Word of God contradicts the word of the world, and tells us that “God is love,” not the other way around. This truth is revealed to us in the Bible, but it was also revealed to us on the cross where our Savior died for us. “God is love” isn’t simply a biblical doctrine—it’s an eternal fact, clearly demonstrated on Calvary’s cross.
And when we appropriate the truth that God who is love, demonstrated His great love for us by sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins, when the truth of that overwhelms us and we believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then we can also make…
I. Love’s Confession
1 John 4:13-15 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 beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the 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.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked someone who claimed to be a Christian, that if they were to die in the next few minutes, would they go to heaven or hell. And the typical response I’d get would be something along the lines of, “Well, I think I’d go to heaven” or “I hope I’d go to heaven.”
And then when I’d tell them that they don’t have to “think” or “hope”, but that they can “know” --they’d get this puzzled look on their face as if this was something they had never heard before. But this is exactly what John is saying right here.
He’s telling us that we don’t have to “hope” that we’re saved, or “hope” that we’ll make it to heaven—we can be assured that this is the case—we can “know” it! We don’t have to wait until after we die to find out—we can know it on this side of eternity!
You see, he had just told us in the previous verse that, 1 John 4:12 …if we love one another, God abides in us. And then he followed this with, 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
You know, as convenient as the chapter and verse divisions are in our modern Bibles, many times those divisions weren’t placed in the best spot. And because of that, a thought can become broken up and even masked—and this is a perfect example of it.
So, if we remove the verse divisions, it becomes clear then, that if we love one another as Christ commanded us, then God abides in us and His love is perfected in us, and we “know” that we abide in Him because He has given us His Holy Spirit.
The moment we believe in Christ unto salvation, we are baptized in the Holy Spirit of God. For the scripture tells us, 1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
And that Holy Spirit baptism places us firmly within the body of Christ, and we abide in Him… we remain in Him. And this isn’t a one-sided thing at all. It’s not like we’re trying to abide in Him, while He’s trying to escape from us. No. Just as we abide in Him… He also abides in us! John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John wants us to know that we abide in God, and that God abides in us, through the Holy Spirit He’s given to us. And we can be confident in this because we not only believe that the Father sent the Son, but that He sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, and also that…
1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
The assurance that we have through that confession, which is love’s confession, is the assurance, Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; [10] for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
And folks, to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God is not simply to make a statement about His status, or station, but it’s an expression of obedient trust in the One who possesses that status and station. And believing in Jesus and loving the brethren are the evidence of our salvation. They are the evidence that God has taken possession of our lives, and that now, out of the overflowing love of our heart, we can boldly declare that Jesus is Lord… He is the Son of God!
Have you made that confession? If you want to be assured of your salvation, then confess Jesus as Lord today, and believe from your heart that His death and resurrection paid your debt and then follow Him. And when you can do that, you’ll get something else as part of that salvation package. You’ll also get…
II. Love’s Confidence
1 John 4:16-19 16 And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in 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, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us.
When John says that “love is perfected with us”, he’s telling us that love that is complete (or perfected), has reached its goal of being lavished upon our brothers and sisters. But let me illustrate this “perfected love” in a different way. And I want you to picture a triangle in your mind.
Now, at the top of the triangle is God, then the bottom right corner is Self. And then the bottom left corner is Neighbor. Got that picture in your mind? Now picture the love of God, flowing from God who is love, down that right side to Self. Then from Self, it flows to Neighbor. And then from Neighbor, it flows back up to God.
This is a picture of God’s love being perfected in us. If any one of those legs of the triangle is missing, then love remains incomplete, and immature. But where the triangle is whole, love is complete. And when our triangle is complete, we can, 1 John 4:17 …have confidence in the day of judgment.
And this confidence isn’t impudent or insolent, it isn’t rude or overbearing. It’s a confidence that stems from a reverent fear of God, and the love of a son for his Father. It’s a confidence that we gain because we know that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered our judgment for sin on the cross.
And when He did that, we don’t fear coming under judgment for sins any longer, because that’s already been taken care of. We have truly been set free from the bondage to sin, and all the fears that follow that bondage, including the fear of judgment. And so, John 8:36 If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
You know, when it came to my salvation and judgment, when I was younger in the faith, I used to think in terms of sliding into heaven like the baseball player who slides into home plate. Someone is there trying to tag me out, but just so long as I can slide in without getting tagged, I made it. SAFE! And that’s really all I cared about, just getting in. Even if it was by the skin of my teeth.
But it’s not like that at all. Jesus really, and literally, paid my debt, and so now, not only do I have the assurance of heaven, but I can one day stand before the throne of judgment with confidence in the blood of Christ, 1 John 4:17 …because as He is, so also are we in this world.
Positionally, we are right now “as He is.” He is the Son of God, and we are also God’s children. He calls God “Father”, and through Him, so can we. Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
As we continue through this life, being obedient to His commands and submissive to His will, we will be changed into his image, bit by bit, day by day. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
And this growing confidence we have in God’s presence within, is evidence that our love for God is maturing. But this maturing love for God, never stands alone. It is always accompanied by love for our neighbor. Which now brings me to…
III. Love’s Condition
1 John 4:20-21 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one 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, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
The apostle is telling us that the truthfulness of our claim to love God is uniquely connected to our love for our brothers and sisters. It’s a technique that he’s used elsewhere, where he connects two things and tells us it’s a both or nothing situation. Sound familiar? Like maybe in the 2nd chapter, where the Father and Son are so connected that you can’t say that you truly believe in one without believing in the other also. 1 John 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
And now we find that if you say that you love God, but hate your brother, then plain and simple, you’re a liar. That’s one thing I love about John… he doesn’t mince words, and it’s pretty much black and white with him.
God’s love is what empowers us to love, and God loved us when we were at our most unlovable. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were literally enemies of God. And yet, the Father sent His son, and the Son came so that He could die for us. And now this same kind of love resides within us. And since that’s the case, then how can anyone claim to love God while at the same time hating his fellow man, and especially his fellow Christian?
Now, you might ask, “What is this hatred that we’re talking about?” And that’s a good question. Because I’m thinking that this goes far beyond what we might normally think, and I would put it to you that it includes all of those negative emotions or those negative actions that we might have toward another human being that cannot be classified as loving.
So, in other words, it would go further than simply disliking someone so much that you want to take their life, but it would extend even into those less violent but equally hateful emotions such as jealousy, rage, back biting, gossip, revengefulness, hostility, unaccepting, ignoring, bitterness, belittling, and a host of other negative emotions. When directed toward someone else, they’re examples of not loving them as we should.
Now, some have taken the statement, 1 John 4:20 …for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
They’ve taken this to mean that it’s much harder to love an invisible God than it is to love a brother or sister you can see.
And even though that’s got some truth to it, I don’t think that’s quite right, because for one thing, to my thinking it’s easier to say you love God, because He is invisible. I mean it’s not like He’s going to immediately open up the heavens and declare for everyone to hear, “Oh no you don’t!” But the brother or sister, now, they are right there to contradict you, if necessary.
But what I think he’s doing here is making a simple statement of an impossibility. In his mind, claiming to love God while not loving others is simply impossible, because “God is love.” And if the God who is love resides within you, then His love should be flowing out of you toward everyone else.
This is the equivalent of saying that you cannot truly practice agape love, unless you can first practice phileo (brotherly) love. The Christian can no longer use an excuse, such as, “I just can’t love that person!” That’s an invalid excuse because if you are born of God and are abiding in Him, then the resources of love are right there, they are at our disposal, and it’s up to us to respond to Christ’s command with our will and our whole being.
And get this… we respond with love, not only because it’s commanded by Christ, but because we truly love Christ, because He first loved us.
In Luke 7:47, Jesus tells us that those who have been forgiven much will love much. And anyone who has come face-to-face with how sinful they truly are, begins to understand the greatness of God’s mercy and grace toward them. We have been forgiven for so much. Every sin we have ever committed… it’s forgiven. Every sin we will ever commit… it’s forgiven.
And when we come to a realization of the immensity of God’s love toward us. When we can cast our eyes upon the cross, and know in our heart that He did that, for me. Make it personal… He did that for me. Then my response to His command is a response of love, not of fear.
I can love, because he first loved me. And beloved, He first loved you.
Do you know that? That He loved you so much, that when He came to this earth… you were on His mind. That when He suffered torture at Pilate’s command… you were on His mind. When the nails were being pounded through His hands… He was thinking of you.
When He rose from the dead… ascended into heaven… and when He promised to return one day… that was for you. He did all of this, for you. So that you would one day be with Him, forever.
This is conditioned only by your belief in Him. If you haven’t yet, would you do Him today?
Invitation
