A LOVE THAT REVEALS
A LOVE THAT REVEALS CMBC November 29, 2016
1 John 4:7 - 21
According to my calculation more than a quarter of all the verses in all of 1 John contain the word “love”. This wasn’t just John’s personality. This letter was inspired by the Holy Spirit. These are God’s words to us. Obviously loving is important to God. So preaching through John’s epistle, you are going to hear a lot about love. As we said last week, Jesus made this clear when he said all of the commandments are summarized by the two commandments, Love God and Love Your Neighbour. In fact he said they together made one commandment. Loving God will in no doubt result in loving your neighbour. Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. He also said to his disciples, John 13:34 34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
The very first evidence of Adam and Eve having fallen into sin was that there love was gone. In 1 John we read: [4:18] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. It was the first evidence of a serious problem with sin. o Fear had replaced love. o They hid from God. o They blamed each other o Their son murdered his brother. o It has been like that ever since There is something that the world calls love, but it so often fails. So God spends a lot of time in the Bible telling us about His love, a love that is available to us. God’s love can change how you love.
There is something about this love that tells us about God and about what it means to follow Him. This love reveals something about God and about being His followers, His children. In fact, this love is one of the key assurances that we are His children. Let’s look at it again.
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1. God Is Love a. Love is the essence of God’s character i. [4:8] God is love. And verse 4:16 ii. This is more than the statement that God loves. God IS love. iii. God acts out of love. Everything that God does is done out of love. b. God is the source of love [4:7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. i. When you fall in love with someone, where does this emotion come from? ii. It is part of the image of God in our creation iii. But our fallen nature takes this and turns it into something less than what God intended iv. It cannot be fully expressed except when it come from God v. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. c. To be born of God is to love as God loves i. [4:7] Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ii. When God comes into our lives, His presence brings His essence of love iii. That is why Jesus said that the world would know we are his disciples by the love we show. 2. How Does God Love a. Demonstrated in sending His Son i. [4:9] This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. [10] This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ii. God’s love is unique because it is a sacrificial love. iii. 3:1] How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! iv. We do not deserve this, but a loving God did all He could to make it possible for us to be redeemed, bought back, as His children. b. His love is the description of love i. [3:16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ii. The world’s description of love falls short of this. 1. There are people without God who do wonderful acts of sacrificial love. 2. Even that love is part of the image of God 3. But the love that God describes here is only possible when it begins with a love for God. 3. God’s Love Demonstrated In Our Lives a. The evidence of God’s love
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i. [3:14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers ii. [3:17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? iii. [4:7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. iv. [4:11] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. v. Loving like this is possible. We know that we struggle, but if God sets this standard then he also will provide the help we need to love like this. vi. The truth about not loving 1. We understand how that sacrificial love in our lives is possible because of the presence of God. So then we also understand what it means when we don’t demonstrate that love. This isn’t just negative statements, but statements that help us understand what it means to live in the love that only God can provide. 2. [4:20] If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 3. [3:10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 4. [3:14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 5. [3:17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 6. [4:8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. vii. We need to be honest and admit that we often don’t show the love of God in our lives. That means 2 things: 1. Either we don’t have God in our lives 2. Or we have committed our lives to God, but have in that circumstance not allowed him to be Lord of our lives. 3. In both cases we need to confess and repent of our sin. 4. Sometimes it is teaching we need from God to recognize how to love. If you read through the New Testament looking for this, you will discover it is loaded with amazingly helpful instructions. b. The source of God’s love i. God is our only hope to be loving, and He has promised to give us His love. 1. [4:15] If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. [16] And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 2. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 3. [4:19] We love because he first loved us. ii. You have the promise of God that you can love this way. c. Seeing God
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i. True love, this kind of love should help people convinced that there is a God. ii. [4:12] No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. iii. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. [17] In this way, love is made complete (perfect) among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. iv. [2:5] But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: v. When you read the Sermon on the Mount, it is loaded with instructions about loving. 1. Jesus begins it with the beatitudes and concludes the beatitudes with [11] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 2. Jesus then goes on to tell us that we are the light of the world. And concludes that part with the statement, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 3. That is living in such a way that the world will see the reality of God. You serve a God of love. There is nothing like this. He loves you. It is so amazing that man hasn’t even been able to dream up this kind of god. There is so much that God says about loving because it is a key part to our relationship with God. A key part of how we have submitted to God’s presence in our lives. When God’s Spirit is in you, He is looking for a response that says, “God please! Help me to love as you love. Help me live out your love.”
4
1 John 4:7 - 21
According to my calculation more than a quarter of all the verses in all of 1 John contain the word “love”. This wasn’t just John’s personality. This letter was inspired by the Holy Spirit. These are God’s words to us. Obviously loving is important to God. So preaching through John’s epistle, you are going to hear a lot about love. As we said last week, Jesus made this clear when he said all of the commandments are summarized by the two commandments, Love God and Love Your Neighbour. In fact he said they together made one commandment. Loving God will in no doubt result in loving your neighbour. Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [44] But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45] that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [46] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [47] And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [48] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. He also said to his disciples, John 13:34 34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
The very first evidence of Adam and Eve having fallen into sin was that there love was gone. In 1 John we read: [4:18] There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. It was the first evidence of a serious problem with sin. o Fear had replaced love. o They hid from God. o They blamed each other o Their son murdered his brother. o It has been like that ever since There is something that the world calls love, but it so often fails. So God spends a lot of time in the Bible telling us about His love, a love that is available to us. God’s love can change how you love.
There is something about this love that tells us about God and about what it means to follow Him. This love reveals something about God and about being His followers, His children. In fact, this love is one of the key assurances that we are His children. Let’s look at it again.
1
1. God Is Love a. Love is the essence of God’s character i. [4:8] God is love. And verse 4:16 ii. This is more than the statement that God loves. God IS love. iii. God acts out of love. Everything that God does is done out of love. b. God is the source of love [4:7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. i. When you fall in love with someone, where does this emotion come from? ii. It is part of the image of God in our creation iii. But our fallen nature takes this and turns it into something less than what God intended iv. It cannot be fully expressed except when it come from God v. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. c. To be born of God is to love as God loves i. [4:7] Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ii. When God comes into our lives, His presence brings His essence of love iii. That is why Jesus said that the world would know we are his disciples by the love we show. 2. How Does God Love a. Demonstrated in sending His Son i. [4:9] This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. [10] This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ii. God’s love is unique because it is a sacrificial love. iii. 3:1] How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! iv. We do not deserve this, but a loving God did all He could to make it possible for us to be redeemed, bought back, as His children. b. His love is the description of love i. [3:16] This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. [17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? [18] Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. ii. The world’s description of love falls short of this. 1. There are people without God who do wonderful acts of sacrificial love. 2. Even that love is part of the image of God 3. But the love that God describes here is only possible when it begins with a love for God. 3. God’s Love Demonstrated In Our Lives a. The evidence of God’s love
2
i. [3:14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers ii. [3:17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? iii. [4:7] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. iv. [4:11] Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. v. Loving like this is possible. We know that we struggle, but if God sets this standard then he also will provide the help we need to love like this. vi. The truth about not loving 1. We understand how that sacrificial love in our lives is possible because of the presence of God. So then we also understand what it means when we don’t demonstrate that love. This isn’t just negative statements, but statements that help us understand what it means to live in the love that only God can provide. 2. [4:20] If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. [21] And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 3. [3:10] This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 4. [3:14] We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 5. [3:17] If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 6. [4:8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. vii. We need to be honest and admit that we often don’t show the love of God in our lives. That means 2 things: 1. Either we don’t have God in our lives 2. Or we have committed our lives to God, but have in that circumstance not allowed him to be Lord of our lives. 3. In both cases we need to confess and repent of our sin. 4. Sometimes it is teaching we need from God to recognize how to love. If you read through the New Testament looking for this, you will discover it is loaded with amazingly helpful instructions. b. The source of God’s love i. God is our only hope to be loving, and He has promised to give us His love. 1. [4:15] If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. [16] And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 2. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 3. [4:19] We love because he first loved us. ii. You have the promise of God that you can love this way. c. Seeing God
3
i. True love, this kind of love should help people convinced that there is a God. ii. [4:12] No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. iii. [4:16] God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. [17] In this way, love is made complete (perfect) among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. iv. [2:5] But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: v. When you read the Sermon on the Mount, it is loaded with instructions about loving. 1. Jesus begins it with the beatitudes and concludes the beatitudes with [11] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 2. Jesus then goes on to tell us that we are the light of the world. And concludes that part with the statement, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 3. That is living in such a way that the world will see the reality of God. You serve a God of love. There is nothing like this. He loves you. It is so amazing that man hasn’t even been able to dream up this kind of god. There is so much that God says about loving because it is a key part to our relationship with God. A key part of how we have submitted to God’s presence in our lives. When God’s Spirit is in you, He is looking for a response that says, “God please! Help me to love as you love. Help me live out your love.”
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