1 John 4:7-21
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also 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 made complete in us.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 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.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Devotion
After identifying the false teachers in the first six verses of chapter four, John goes on to describe the attributes of a true believer. We should not be surprised that the most important attribute of a true follower of Jesus is love! The word for love that John uses throughout this section is the Greek word agape. This is not referring to romantic or sentimental love. John is referring to a supernatural love which can only be demonstrated by those who have experienced God’s agape love. This word means, “to value or hold in high esteem.” Once you become a child of God, God enables you to see the world through His eyes. He enables you to love or value others the way He does.
Those who can reflect God’s love are truly His children. John qualifies this love by using Christ as his example. “This is how God showed His love to us: He sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we could have life through Him.” How do you know God loves or values you? He offered up His Son as a living sacrifice that we might be reconciled to Him. In the Gospel of John, he writes, “For God so loved the world, He gave His One and Only Son.” God has proven His love for us. He laid down His life for us, and that is the proof of His love. God loves us even when we are sinners.
In verse eleven, John qualifies this love he is writing about, “if God loves us that much, we also should love one another.” One of the true indicators of saving faith is our ability to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you have a genuine concern for other believers? Are you able to love that Christian brother or sister that aggravates you to no end? If the love of God is in us, we will love everyone in the family of God regardless of race or social standing. This kind of love will be confirmed by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God produces the attributes of God in the life of all believers.
In verse seventeen, we find that our love is made complete when we can say that we love God, love Jesus, and love one another as brothers and sisters in the faith. Only then can we stand before Christ’s judgment seat without fear of judgment. Fear is a powerful emotion. Fear has a way of paralyzing the human heart. The child of God does not need to fear any judgment that is coming. This was settled when Christ died for us. In his commentary on 1 John, J.V. McGee writes, “If you are fearful, you cannot enjoy your salvation. Joy stems from love, and if you have love for the Lord Jesus, and for your brethren, then fear has been cast out.”
John closes out this section by declaring that Jesus is worth loving. He is worthy of all of our love, all of our devotion, and all of our service!
Questions to Ponder
Is the love of God evident in your life? Are you able to love your brothers and sisters in Christ? What is the difference between our love for God and His love for us? What did John mean when he referred to Jesus as “an atoning sacrifice for our sins”?
Prayer Points
- Give glory, honor, and praise to our Father; Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of us.
- Thank our Father in heaven for sending His Son to be the Savior of the world.
- Invite the Spirit of Truth to reveal to you anyone you may not be loving well. Confess that and ask the Lord to give You genuine love for that person.
- Sit in His presence and ponder His love for you personally.
Suggested Prayer
Father in Heaven, thank You for Your agape love for me. Thank You, Jesus, for coming in the flesh and demonstrating Your love to me and the world. Help me, Holy Spirit, to be sensitive to Your conviction when I find myself not loving well. Cause Your love to overflow from my life, our Oak Pointe church family, and greater one church. I ask that we would grow in our love for You and others. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask. Amen.