Take your bibles with me this evening and go to 1 John 4. 1 John 4. I'm going to try to preach a shorter message tonight because we have a members meeting this evening and I want to have plenty of time for that.
Our text tonight is going to be 1 John 4 verses 7-17. Let's read that together:
I John 4
7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
This section starts with a command that probably is feeling like old hat at this point. John says "Let's love each other, let's love one another."
This is actually the third time in this book John has talked about Christians loving each other.
Way back in chapter 2 we were told we needed to love each other to show we have fellowship with God. In chapter 3 we were told we needed to love each other to show that we were God's sons. Here in chapter 4 John picks the same theme up again one last time.
Beloved, let us love one another. We are supposed to love one another.
It's not some squishy love. It's not some sentimental love. It is godly love. It is often painful and difficult love.
Love one another.
I just want to point out three reasons in this text why we should love one another. (Again, I'm trying to keep it short tonight.)
The first reason why we should love one another is...
Look at verses 7-8 again:
7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
John is telling us that we should love each other because it is consistent with who God is. God is love.
Now, we have to be very careful here. It doesn't say "Love is God."
The Beatles sang "All you need is love, love is all you need." And it seemed like they were saying you don't need God. You just need "love."
The modern movement says "love is love." Whatever that means.
Love doesn't define God. God defines love.
We don't get to take this verse and whatever our culture's messed up definition of love is and say "God is that."
No, true love is consistent with God's character. Everything God does is truly loving.
True love is so deeply ingrained in God's character that everything God does is loving.
The point I think John was making is that we can't know God, truly know Him, and that love not rub off on us.
You know, Amanda points out sometimes that I have some mannerisms in my preaching that come from Pastor Sexton. They way I put my hand in my pockets. The way I start my sermons. Probably half a dozen other small things.
I'm not conscious of these things - they just rubbed off on me. You can't admire someone and watch them closely week in and out without them rubbing off on you.
And we cannot walk with God - who is love - without His love rubbing off on us - so we should love others because God is love.
That is the first thing. The second reason to love God is...
Look at verses 9-10:
9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
What John is saying here is that we have experienced the ultimate expression of God's loving character through Jesus.
We were unlovely. We were sinners. We were God's enemies. God sent His son anyways because He loved us.
Jesus didn't come because we love God. Jesus came because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.
Do you want the ultimate manifestation of his love? It's found in Jesus. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.
Here is love, vast as the ocean
Lovingkindness as the flood
When the prince of life, our ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
The greatest example ever of what true love is is found in what Jesus did for us.
And if you have been saved, you have experienced that. You have been the recipient of God's love. So you should share that love with others.
When people are generous with me, I want to be generous to others. When people show me undue kindness, I want to show undue kindness to others.
When we experience the love of God through the forgiveness of Christ, we ought to share that love to others.
And that brings me to the third reason why we should love one another I see in these verses.
Look at verses 12:
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
What is John saying here?
"No man hath seen God at any time". What does that mean and what does it have to do with love?
Well, God is a spirit. John tells us that in the book of John chapter 4.
So there is a sense in which no one has ever seen God. You cannot see a spirit. But there is another sense in which this isn't true:
John saw Jesus. Jesus was God. Of course John knew that. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us. Jesus was the word that became flesh and dwelt among us so we could know God.
But Jesus ascended into heaven, so how are people going to see God today? Well, people should be able to look at us and the way that we love and see the love of God.
That is what John's point is. So the third reason we should love one another is...
God's love is perfected in the eyes of the world by the love we have. The love we show.
This reminds me of the quote I've heard many times:
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
We are called to love people with the love of God. People who are unworthy. People who may be ugly to us. We are to love them anyways and when we do - we can show the love of God, we can perfect the love of God in their eyes.
So we are to love each other. This is the third time John has made this point. Love each other.
Do it because we serve a God who is love. Do it because we have experienced that love. Do it because that is God's plan of showing His character to the world.
Love each other. Who do you need to love today?
Let's pray and we'll have our business meeting.