1 John 4

Bible Passage:  1 John 4

Elder John is truly the Apostle of love.  In today’s chapter, he once again returned to the subject of love and revisits the theme that we read about yesterday.  I will try to be brief today 🙂 but I do encourage you to take your time to read the passage carefully in quiet reflection… and share what inspires you.

Reasons Why We Should Love One Another

It is very easy for one to tell another that we should love one another.  But unless one is told why and is convinced of it, and then it becomes part of oneself, the love that exists can be superficial, short lasting, partial and even at times, hypocritical.

Let’s see some of the reasons John gave and if these reasons are compelling enough for us to really love our brothers and sisters?

Reason # 1 – It is God’s Nature

1 John 4:7-8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

The first reason he gives us in verses 7 and 8 tells us that it is simply God’s nature.

‘God is Love’.

Everyone knows that!  Even the child in the nursery class can say and sing that.  But have you seriously contemplate what this means?

Verse 7 asserts that ‘love is of God’.  This means that God is the origin and source of agape love. But that is not the main thing that John was saying here though.  He’s actually telling us that God’s nature is love – God is love!  And this is repeated once again in verse 16.  ‘God is love!’

God is Love.

Not God loves.  Or God is loving.  Or God is loveable.  He is all that but primarily… God IS Love!  Love is not simply a gift from God, or an attribute of God… but in its essence.. the very nature of God is love.

It is very interesting for me to read how John shows us the very nature of God in this chapter.  Read along with me to see if you can see what I see…

We can see God the Father in 1 John 4:7-8 (just read the verses above).

We then see Jesus the Son in 1 John 4:9-10…

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

We then see the Holy Spirit in 1 John 4:12…

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

The Holy Spirit lives in us and this love is displayed in our lives as a fruit of the Spirit.  Again John’s conclusion is the same: we ought to love one another, because God’s nature is love, the Father has displayed love in sending the Son, the Son has displayed love in coming, and the Holy Spirit has displayed the same agape love in the pouring of God’s love in our hearts by His grace through faith.

So…. in other words, God the Father is love; God the Son is love; God the Holy Spirit is love – and John is saying this… if we know God the Father (Jesus), and God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (Jesus), you will love your brother and sister in Christ. (hmm… I seem to be returning to this theme again).

A sister remarked that my posting on 1 John 3 yesterday was very emo.  Don’t ask me why but I do feel very strongly about this…  and John is telling me this as well… the reason why we ought to love one another in Church is the very nature and character displayed by God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The question that we ought to ask ourself is this…

Is my love for one another in church the same as that of the nature and character of Jesus?

John reminds us that if we are born of God, it means we ought to have the Lord’s divine nature and by implication, it means that we will show divine love to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Reason # 2 – It is God’s Grace

Ooops… I realize that I am being very long winded again but I ask for your grace in reading on 🙂

But the next reason why we ought to love is God’s grace.  I would be brief but you take your time and marvel at God’s grace:

In the Past (1 John 4:9-11) – God demonstrated His love for us in that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us.

In the Present (1 John 4:12-16) – God demonstrates His love for us by sending His own Spirit – the perfect Holy Counsellor – to live in us… guiding, interceding, encouraging, enlightening, empowering and sanctifying us.  The Holy Spirit dwells in us.  And if we really live by the Spirit… His love will shine through us.

In the Future (1 John 4:17-18) – God will demonstrate His love towards us in the Day of Judgement when we can stand with full boldness and confidence, holy and acceptable to Him and await Him to receive us home forever.

When we think about how God’s grace in the past, present and future is so abundant in our lives… how can we not love others?

Reason # 3 – It is God Living In Us

BelovedoftheLord reminded us in his posting on 1 John 2 that we often neglect the fact that we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. In our busyness and stressful lives… even though we have the great gift of God dwelling in us, we live our lives as though He does not.

Let me repeat 1 John 4:12 with my emphasis….

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

No one today has seen God.  But John is also posing us this question: How is the love of God demonstrated to us, to mankind today?

During the days of John and the rest, it was shown before their very eyes as they walked with Jesus, followed Him to the cross and watch Him die for man’s sins, and then He rose again and ascended to Heaven. But now… no one is able to see God.

But the key thing that I get from verse 12 is this… “If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love has been perfected in us.”

Did you get it?  God manifested to men in the past as Christ, the Word incarnate.  But today, God will be manifested to men, not in Christ physically, but in us Christians!

When I thought about this… I just had to stop and take a few moments to compose myself.

God wants to show the world He is love through us!  Through me….

And when I think of the world looking at me and seeing me as I am… I am ashamed!  Do they see Christ?  Do they see God?  Do they even see a little glimpse of love?

Or do they see bickering, slandering, selfishness, hypocrisy, no compassion, lies…

What do they see?

“I Love God!”

This is what ALL of us would say.  But I would just ask you to read 1 John 4:19-21 (emphasis mine) again….

We love Him because He first loved us.

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Do I still bear some hatred against a fellow brethren because of some past events, unhappiness or issues?

Is there a brother or sister whom I still find yourself speaking bad about even though that brethren has not done anything wrong to me recently?

Do I find neglect to pray for a brother in need simply because we had our scrapes before in the past?

Have I been ignoring a sister just because I find her very troublesome with her long windedness and naggy comments?

You can add to this list on your own…

But the message is clear… ‘he who loves God must love his brother also.”

Do we truly love God?

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