GOD IS LOVE - 1 JOHN 4:7-21

We Love because God Loves
4:7-12

Here John returns to his theme of love for fellow believers. While calling his readers “beloved”, or those who are loved, he urges them, and us, to love one another. We should do this because love is from God. Those who truly love each other show they are born of God (saved\converted) and know God. If we do not love, we show that we do not know God, since God is love. (8)

So, what does it mean that God is love? It means that it is an integral part of his character. But we must remember that it is not the only part of his character, his only attribute. God is also holy. “Holy” means, first of all, that God is different than us and anything else in creation. His love, then, is a holy love. It is different than anything we can generate on our own.

But when God regenerates us, he gives us this love. Galatians 5:22 tells us the fruit of the Spirit is love. The one who has been changed by God and given the Holy Spirit now has the ability to love in a Godly way. Conversely, the one who has not been born of God and given the Holy Spirit cannot love in a Godly way.

Knowing God’s love is a holy love also keeps us from seeing God’s love in a secular manner. The concept of love for many people is a much lower concept of love than God’s holy love. God’s love is unselfish and pure. We should love our brothers and sisters in Christ the same way.

God also made his love known to us by his actions, just as John urges us to make our love known by our actions. God manifested his love by sending his only Son into the world to give us eternal life. (9) This is the message of John 3:16. So, love is not defined by our loving God, but his loving us and sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (10)

This actually allows us to see two attributes of God. God is just. He must punish sin. God is love, and provided his Son, Jesus, to take that punishment in our place.

Since God loved us this way, we should love one another. (11) God is the source of this love and we should love each other and show we have this love from God. That is how people can know we know God and have his love. We cannot see God, no one has. (12) But everyone can see us love each other as we abide in God and allow him to perfect his love in us. (12)

In addition to having God’s love, we know we abide in God because he has given us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. (13) We who believe testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior. He is the only Savior available to the world. We believe in God’s love and abide with him. Knowing God’s love and his Spirit gives us confidence for the day of judgment, confident that we are in Christ and have eternal life. We show this by being like him while we are in the world.

Since we abide in God and know his love, we do not fear judgment and punishment. We are not objects of God’s wrath, but of his love. We need not fear death or judgment, for we are his.

John closed this teaching on love by repeating that we cannot say we love God while we do not love our brothers and sisters. God commands us to love each other. (21)

So, find a fellow believer this week and find a way to show love to him or her.