1 John 4:7-21
Preached 9/1/2024 [Previous Sermon]
INTRODUCTION
Here we are back in the first letter of John again and we are now going to look at the second half of chapter four of that letter. It’s been 14 weeks since the last message, where we looked at John’s call for us to be discerners of truth. The rest of the chapter four is about another great commission given to us – the command that we should love one another. It was Jesus Himself who gave us that command explicitly – it is written three times in John’s gospel in chapter 13 and 15.[1] In both chapters Jesus ties this command to his own love for us, which is a theme we are going to see in this morning’s passage. Let’s see what Jesus commanded us in John 13 at the last supper:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
If you remember any of the previous messages from 1 John you will recognize this language because this is not the first time that John has talked about this “new” commandment here. John, often called “the apostle of love”, brought up this command several times already in his letter. He told us about a commandment that is not new that has been from the beginning. We can infer that this original command is the command from Leviticus 19:18 that says “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus called this the second most important commandment, second only to the most important commandment from Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
We could say that the command to love our neighbor is a working out of our love for God, the God who loves the world (as John quotes Jesus in John 3:16 “for God so loved the world”) and therefore we should love what He loves if we love Him with all our hearts. Correspondingly, Jesus’ new command was to his sheep – his adoptive family, redeemed by his blood – to have a special love for all of the members of this new forever family because He has showed a special love for us. And in this letter, John has tied this to our assurance in Christ. Remember what John told us back in chapter two:
1 John 2:7-9 7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
So the command is not only continued but enhanced for Christ’s followers. John makes it clear he is talking about Jesus’ command is to love our brother. And if we do, it shows the truth of our salvation. Of course, this goes two ways, and if this special love is lacking it shows that we are not yet redeemed. When John tells his readers that this command “is true in him and in you”, he sets the stage for chapter four, where our love for our brethren is shown to be the result of God’s love for us. We will see a very simple formula in this chapter, based on two things. First, that God is love, and knowing Him – really knowing Him, we will know love. Second, John will tell of the many ways that God has manifested his love, giving us an example of what our love for each other will look like if we know Him.
John was so amazed by Jesus’ love that he didn’t give his own name in his own gospel, but reveled in the love of Christ, calling himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. That love was not unique to John, though it seems to have struck him more strongly than the other apostles. Maybe we should make a set of nametags for our church that just say “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. Not only would it save us money on printing costs, it would be a great reminder of our position in Christ. And if we addressed each other with that name, how would it affect our conduct toward one another?
There are many times in scripture that we are commanded to love, and the love we are to exercise is not some sort of sentimental feeling, but a concrete love, like God’s love for us is. This kind of love holds churches together. It produces the fruit of unity in the body of Christ. It produces the fruit of cheerful obedience to all of the “one another” commands in scripture: including (2 Cor 13:11) “Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace”, (Gal 5:13b) “through love serve one another”, (Eph 4:2, 32) “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, [bear] with one another in love … Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you”, (Eph 5:21) “[submit] to one another out of reverence for Christ”, (Col 3:13, 16) “if one has a complaint against another, [forgive] each other; as the Lord has forgiven you”, (1 Thess 5:11, 15) “encourage one another and build one another up … [don’t repay] anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone”, (Hebrews 10:24-25) “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”, (1 Peter 4:9) “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling”.
None of these things is natural human behavior. We all know Christians who are, in our opinion, not lovable. Sometimes we can be so quick to take offense or nurse hurt feelings, that we can spend all of our time looking at each others’ faults rather than our own, but the latter is what we should be doing at church. The question to ask is “am I lovable?”, not “how can I possibly love these idiots.” Nine times out of ten there is someone who has been hurt by us in the church but we are too blind to notice, because they have decided to love us in spite of it. The cure is back in the last few verses of 1 John chapter one. If you think you are “God’s gift to the church” you have it wrong. The church is God’s gift to us.
Again and again we are pointed back to the triune God as the One whose example we should be following. But other than as an example that we should follow, John has not given us a concrete set of reasons to love one another. Jesus commands it, and that is enough. But here in the rest of 1 John chapter four John lays down a doctrinal foundation for this command and a motivational explanation of why we should do it. John says we should love one another like God because we are God’s Child, God’s Dwelling, and God’s Friend.
Let’s
dive into this wonderful passage now:
I Because You Have Been Saved [You are God’s Child] (4:7-11):
First of all, John reminds us that God has saved us. In doing so, He gave us a new birth, He adopted us, He revealed Himself to us when we were not looking for Him. He gave us eternal life, He paid the penalty of our sins against Him and saved us from his own wrath. He did it all, even when we were his mortal enemies. Paul put it simply: Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates his own love in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Verses seven through eleven talk about this. Notice that in verse seven John talks about our being born of God, and eleven finishes the thought with the command “we also ought to love one another”.
Our salvation comes from one thing: that God is love. In saying this, John tells us something profound. If he had written “God has lots of love”, then we certainly would want to know Him, but we could also decide to avoid Him and look for love elsewhere. But by saying “God is love”, John tells us that the definition, inventor, and source of love is God, and that if want to know real love, we ultimately need to know Him. John gives this point in verses 7 and 8. He does not use flowery, eloquent, complicated theological language, but instead he speaks to us with very simple plain speaking:
1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I don’t think anybody could have put such a huge and profound statement in a simpler, easier to understand way. We must not think that John is saying that there is no such thing as love to be seen in unsaved humanity. Having been created in God’s image, we bear some marks of that image even after the moral fall of mankind. But what passes for love in the world is often selfish, fragile, or corrupt. In our current culture we see corruption of the very word “love”. It is used as a synonym for anonymous hook-ups with strangers. It is often more about “I want you” than “I want the best for you”. There are plenty of examples we can see in our own lives, and in scripture. But what John (and Jesus) are talking about is not eros (sexual desire), nor is it even phileo (brotherly affection), but it is agape, the love that God has for his children. A love that desires the best for the object of his love. A godly, holy, giving love. The kind of love that manifests in the “one anothers” in scripture.
Agape love is a love that cannot be hidden. It motivates, it controls, it uplifts, it blesses. It manifests the attitude that Paul described in Philippians 2:2-3 “… complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” In the same way, God’s love cannot be hidden either. John now demonstrates how the God, who is love, showed his love:
1 John 4:9-10 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The Greek word manifest used here means to take something invisible, hidden or unknown, and to make it known or visible by words or actions. When God says “I love you”, He backs it up with deeds. There is an old song that includes these lyrics:
I asked Jesus “How much do you love me?”
He said “This much” and then he stretched out his arms and died.[2]
Is a love that is hidden and does not manifest itself really love? Is a love that hurts and does not do good really love? I once had a friend who left his wife and child to run off with a considerably younger girl. I heard that while they were moving out of their apartment he made the point of telling his wife “I still love you”. That’s not love. That’s sick. I was so mad when I heard that. But it makes a great illustration for the opposite of God’s agape love for us. How did He manifest his love?
In verse 9 we read that he sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. An infinite sacrifice. Was it just a grand gesture to show off? NO! He sent his only son “so that we might live through him.” There was a purpose for the sacrifice, and that purpose was to give us eternal life. In verse ten John continues by pointing out two things: (1) God did this when we did not love Him back, and (2) He did this to provide propitiation for our sins. If God had not loved us, we would be making propitiation for our sins for all eternity. In a very real sense, a righteous judge sentenced us to death, and then took our place on the gallows. This is why Paul wrote
Romans 8:32, 37b-39 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? [and] 37 … we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Hallelujah! Aren’t you glad that God’s love is pure? That the source and fount of love doesn’t love the way that the world lives? Fallen human love fades. It is contingent on benefits it receives. It is often selfish. It uses others. It takes. But God’s love is eternal. God’s love confers benefits through pure grace on the undeserving. God’s love uplifts others. It gives.
Therefore it is no surprise that John concludes this section with a repeat of his admonition:
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Is
there any other acceptable result? So we have the basic why, but part of
the question has not been answered. Part of why we should love one another
actually touches on the question of how, if you think about it. If real
agape love for one another was not possible before we were born again, and we
have not reached perfection yet (1 John 1:9 through 2:2 again), why should we
expect believers to manifest agape love for each other? John takes us there next:
II Because You Are Spirit-Filled [You are God’s Dwelling] (4:12-16):
The keyword for this next section is the word abide. We have already seen this word multiple times in this epistle. The Greek word menō means to dwell, but also to remain, to continue and to endure. It doesn’t seem to generally mean to “camp out for the night before moving on”. In verse 2:28 he wrote “And now, little children, abide in him”. But what does abiding mean? In various tracts and teachings, “abiding in Christ” is described as a state where a Christian completely trusts in God and is filled with his word and obeying the Holy Spirit fully and being in full harmony with God. It is presented as being in a state opposite of being carnal, where we are not fully trusting in God and are falling into selfishness and sin. The problems I have with this definition are many, especially when we see how the word is used in this epistle.
In the gospels, Jesus told the apostles (in John 15:16) “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide”. Just a few verses before this he told them that He is the vine and we are the branches that abide in Him. He then warned (John 15:6) “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Either this means we are in constant danger of losing our salvation, or it means that one who abides is one who is in Christ, one who will not leave Christ (like the antichrists of 1 John chapter 2). In chapter five the word that John will use for Christians is overcomer. This is not our doing. It is by the power of God. Paul, who said to the Ephesians that nobody will be boasting of their own righteousness in heaven, told the Philippians: (1:6) “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
How does God make us overcomers? How does He keep us in Christ? Look at the next verses:
1 John 4:12-13 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
This is the second part of John’s why. We will love one another because we are Spirit-Filled. We are God’s dwelling. Jesus told the disciples that He would send the Comforter to them who would guide them into all truth. The church began on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit entered the apostles. John told us back in chapter two of this epistle that “the anointing that you received from him abides in you” and that “his anointing teaches you about everything”. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians: “it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor 1:21-22) and the Ephesians “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Eph 1:13-14)
So the Holy Spirit has moved into us. He abides in us. He is a seal of protection over us. If He left us the first time we messed up and grieved Him (and Paul warns us that it is possible to grieve Him), then could He be the guarantee of our inheritance? Of course not. So how does the Holy Spirit answer the question of how and therefore why we love one another? Paul wrote:
Romans 5:5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We don’t have it in us to love like God, but God - who, remember, is love – moves in. Love moves into our hearts. And it must manifest. Paul hated Christians. It was not enough for him to persecute Jesus-followers in one city. No. He got permission to afflict and arrest them in other cities. Then God’s love was poured into his heart through the Holy Spirit and he spent the rest of his life manifesting love for the brethren. The change was literally miraculous. And Paul wrote later:
2 Corinthians 4:7 … we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
So the Holy Spirit, given by God, fills us with God’s love for his other children. How does this manifest itself? John reaches a crescendo of love, hope, assurance, and joy in the next six verses. Let’s read together:
1 John 4:12-17 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
Here John ties everything together that he has said. The existence of love between believers is a witness to a dark world. If God is love, the love between his people will stand out. Jesus prayed in the garden that we would love one another so that the world would know that the Father had sent Him. His prayer was answered. It is recorded that the early Christian writer Tertullian amazedly wrote “see how these Christians love one another”. It was a witness to the entire world of the reality of salvation through Jesus Christ. How did it happen? John tells us. God, the Holy Spirit abides in us, “and his love is perfected in us”.
Now let’s go back to the beginning of this series in first John. Remember why John wrote this letter? It was written to true believers to give them confidence in the hope of their salvation – that they might “know that they have eternal life”. Remember that three tests have been used by John to give hope – the moral test, the doctrinal test, and the social test. I would submit that John is giving great priority to the love test here.
And
it is the manifestation of a supernatural love for fellow members of God’s
family that shows that we have been made a new creation in Christ, and that the
Holy Spirit is shedding the love of God in our hearts until it overflows on
others!
This
point gives us a transition to the rest of John’s thoughts on this subject. Being
secure is the third part of being loving. How?
III Because You Are Secure [You Are God’s Friend] (4:17-21):
I think that the third point is a pretty intuitive one. Think about times in your life when relationships were not so sure. Maybe it was the first day after you had moved into a new neighborhood. Maybe it was when you started at a new school. How about when you went to work at a new job. How about when you had to make a new friend, or (shudder) went out on a first date with someone you really did not know?
I’ll share an example from my own life. I remember a few joyful couple of weeks in high school when I had finally gotten a girlfriend. (Or at least I thought I had). There was the nightly phone call, a trip out for an ice cream cone, even a date to the movies. Was love in my future? Nope. Not yet. One night I called her, and when she answered the phone she asked “why are you calling me”. Not only was it over, there was no argument. No breakup speech. Nothing. It was just “Let’s just pretend that nothing ever happened at all”. That was really hard, and I was a pretty miserable person to hang around with for next few months. It took me a while to even try again. I was afraid of rejection after that. Fear kept me from seeking love. Can this kind of fear keep us from loving one another?
Just yesterday I was watching a Ligonier video that I just got called “The Necessity of Reforming the Church” which featured W. Robert Godfrey. He was teaching about the Reformation, but more than that. He said that the church is always in need of reformation, because of one problem. The problem is that there are people in the church. We can ruin just about anything. But John has already told us two things that make love possible:
- We have been born
again and made new
- We have been sealed
and indwelt by God himself in the Holy Spirit, and, finally,
- We have assurance in God’s love and He takes away our fear.
Fear is the enemy of all believers. It is said that the command “Do not be afraid” is repeated 365 times, once for every day of the year. Jesus certainly said it more than once. Now John tells us that our assurance and our security in Christ can help us obey this command. Freedom from fear is real freedom. What fears keep us from loving? Certainly in the human realm it is easy to fear that others will hurt us emotionally. But there is more than that.
It is not just our feelings that are at risk. Other people might kill us. But Jesus told his disciples “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt 10:28) And if we are saved, that danger has been removed. In that assurance, the apostles (and Christians since then) have gone into dangerous situations to share the love of God in the gospel with people who sometimes did kill them, and they, like Stephen in the book of Acts, prayed for God to forgive them and went to be with Jesus in joy!
1 John 4:18-19 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
In
the end, the assurance that we can’t lose God’s love (like we read from Romans
8) gives us freedom to love others without fear. God is our example, and the
source of our love! And if God is for us, who can be against us?
Conclusion
So where does this leave us? Look at John’s conclusion of these thoughts:
1 John 4:20-21 20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
John ends where he begins. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a limited time on this earth before we go to glory and live together forever. Don’t (as the writer to the Hebrews warns) forsake assembling together with your fellow believers now. If you are born again, you were born again as part of Jesus’ family. You were made into a living temple for God’s Spirit, and He draws us together with love like we were magnets. Jesus loves all of us and pours his love into our hearts. It’s non-negotiable. But He cast out our fear with his perfect love. So go out and love one another, so that the people around you will look on, amazed, and say “See how those Christians love one another!” and then realize that they need Jesus’ love also.
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